So out through the gap the Gleam darted, as if glad of her freedom, and went flying over the blue water toward Blueberry Point.
"My, but this is grand!" exclaimed Charlie rapturously, as the boat careened before the freshening breeze, so that the water lapped the lee-combing.
"You are right; it is—eh, Mort?" echoed Ted, turning to Mort, who, holding the tiller in one hand and the end of the main sheet in the other, watched every move of the boat with feelings strangely divided between anxiety and proud delight.
The passage across was quickly made, and then, being thirsty, Charlie proposed that they land for a few minutes to get a drink at a spring near the shore. After the drink Ted suggested a bathe; and thus an hour slipped by, during which an ominous change took place in the weather. The sky clouded over, the wind, which had been steady, began to come in fitful gusts.
"I don't like the look of things," said Mort, in a tone of concern. "I wish we were inside the boom."
"Well, let's hurry and get there as quickly as we can," responded Ted.
It was all well enough to say this, but with the change of weather had come a change of wind, which was now against them, so that they would have to tack all the way home.
By dint of careful sailing they had got about a third of the distance, when suddenly the sky darkened, some large drops of rain, pattered upon them, and the next moment a sharp squall struck the Gleam full upon her quarter.
In order to give his whole attention to the steering, Mort had asked Charlie to hold the main-sheet, impressing upon him to take only one turn around the cleat. But Charlie, who was of the lazy sort, finding the sheet hard to hold, had taken two turns, and done it in such a way that the rope had jammed. Consequently, when Mort shouted to him, as he put the tiller hard a-port, "Let go the main-sheet instantly, Charlie!" and he attempted to obey the order, he could not do so in time to meet the emergency, and the next instant, amid simultaneous shrieks from all three boys, the Gleam went over on her beam ends.
Fortunately they were all good swimmers, and did not get entangled in any of the ropes, so that, without much difficulty, they succeeded in climbing up on the side of the boat, where it was easy enough to hold on for a while.