“You bet,” said Paul fervently, as he made his boat fast to the dock. “It would have been a hot note if I’d had to lose my boat that way after working all year to earn it.”
The girls and boys stared at him in surprise for a moment. Then they laughed, and the laughter broke the tension that they had been under and made them feel more natural.
“Never mind us as long as you saved your boat,” said Ferd with a chuckle. “Come on, folks. It’s mighty damp out here. I’ll be glad when we can get under cover and dry out a bit. Gee, but I’ll say I’m some wet.”
“And Mother will be just worried to death,” cried Connie penitently, for this was the very first minute she had given her mother a thought. “Oh, let’s hurry.”
They were starting off almost at a run when Billie called to them.
“Do you know we forgot something?” she asked. Then she pointed to the untouched lunch hamper which Mrs. Danvers had heaped high with good things. This was still standing close to the railing on the deck of The Shelling where the boys had put it when they climbed aboard.
“We forgot all about eating,” she said in an incredulous voice. “Now I know we were scared.”
“Say, what do you know about that?” asked Ferd weakly. “I’d have said it couldn’t be done.”
“And it must be away past lunch time, too,” added Chet.
“Oh, gosh! why did you go and remind me I was starving?” groaned Teddy, and with a quick movement he leaped into the boat and caught up the basket. “Come on, who’s first?” he cried.