The wind whistled through the treetops, but down close to the water the breeze did not touch them, and only a few drops of rain entered the rowboats. Luckily they had covered their stores and ammunition with tarpaulins, so no damage was done in that direction.
“This is something we didn’t bargain for, eh?” came from Raymond. “Had we been far out on the lake the chances are we should have been swamped.”
As the leader of the little expedition had said, the squall did not last, and in exactly three-quarters of an hour after it began the clouds shifted, the sun came out, and the rain ceased as if by magic.
“Now, men, we must make up for time lost,” said Silvers. “We’ve all had a pretty good rest.”
“This squall has changed its course, but I’ll wager a mug of cider it comes back by sundown,” said Gilfoy.
“And I say the same,” added Shamer.
“In that case we want to get as far as possible before it does come back,” came from Henry. “The little breeze that is still blowing is in our favor.”
Once again the two rowboats were headed down the lake, and each stroke sent the craft shooting on their course. The water was still a trifle rough, but what they lost by this was more than made up by the breeze behind them.
“The air puts new life into a fellow,” said Dave. “I feel fresher than I did when we started after dinner.”
By sundown another ten or twelve miles had been covered. The wind had now veered around and was blowing strongly from the northeast. The sky looked heavy, and despite their best efforts it was impossible to make headway down the lake.