The motor-boat went chug-chugging its way across the big lake, not running as fast as it could have done on a fair day. The rain poured down, making a hissing sound in the water. Those in the boat wore rubber coats, for Captain Craig had supplied them at his boathouse before starting out. He owned a boat dock, and also a fishing pier, and supplied pleasure parties with nearly everything they needed for fair weather or stormy.
Suddenly Mrs. Bobbsey, who was straining her eyes to peer through the mist and rain, uttered a cry.
"There's something!" she called out.
"Where?" asked her husband, and Captain Craig leaned forward, his hands gripping the spokes of the steering wheel.
"Right straight ahead," went on Mrs. Bobbsey. "Something black is looming up in the fog. Maybe it's the balloon!"
"We can't be anywhere near the island yet," said the captain. "That is unless I'm away off my course. But we'll soon find out what it is."
They could all see the black object now, though it looked dim and uncertain, for a fog was settling down over the lake and the mist and vapor, together with the rain, made it hard to see more than a few feet ahead.
"It's a boat!" suddenly cried Mr. Bobbsey. "A large boat."
And that is what it was.
"Ahoy there!" called Captain Craig in his deep voice. "Ahoy there!"