Little Miss Andrews cried a bit, perhaps because of the nervous excitement; but her father cheered her up.
“Never mind, Rita,” he said. “The boat was insured, and we can get another and better one when we want it. But for this season I think we’ve had about enough of the water. I tell you we ought to think ourselves fortunate to have these fine fellows come out to us just in the nick of time. We’ll never forget it, will we, girlie?”
Whereupon Jack was delighted to see the tears give way to a bright smile, as Rita looked at him, and nodded.
“How queer it seems,” she remarked demurely, a little later. “First Jack had to save my hat from a watery grave; and now he has rescued poor little me. Yes, I mean that he won’t forget us, dad. And I hope that we’ll see him some time at our Oak Park home, don’t you?”
“We’ll try and influence him, and also his brave chums, in whom I find myself deeply interested. Come to think of it, I fancy I already have something of an acquaintance with a Mr. Harvey Stormways, belonging in the town Jack calls his home. The one I met in Chicago was a banker, and a very clever gentleman.”
“That is my father,” said Jack, rosy with pleasure to think that his parent already knew Rita’s father.
Later on they discovered a landing place and managed to get ashore. All of them were delighted to once more set foot on solid land after their recent harrowing experiences.
And such a night they made of it. The captain had wisely secured a lot of stores before leaving the wreck of the Mermaid, so that there was little danger of any famine. Besides, as George said, aside, any camp that had been able to withstand the raids and assaults of a Buster all this while, would not be caught without plenty of eatables in the larder.
Around the camp fire they even made merry, since no lives had been lost in the wreck. Mr. Andrews told how they had escaped the first storm, only to be caught in the second, and rammed by some floating object, the nature of which they could only guess.