There was a moment of silence and uttermost amazement. The wind had vanished; the roar of the sea was muffled. The schooner advanced gently into the dark.
“The anchor!” the skipper gasped.
He sprang forward, stumbling; but it was too late: the bowsprit crumpled against a rock, there was a soft thud, a little shock, a scraping, and the Spot Cash stopped dead.
“We’re aground,” said Bill.
“I wonders where?” said Jimmie Grimm. 246
“In harbour, anyhow,” said Billy Topsail.
“And no insurance!” Archie added.
There was no levity in this. The boys were overawed. They had been afraid, every one of them; and the mystery of their escape and whereabouts oppressed them. But they got the anchor over the bow; and presently they had the cabin stove going and were drying off. Nobody turned in; they waited anxiously for the first light of day to disclose their surroundings.