"Don't, Lou!" cried Jim. "Don't even think of things like that, unless we find an empty boat!"
"I'll try not to," she promised.
"Well, whatever has happened, the ocean is the place for us to be, if we hope to rescue the girls," concluded Mr. Carlton, "You all agree on that point?"
Everyone assented, and Ralph and Jim expressed their desire to get into action immediately.
"We ought to be able to get a yacht tomorrow," continued Mr. Carlton. "Because of the publicity of this affair someone who has one ready will probably be glad to rent it to us on the spot. I think I'll go to the newspaper office tonight, and have the request broadcast by radio."
"Great!" exclaimed Louise, jumping up excitedly. "And can we all go with you tomorrow, on the cruise, I mean, Mr. Carlton?"
"You can do just as you prefer—go with me, or use your own plane to fly around over the islands."
"I think that would be the better plan for us, Sir," put in Ted. "And we can keep in touch with you by signals."
The group separated at last, the older men to call their families by long-distance, the young people to get a good night's sleep after their strenuous day. In the morning they re-assembled at breakfast, when Mr. Carlton announced the good news that he had been offered a yacht by a wealthy man in Jacksonville.
"He even refused to take any rent for it, much as I urged him to," he added. "And he's lending us the crew besides. It seems too good to be true."