The fog held throughout the day, changing to a deluge of rain about nightfall, but Cal and Tom had provided an abundance of firewood, the palmete shelter was waterproof, the long gray moss with which it was carpeted was soft to loll upon, and the book from which they read aloud by turns proved to be an amusing one. Larry kept his promise and indulged in no further impatience.
When morning came the rain was still coming down in torrents, and it was unanimously agreed that no attempt should be made to quit the place until it should cease.
“An open rowboat in a heavy rain is about the wettest place imaginable,” Dick said, and the experience of the rest had been such as to confirm the judgment.
When at last a brisk westerly wind began to tear the clouds to pieces, all agreed that Larry’s patience had fairly earned its reward, and all hands worked hard to get as early a start as possible. It was two o’clock in fact when they finally set sail, with Cal again at the helm because he knew of a narrow but navigable passage which would enable them to avoid the heavy ebb tide of the channel that Larry had selected two days before. The tide would not begin to ebb for two or three hours to come, and by taking this short cut Cal hoped to reach broad waters before that time.
He did so in fact, but upon running out of the little creek he was disappointed to find that a shift had given him a headwind to contend with. There was nothing for it but to beat to windward, and the breeze was so light that their progress was slow. Cal made the best of conditions as he found them, according to his custom, but about sunset the tide turned against him, and worse than that, the wind went down with the sun, leaving not a breath to fill the sails.
Then Cal asked for orders.
“What is your wish, Captain Larry?” he asked. “Shall we take to the oars and push on against the tide, or land for the night? Without a favoring wind we can’t possibly make Beaufort to-night.”
“What do the rest of you say?” asked Larry, in some perplexity.
“Never mind what anybody else says,” broke in Cal, before the others could answer. “This isn’t a debating club or an advisory council of ancients, or anything else of the kind. We’re a ship’s company and you are the captain; so give your orders.”
“Very well, we’ll run ashore. Do you know of a suitable place, Cal?”