Neale hastened to the side and looked down at the anchor cable. It was taut, showing that the weight had not slipped off. But the drift of the boat was not checked.
“Why doesn’t it hold?” asked Ruth.
“Is it dragging?” came from the lawyer.
“I don’t believe it is touching bottom,” replied Neale. “I’m afraid the rope is too short. We are moving faster than before.”
Just as he spoke there came a vivid flash of lightning. Involuntarily they all shrank. It seemed as though they were about to be blasted where they stood. And then, as a great crash followed, they trembled with the vibration of its rumble.
The next instant Ruth and Agnes cried simultaneously:
“Look! We’re being blown ashore!”
Neale and Mr. Howbridge peered through the darkness. Another lightning flash showed their peril.
“We’re going to hit the island!” shouted Neale.
A few seconds later the wind blew the Bluebird, beams-on, upon a rocky shore.