Chase said nothing for a moment; he was speechless with admiration.
“Pretty tight squeeze,” admitted Linda, as she wiped the perspiration from her face. “If it hadn’t been for you, Dot, I’d never have seen it.”
Still trembling from their experience, the girls climbed out of the cockpits with Chase’s assistance. At last the young man found words to express his admiration to Linda. But she was too ashamed of her lack of foresight to accept any praise. She was still terribly vexed with herself.
“Now we’ll have to explore,” announced Dot. “Do you suppose anybody lives on this island?”
“I’m afraid not,” replied Chase. “Or they’d have been here to see us by this time. It looks pretty barren and forsaken to me.”
“No trees! No shade at all!” added Dot.
Nothing, indeed, but a dry underbrush, and the sort of weeds that grow in sandy soil. The little group walked all around the island, and found it to be very small. Probably it was not even shown on most maps, though Linda did recall seeing some dots in the southern part of the Gulf. And of course nobody lived there.
Dismally they came back to the beach where the Ladybug was resting.
“Is there any food left at all?” asked Chase, trying not to appear too eager.
“Not a crumb,” replied Dot. “Though we do still have about a gallon of water.”