As the squall struck, the “Meteor” heeled over. The ladies screamed with fright. Even the motor boat boys felt the thrill of dread. The boat rolled as though she were going to turn turtle. Then, slowly, she righted herself.
“One of the cables has parted!” shouted Jed, through the increasing tempest.
Another and heavier squall struck them, again heeling the motor boat over. She righted herself, but the gale was becoming stronger, and, despite the remaining anchor, the “Meteor” now began to drift toward the lee shore of Muskeget.
Miss Elsie, deathly white, and clutching desperately at the lifelines, began to sob.
“It’s fearful, I know,” spoke Captain Tom, quietly. “But we’ve got to face it and hope for the best. You were admiring courage a while ago, but now you can show as much as any man could.”
“You’re right,” Miss Elsie called back through the roar of the gale, as she steadied herself. “Thank you; by pointing out the need of courage you’ve given me much.”
Tom turned to stare, with grave, impassive face, to leeward. An eighth of a mile off the beach at Muskeget lay a reef ordinarily sunken below the surface in calm weather. But now the waves were dashing over this ledge, showing the jagged points of the rough stone.
“If a miracle doesn’t happen,” thought the young skipper, noting the course of the boat’s drift, “we’ll wreck there soon, and then there’s a doubt if one of us gets out of it alive!”
CHAPTER XV—IN THE TEETH OF DEATH
“What’s the worst, now, captain?”