“So far as I can see, not a soul is within sight of us,” he announced. “If there are Indians near they are not showing themselves at the water front.”
Nevertheless, it was not deemed advisable to hug the shore too closely, and they set a course which soon took them at least quarter of a mile from land.
It must be confessed that the rowing was now beginning to tell upon both Dave and Henry. But as they had enlisted to do their full share of the work, neither complained.
“Sure, and it’s no easy job to row hour after hour,” said Gilfoy presently. His experiences with a rowboat had been very limited. “’Twouldn’t be so bad if the sun wasn’t so hot.”
“Some clouds are coming up,” said Shamer a little later. “And by the feeling in the air I shouldn’t be surprised if we had a storm.”
The clouds he mentioned hung low down to the westward, and it was not until about four o’clock in the afternoon that they took a turn and came up with remarkable rapidity. Then followed a rush of cold air which was very pleasant.
“The wind is beginning to blow,” said Henry. “See the whitecaps it is tossing up.”
“The wind is all right, if it doesn’t get too strong,” replied Silvers. “But to my idea we are going to have more than we want of it presently.”
“Yes, and it’s coming now!” cried Shamer. “Look across the lake.”
They did so, and each saw that he was right. The dense clouds had circled around to the northwestward and the wind was coming in short, sharp puffs which piled the whitecaps one over the other. Then came a sudden rush of air which sent the rowboats careening in a dangerous fashion.