"She's a hummer, all right," Jack shouted, but so loud was the howling of the wind that Bob scarcely heard him. "You giving her all she's got?" he yelled a moment later.
"She's on the last notch," Bob shouted back, but the crackling of the thunder added to the roaring of the wind, made it doubtful if Jack heard him.
By the time they were half-way to the wharf the lightning was almost incessant and the rain was coming down in sheets, shutting out the shore and Jack was steering wholly by instinct.
"Better slow her down," Jack shouted a little later. "I can't see more than a few feet ahead but, unless we're off the course we must be pretty near in."
"Just what I was thinking," Bob shouted as he pushed back the lever several notches.
The wind being dead against them the boat rapidly lost headway and Bob soon had to advance the lever a couple of notches in order to maintain headway. The rain was falling so rapidly now that the surface of the lake was almost smooth, the waves being beaten down by the force of the water before they could rise hardly above the surface.
"It must be a cloudburst," Jack yelled back.
"And then some," Bob added, shouting at the top of his voice.
A few more minutes passed and suddenly Jack shouted:
"Reverse her, quick."