CHAPTER VIII—THE STORM
“Oh, Jack!” cried Cora, as she had a hasty glimpse of her brother making a rather ungraceful dive over the side of the Corbelbes. “Oh!”
Her words were echoed by Bess and Belle, and while they started up, overturning the chairs on which they had been sitting, Cora, alive to the emergency, quickly threw in the reverse clutch, and a smother of foam arose under the stern of the boat as it lost way.
Nor had Walter and Paul been idle. The former seized a canvas covered cork life ring, and, waiting a moment to catch a glimpse of the bobbing head of his chum, threw the ring to him, with a cry of:
“There you are, Jack!”
“I’ll go after him in the boat!” called Hazel’s brother, for a small dingey was riding astern of the larger boat, and Paul now hauled this toward the side.
There was no need for any one else to go overboard, for Jack, as his boy and girl chums well knew, could swim excellently, and he had fallen in with only overalls and jumper on, which made raiment almost as light as a bathing suit. True, he had on his shoes, but in several tests at summer camp Jack had swum across a lake with all his heavy clothes on.
Still Paul was not sure but what his chum might have struck his head going overboard, and in this case it would be advisable to have the little boat ready.
“There he is—he’s all right,” cried Walter, as he saw Jack striking out for the motor boat, ignoring the life ring.
“Get it, Jack! Get it!” cried Cora, indicating the white, floating object.