“But the wind is from the south, and has been all day,” objected Mrs. Tremaine, languidly. “It will still be following us.”
“Possibly,” assented Captain Tom Halstead.
“And the south wind is always mild and friendly,” pursued the young woman.
“Is it?” chuckled Halstead.
“Isn’t it?”
“I trust it will be so to the end of the present voyage,” amiably replied the young skipper of the motor boat cruiser “Restless.” “Yet, at this time of the year, some of the worst gales come out of the south.”
As Captain Tom finished speaking he stepped aft to the very stern of the boat. He remained for some moments intently studying the weather.
The “Restless,” a fifty-five foot speedy cruiser, was now going along at the comparatively slow gait of twelve and a half miles an hour. She could go at more than double that speed, but on a long voyage it was wise to travel more moderately and burn much less gasoline in proportion.
Captain Tom Halstead had just come on deck, from a berth in the motor room forward. His chum, Joe Dawson, the engineer of the “Restless,” was now on the bridge deck, where he had taken his trick at the wheel while the young skipper snatched some four hours’ sleep.
Captain Halstead figured on reaching Oyster Bay by four o’clock the following morning, thence proceeding to the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River. This country is on the west coast of Florida, below Tampa Bay.