So start they did, and it took hard riding nearly the whole night to get them to the ship in time. After they had settled with the landlord of the Seaside House and had hustled their belongings into the car, they started for the dock and found that they were just in the nick of time.
As Bert turned from his companions toward the operating room to take down any last messages that Hawaii might want to send, he said with a sigh, “I’m sorry that we had to leave sooner than we expected, but as long as we had to—say, fellows, wasn’t that ride great?”
[CHAPTER VII]
A Swim for Life
It was a hot day, even for the tropics, and everybody felt the heat intensely. Awnings had been stretched over the deck, and under their inviting shade the passengers tried to find relief from the burning sun, but with little success. A slight accident to the machinery had caused the ship to heave to, so that they were deprived of the artificial breeze caused by the vessel’s motion. The oppressive heat rivaled anything the boys had ever felt, and for once even their effervescent spirits flagged. They lolled about the deck in listless attitudes, and were even too hot to cut up the usual “monkeyshines” that gave the passengers many a hearty laugh. Dick looked longingly at the green, cool-appearing water, that heaved slowly and rhythmically, like some vast monster asleep.
“Make out it wouldn’t feel good to dive in there, and have a good, long swim,” he exclaimed, in a wistful voice. “Just think of wallowing around in that cool ocean, and feeling as though you weren’t about to melt and become a grease spot at any moment. Gee, I’d give anything I own to be able to jump in right now.”
“Go ahead,” grinned Bert, “only don’t be surprised if we fish you out minus a leg or two. Those two sharks that have been following the ship for the last week would welcome you as a very agreeable addition to their bill of fare.”
“Yes,” chimed in Ralph, “and that’s not the only thing, either. I’ve felt sorry for those poor old sharks for quite a while. Here they follow our ship around for a week, hoping that somebody will fall overboard and furnish them a square meal, and then everybody disappoints them. I call it pretty mean conduct.”