"Come down here—do!" exclaimed the other girl, her tone half muffled.
"What is the matter?" Jessie exclaimed, in wonder.
But she slipped around to the other side of the cabin, faced the gale, and reached the companionway. She darted down, being careful to shut tight the slide behind her. Already the waves were buffeting the small yacht and spray was dashing in over the weather rail.
Jessie found some difficulty in keeping her feet in the close cabin. It was so dark outside that the interior of the yacht was gloomy. She groped her way to their stateroom, which was the biggest aboard.
"What is the matter, Nell?" demanded Jessie, pushing open the door and peering in.
Nell Stanley's face was white. She stood by the open window. At Jessie's appearance she began to sob and tremble.
"I—I'm so frightened, Jess!" she gasped.
"Why, you silly! I thought you said you were a good sailor?"
"It isn't that," Nell told her. "Don't—don't you smell it?"