"Clara's out there in a canoe," she cried, wringing her hands.
"Which way?" Bob shouted back.
"That way," she replied, pointing down the lake. "I saw her coming in just before the storm struck and then the rain blotted her out and—and,——" But she could say no more.
"We'll get her," Bob shouted, jumping back into the boat.
"Get the top down, quick, old man," he cried. "We'll need all the eyes we've got. There's a girl out there somewhere and it's up to us to find her. Make it snappy now."
The top was down and the boat untied by the time he had finished speaking and in another minute was racing down the lake. The motor as well as the cell was inclosed in a watertight casing so there was no fear of the rain, which continued with unabated fury, interfering with the running of the boat.
They were now running nearly with the wind and so great was the speed that Bob soon shut off the motor entirely, and even then the boat sped through the water at a rapid rate.
"She must be blown clear across the lake by this time unless she capsized," Jack shouted after they had been gone from the wharf about five minutes.
"God help her if she did," Bob cried straining his eyes to pierce the wall of water which seemed to shut them in on all sides.
"Better give her a little juice," Jack advised. "We'll never catch a canoe at this rate. It'll blow faster than we will."