“I thought I saw something ahead there, but it’s gone now. Did you see anything, Kendall?”
“N-no, I don’t think so. Sometimes the fog sort of thickens and you think you see things like shadows.”
And then the bell, which had not sounded for a minute, clanged again and Gerald snatched at a lever, for it seemed almost at their bow. And as The Dart slid through the water silently, with diminishing speed, something took shape in the fog ahead of them.
“Land!” exclaimed Harry.
“It’s a boat!” called Kendall. “Straight ahead of us, Gerald. You’d better stop.”
Gerald reversed the propeller, The Dart churned the water at her stern and quivered as she began to back. By this time they could see the amidship section of a white vessel. Gerald raised his voice as the bell clanged its two notes once more.
“Ahoy there!”
“Ahoy!” answered a voice startlingly near.
“We’ve lost our bearings. How far is the shore?”