It was Jack now who was near the end of his tether. He had done nearly twice as much work as the others, and he had for the moment used up his last ounce of tremendous strength.
"Lay Andy across that frame," he weakly directed the other two. With great difficulty they followed his directions. But already Andy was showing signs of returning consciousness.
They left him where he was. There was nothing else any of them could do. They lay where they had sprawled, each gasping weakly for breath. When Andy opened his eyes it was to see them thus—and the shore line almost three miles away!
Andy moved slightly. It is altogether likely that at that moment he hadn't the slightest idea or recollection of where he was. The movement, however, was calculated to bring a sudden and somewhat rude awakening. Limp and to all appearances lifeless, Andy had been "hung" across the framework with a nicety of balance which the others at the time had not realized. When he moved all was different.
The equilibrium was lost, and Andy, with one wild and ineffective grasp at the empty air, came down with a thump and a grunt—a very life-like grunt—into the fuselage of the plane.
Despite their own miseries, the others could not help but smile. Andy gave a puzzled glance around, seemed to have his first realization of where he was, and, perhaps, an inkling of how he got there, and then he, too, grinned weakly.
Thus they lay for twenty minutes or half an hour, unable to do aught but watch the slowly receding line of shore, as parallel with it, they drifted southward.
This steady drift, however, was presenting a new menace. At any time wind or current might change to send them out to sea. To permit that would be to flirt with death from starvation and thirst, for there wasn't an ounce of petrol left in the tanks.
In an hour all had so far recovered as to permit a hasty counsel. They speedily reached a decision that there was but one thing to do, and that must be done at once. They must get the plane back to shore, and the only way that could be done was by one or two of them swimming, to give propulsion to the craft.
It promised to be a long and difficult task, but it presented none of the dangers that attended their swimming in the open sea. It was merely a matter of pairing off, and, two at a time, dropping over the sides, and, holding to the craft, pushing outward with their feet, the same as though they were swimming.