“Well, there are three things we can do,” was the answer. “We can get into the tender and tow the launch, for one thing. But we’re a good ten or eleven miles from the harbor, and that’s an all-night job. Or we can let her drift as long as she keeps near the shore. Or we can drop her anchor and ride here until morning.”
“Let’s do that,” said Dan. “It—it’s perfectly safe, isn’t it?”
“Yes, safe as you like while this sort of weather lasts. Only I don’t know for certain whether we’ve got cable enough to the anchor. It depends on how much water there is here.”
“Well, we can soon find out,” said Bob cheerfully. “Come on and let’s get it over.”
There was an anxious moment or two following the splash of the anchor, and while the cable paid out into the dark water.
“How’s she coming?” asked Nelson.
“Plenty left yet,” answered Dan.
“All right!” called Nelson. “Make her fast. It isn’t nearly as deep as I feared it would be.”
The Vagabond swung her nose seaward and tugged at the cable, but the anchor held fast. Nelson and Bob examined the lanterns carefully, took in the flags, which had been forgotten, and came back to the cockpit. Barry, who seemed to scent trouble, followed Dan’s heels at every step.
“If the weather stays like this,” observed Dan, “we’ll do pretty well.”