Suddenly there came something which sounded like an explosion. This was followed by a cloud of steam that seemed to completely envelop the tugboat.
"Something is wrong!" shouted Randy.
"Oh, mamma, I don't like this!" screamed the little girl, as she ran to the stern of the tug. "We'll be burned up!"
She had scarcely spoken when there came another explosion and the cloud of steam increased. The four passengers crowded to the stern in a body, and a moment later the two men leaped overboard and called on the lady and her child to do likewise.
"I cannot swim!" shrieked the lady.
"You must jump!" answered somebody. "The tug may blow up!"
The little girl heard this and with a scream she ran from her mother straight for the bow of the tug. The next moment she lost her balance and went overboard.
"She's over!" cried Randy, and his heart leaped into his throat.
"Save my child! Save Helen!" shrieked the lady and rushed after her offspring. Soon she was in the water also.
The situation was certainly a thrilling one. The two men in the water were fifty feet away and those left on the tug were in no position to render assistance. The child had disappeared completely, while the mother was thrashing around wildly, in water just up to her neck.