“Why don’t you start the motor?” she called to Mollie.
“I can’t! It doesn’t seem to work.”
“The switch is off!” exclaimed Grace, as she came out of the cabin. With a quick motion she shoved it over.
“How stupid of me!” cried Betty. “I should have seen to that first. Try again, Mollie!”
Again Mollie pressed the button of the self-starter, but there was no response. The Gem was still drifting, seemingly in the very path of the steamer.
“Why don’t they change their course?” wailed Amy. “Can’t they see we’re not under control? We can’t start! We can’t start!” she cried at the top of her voice, hoping the other steersman would hear.
“The steamer can’t get out of the channel—that’s the reason!” gasped Betty. “I see now. It’s too shallow for big boats except in certain places here. We must get out of her way—she can’t get out of ours! Girls, we must start the motor!”
“Then try it with the crank, and let the automatic go,” suggested Aunt Kate, practically. “Probably it’s out of order. You must do something, girls!”
“Use the crank!” cried Betty, who was hobbling the wheel over as hard as she could, hoping the tug of the current would carry the Gem out of danger. But the craft hardly had steerage way on.
Mollie seized the crank, which, by means of a long shaft and sprocket chain, extending from the after cabin bulkhead to the flywheel, revolved that. She gave it a vigorous turn. There was no welcome response of throbbing explosions in the cylinders.