Louise too heard the cry for she turned quickly toward the main road some yards back from the beach. A young man in uniform was running across the dunes toward the girls.
“It’s Jerry!” Penny cried jubilantly. “He’ll help us!”
“He will if he can,” Louise corrected. “The tide’s coming in so fast now. I doubt anyone can get us out of here now.”
Jerry did not waste time asking questions. Taking in the situation at a glance, he instructed Penny to remain at the wheel. With the motor racing, he and Louise pushed with all their strength. At first the rear wheels kept spinning in the sand. A great wave slapped the rear end of the car, spraying Louise from head to foot.
“It’s no use!” she gasped. “We can’t do it.”
“Yes, we can!” Jerry insisted. “Try once more, Louise.”
Again they pushed and this time the car actually moved a few feet before it bogged down. Encouraged, Jerry and Louise tried harder than before. The wheels suddenly struck firm sand, dug in, and the car began to creep forward. Penny kept it moving until she was sure the footing beneath the tires was solid. Then she pulled up so that Jerry and Louise might leap aboard.
“Drive as fast as you can for the hotel!” Jerry instructed crisply. “We’ll be lucky to make it.”
Where an hour before the roadway along the beach had been wide and ample, there now was only a fringe of white sand. To avoid the incoming waves, Penny had to drive dangerously close to the dunes. And midway to the hotel, they came to a flooded stretch of beach.
“We’ll have to risk it,” Jerry advised as Penny hesitated to drive on.