"Oh, dear!" cried Grace, as she shrank back against Betty. "Oh, dear."
"Those—those men," breathed Amy, who also seemed to be looking about for some sort of physical support. "See, Betty!"
They both seemed to depend on the "Little Captain" in this emergency. As for Mollie, her dark eyes flashed, and she looked at Betty with a nod of encouragement. Whatever happened, these two would stand together, at any rate.
"Don't be silly!" exclaimed Betty, stilling the wild beating of her own heart by the reflection that she must be brave for the sake of others.
"But they are coming right toward us!" gasped Grace, making a move as though to hide in the cabin.
"Of course they are!" exclaimed Mollie, quickly. "They are going to help us; aren't they, Betty?"
"I'm sure I hope so," was the low-voiced answer. "One thing, girls, speak very carefully. Sound carries very distinctly over water, you know."
"They are coming toward us," added Amy, shrinking closer to Betty. There was no doubt of that. The eyes of all in the approaching motor boat, which was a powerful craft, were fixed on the girls in the Gem, and it was a strange sight to see the eyes of the colored men, with so much of the white showing in contrast to their dark faces, staring fixedly at our friends. Grace caught herself in a half-hysterical laugh.
"They looked just like those queer china dolls," she explained afterward.
The white man steering the boat was almost as dark in complexion as were his companions, but at least he was white—the girls were sure of that.