The occupant could not be plainly seen, but after watching his movements for a moment they were all satisfied that it was indeed Ben, who, probably in his desire to paddle his own canoe, had slipped away unobserved, and was already well on his way back to camp.
Ethan uttered another exclamation of anger, but as he quickly bade the boys take their places on board his boat, there was no time lost in further investigations, and soon, with the skiff in tow, they were headed down the river. There was, however, but little air stirring, and soon the cat-boat was almost becalmed. The heavy clouds climbed higher and higher in the sky, but the waters of the river were almost as motionless as glass. The sail flapped idly against the mast, and the boat slowly drifted with the current.
Ethan did not speak now, but his evident air of alarm speedily communicated itself to his companions. They glanced nervously at one another, and then at the great black mass which was almost directly over their heads.
“Don’t you think we’d better take the oars, Ethan?” suggested Jock.
Ethan shook his head, but made no other reply. A streak of light gray in the dense blackness of the clouds could now be seen, and as the boatman discovered it, he said, “Take in the sail, boys. It’ll be—”
But Ethan did not complete the sentence, for suddenly the deluge was upon them. In a moment the wind began to blow, and like a startled horse the boat suddenly seemed to leap forward. A roaring sound filled the air, and the trees along the distant shore bent and swayed and tossed their branches wildly, as if they, too, shared in the alarm. The river was quickly covered with white-caps, and the rail of the cat-boat was almost beneath the water.
“Here! here!” shouted Ethan suddenly, endeavoring to make his voice heard above the noise of the storm. “Two of ye hold the tiller while I take in the sail.”
Bob and Jock sprang to do his bidding, but their combined strength was hardly sufficient to hold the boat to its course. Ethan worked his way slowly toward the mast, and after a hard struggle succeeded in lowering the sail, a part of which dragged in the water before he could draw it on board.