“How many miles can we travel with the gasoline we have on hand?” questioned Fred of Ralph.
“That’s a hard question to answer, Fred. You see, I’ve not been running the Fancy very long, and I don’t know what she can make in this sort of sea. You know it’s one thing to run in smooth water, and quite another in the swells of the ocean. We lose a lot of our headway every time the stern is lifted out of the water.”
“Well, let’s hope, if it doesn’t carry us to land, that it will at least carry us in the path of the ships sailing up and down the coast,” put in Spouter.
“We’ll run straight for the first good-sized steamer we see,” answered Ralph.
“Don’t run into any more rum-runners,” warned Andy, with a sickly grin. “We’ve had enough of that class of rascals.”
With the coming of daylight, the boys and the lanky sailor felt better. A pot of coffee was gotten ready on the oil stove and cups of this beverage passed around with some bread and biscuits served to make them still lighter hearted.
“I suppose we’ve got to be careful how we use up our grub and water,” warned Jack. “There is no telling how long it has got to last us. For all we know, we may be much farther from shore than we imagine.”
Slowly the morning wore away. About eleven o’clock Fred set up a shout.
“What is that smoke just ahead of us?” he queried.
“I don’t know,” answered Spouter. “Looks like some smoke on an island.”