CHAPTER XXV
A CRY FOR HELP
With anxious faces the travelers looked at one another. The alarmcaused by the discovery that they were on a floating island madethem forget their usual caution. Even so seasoned a tourist as UriahSnodgrass had been at fault, and he did not cease to blame himself forit.
"We'll do the best we can," he said. "This is more my fault than anyone else's, as I proposed it in such a hurry."
"Can't we follow our trail back?" asked Ned.
"We can try, but I fancy we wandered over rather a crooked one."
This they found to be true. They managed to follow their tracksfor some distance but soon lost the trail amid the trees and denseunderbrush.
They had come off without breakfast and the pangs of hunger began tomake themselves manifest. As for the professor, once the first shock ofbeing lost had passed, he became so much interested in catching somecurious bugs that he paid little attention to the boys. However, theykept him in sight, for it would not do to become separated in thisdense forest.
"If we'd only told Bob to fire a gun or do something in case we didn'treturn soon," remarked Ned with a sigh. "Poor Bob! I wish we were backwhere he is."
"No use wishing," spoke up Jerry. "We've got to keep on. Maybe we'llhit the trail soon."
On and on they wandered but only, it seemed, to get the more hopelesslylost. The two boys were much alarmed, but the scientist, his whole mindgiven over to collecting bugs, was somewhat indifferent.
"Hark! What was that?" cried Ned suddenly.
"Sounded like a gun," said Jerry.
"It was a gun," replied Ned. "It was over this way," and he pointed tothe left. "Come on. Maybe it's a party of hunters."
Calling to the professor, the boys turned in the direction from whichthe report had come. They had not gone far before another gun shot washeard and they knew they were in the right direction, but toward whomthey were going they did know.
"Anyway it's some person or persons," argued Ned. "We can help them orthey can help us. We'll have company if we are lost."
The gun continued to be fired at intervals and but for this the threewould not have known how to proceed. The reports sound very close nowand in about ten minutes the two boys and the professor saw somethingwhite glimmering before them in the light of the sun that was justbreaking through the clouds.
"There's the lake! There's water! We're on the shore!" cried Jerry.
A few moments later they had emerged from the dense forest and sawbefore them their own tent with Bob at the entrance loading and firinghis rifle.
"Good boy!" cried Ned. "How did you think to do it, old chap? How areyou?"
"I was worried when I found you all gone," said the invalid. "I thoughtyou might have gone off in the woods and, as I looked out of the tentI thought I saw the land moving. That scared me and I got up. I fearedI was on a floating island so I fired the gun to call you back as Ididn't know what had happened while you were away."
"You're on a floating island all right," remarked Jerry. "We got lostin the woods, looking for some way out of the difficulty, and yourfiring gave us the right direction."
"How do you feel, Bob?" asked the professor.
"A little better, I think."
But Bob's flushed face and unnaturally bright eye did not bear out thisstatement.
"You had better go back to bed," decided Mr. Snodgrass. "I'll give yousome more medicine. I think you are getting a touch of malaria mixedwith your fever."
The exertion of getting out of bed and firing the gun had greatlyweakened Bob and he was much worse. They ate a hurried breakfast, andthe professor gave the patient some more medicine.
"We ought to look for our boat," said Ned. "If we lose that it's all upwith us. Suppose we walk along shore. We may get a sight of it."
"Good idea," agreed Uriah Snodgrass. "I'll stay here with Bob and youand Jerry can move in opposite directions. You can't get lost if youfollow the shore and the one who first sights the boat can fire threeshots and they will call the other to him."
Ned and Jerry agreed that this was a good plan and started off. Nedwalked quickly along the shore, keeping a watch for the _Dartaway_ butthe sight of her did not reward his eyes. As he was proceeding, havingtramped for over two hours, he heard a noise in the bushes just aheadof him where a little point of land jutted out into the lake.
"Some one is coming," reasoned the lad, holding his gun in readiness ashe thought of the ugly negroes.
An instant later a figure came into view. Ned started as he caughtsight of it. He could not see it distinctly but he observed a gunbarrel. Then he had a glimpse of a red cap.
"Jerry!" he called. "Is that you?"
"That's who it is! I was just thinking I had met an Indian or a coloredman. See anything of the boat?" and Jerry stepped from behind thebushes and confronted his chum.
"Not a sign. Did you?"
"No, and between us, we completed the circuit of the island. Must beabout six miles around it."
"No boat," murmured Ned. "What are we going to do?"
"Land only knows. This island is still floating, and it seems to becontinually moving in the same general direction--that is south. Maybethe boat is drifting also and we'll catch up to her or she will withus."
"I hope so. But we'd better go back now. I hate to take bad news to theprofessor, though."
There was no help for it, however, and soon the two youths weretramping back toward camp. The scientist was much disappointed thatthey had not been successful, but he was more worried over Bob'scondition.
"I'm afraid of the result if he doesn't get different medicine soon,"he said.
The day was a gloomy one in spite of the fine weather that followed thestorm. The campers were in no mood for doing anything and sat aboutlistlessly, now and then taking an observation to see how their islandwas behaving. It seemed to be about in the middle of the big lake,though moving slowly southward.
"It's bound to fetch up somewhere," observed Ned.
"If it doesn't strike some low place in the lake and become anchored,"replied Jerry. "But I don't see that we can do anything. We might swimoff when it gets near the mainland, but we'll be in a bad way withoutour boat."
There were uneasy sleepers in camp that night. Early in the morning Nedand Jerry were up to see if, by any chance, their boat had drifted nearthem.
"We'll take another tramp along shore," proposed Jerry.
Once more they started off. Jerry had gone about two miles when heheard three shots fired.
"That's the signal!" he exclaimed. "Ned must have sighted the_Dartaway_!"
He hurried back, passing through the camp and telling the professorwhat he believed had happened. Nor was he mistaken. He found Ned pacingup and down the shore, stripped to his underwear and ready to plungeinto the lake.
"Do you see it?" called Jerry.
"Looks like her off there," and Ned pointed to a speck on the lake."I'm going to swim out to her."
"Is it safe? There might be alligators or big snakes."
"I've got to take a chance. We can never get away from here without theboat. You watch me and if you see anything that looks dangerous--whyshoot."
Ned waded out into the water until he got to his depth and then hebegan swimming. Jerry anxiously watched for a sight of some big reptileor saurian but his fears were groundless. In half an hour Ned hadreached the floating object.
"I wonder if it's the boat?" said Jerry to himself.
His question was answered a moment later for, over the surface of thelake sounded the explosions that told that Ned had started the engineof the _Dartaway_.
In a short time the boat was close in shore. Jerry waded out to her andthen, in their recovered craft, the chums headed for camp, where theyfound the professor much delighted at their success.
To avoid a repetition of the floating away of the boat they tied her bya long rope to a tree close to the tent. Then, in much better spirits,they sat down to plan what next to do.
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nbsp; "I think we'd better all get into the boat and hunt for the outlet ofthis lake," said Mr. Snodgrass. "There is no question but what the oneleading into Lake Okeechobee is closed. There must be another or thewater would not continue to fall. I believe that--"
The professor's belief was destined to remain unannounced, for at thatinstant there sounded a cry over the water.
"Help! Help! Help!"
"Those are girls' voices!" remarked Jerry, springing to his feet.
The Motor Boys in Strange Waters; or, Lost in a Floating Forest Page 25
