Motor Boat Boys on the Great Lakes; or, Exploring the Mystic Isle of Mackinac

by George Cary Eggleston

  CHAPTER IV

  CAUGHT BY THE STORM

  "I wonder if they know we are camping in this place right now?" Joshventured.

  "The chances are, they do," replied Jack. "Both of those chaps possesseyes as sharp as they make them. And there's another reason why I thinkthat way."

  "Then let's hear it, old fellow," begged Nick.

  "This is a nice, attractive place to haul in, and spend the night, whencruising along in a small motor boat. As evening has come, not one inten would think of passing the cove by; and you know it, boys," Jackwent on, with emphasis.

  "But they deliberately did that same thing," ventured Herb. "Yes, I geton to what you mean, Jack. They'd rather boom along, and take chances ofbeing caught out on the open lake in the night, even with a storm inprospect, to stopping over near the camp of the motor boat club. Is thatit?"

  "Just what I meant, Herb," nodded the other.

  "And I guess you struck it, all right," commented Josh.

  "But if they didn't want to say us agin, what in the dickens did theyiver kim up this way for, I doan't know?" remarked Jimmie, helplessly.

  At that George laughed out loud.

  "Wake up, Jimmie!" he exclaimed. "You're asleep, you know. Why, don'tyou understand that Clarence Macklin never yet took a beat like a fairand square man? He won't rest easy till he's tried it again with the_Wireless_. I happen to know that he hurried his poor old boat to abuilder, and had him work on the engine, hoping to stir it up a peg ortwo. And now he's going to sneak around till he gets the chance tochallenge me again."

  "And," went on Nick, following up the idea, "he didn't want to drop inhere with us, because in the first place he hates us like fun; and thenhe was afraid George might ask questions about his bally old boat."

  "He wants to spring a surprise!" declared Josh. "That's his play all thetime. When we had snowball battles, Clarence was forever hiding with abunch of his men, and jumping out suddenly at us. That's where he gothis name of Sneaky Clarence."

  "Well," remarked Jack, "I hope George gets a chance to show him up againfor the fraud that he is; but at the same time I don't want Clarenceand Bully Joe bothering us right along. We didn't come up here just tochase around after them."

  "Or have the gossoons chasing around afther us, by the same token,"laughed the Irish lad.

  They sat around the fire, and carried on in their usual jolly way,telling stories, laughing, and singing many of the dear old schoolsongs. Six voices, and some of them wonderfully good ones too, madea volume of sound that must have carried far across the bay to thecottages, where the summer residents were doubtless sitting out in thebeautiful moonlight.

  The boys began to think of retiring about ten or after. A couple oftents had been purchased after coming to the St. Lawrence river country;for somehow all of them became tired of sleeping aboard the boats, sincethere was little of comfort about it.

  These tents had been erected under the supervision of Jack, who knew allabout how a camp should be constructed, so that in case of wind or rainno damage was likely to result.

  They made a pretty sight now, with the moonlight falling upon them, andthe flickering fire adding to the picture.

  Jack had wandered down to the edge of the water. The three motor boatswere all anchored close by, and everything had been made snug; but ofcourse it was not the intention of the boys to leave things unguarded.The chances of trouble were too positive to think of such foolishness.

  "Too bad, Jack, that the wind has gone down," said a voice at his elbow;and turning Jack saw the grinning countenance of George.

  "Oh! I don't know," remarked the other, slowly and cautiously, as ifwondering whether George could read his secret thoughts, and know thathe was just then thinking of the pretty little girl whose hat he hadrescued from the hungry maw of the lake that afternoon.

  "Why, I think I hear voices over yonder where they landed, and girls atthat," George continued, wickedly. "No doubt the little darlings areabout embarking on the return trip to the _Mermaid_. Now, if the windwould only suddenly swoop along, perhaps a boat might be upset. ButJack, with your clothes on, you'd have a tough time swimming out thereand saving Rita's life, like you did her bonnet."

  "Oh! let up on that, will you?" laughed Jack, good naturedly; for he wasused to such joking and joshing on the part of his mates, and ready totake it in the same spirit of fun that it was meant. "I was thinkingabout our boats here. Seems to me that whoever is on guard should takeup a position where he can keep an eye on the whole outfit. At the firstsign of danger he must wake up the bunch of us. Isn't that right,George?"

  "Sure it is; but see here, you don't really think anything _will_happen, do you?" the other demanded, uneasily. "Because if I hadany idea that way, I'd feel like going aboard, and sleeping there,uncomfortable as a narrow speed boat is. Why, it'd nearly break my heartif anything knocked my _Wireless_ just now, and spoiled the rest of myvacation."

  "Oh! I guess there's no real danger," said Jack, quickly; "but you knowmy way of being cautious. An ounce of prevention, they say, George, isbetter than a pound of cure. We insure our boats against explosion andloss; why not do the same about our chances for a jolly good time?"

  "Right you are, Jack. That's a long head you carry on your shoulders,"admitted the skipper of the speed craft. "But there they come. I can seethe boat, and the white dresses of the girls. She is a little angel,Jack, and seriously I don't blame you for wanting to see more of MissRita Andrews; but the chances are against you, old fellow."

  "Well, girls were the last thing we had in mind when we started on thistrip," remarked Jack. "We left lots of pretty ones at home, you know;and we're getting letters from some of them right along. There, they'vemade the big power boat all right, and are getting aboard."

  "And you can go to sleep with an easy mind," laughed George, "becausethe young lady wasn't wrecked in port. But perhaps we might happen tocatch up with 'em at the Soo, Jack. No doubt you had thought of that?"

  "We expect to be at Mackinac first, and people generally stop off therea day or two," remarked the pilot of the _Tramp_, falling into thelittle trap shrewd lawyer George had set for him; whereat the other gavehim a dig in the ribs, and ran off to the camp to get his blankets readyfor his first nap.

  But nothing out of the way did happen that night, though the motor boatboys kept faithful watch and ward, one of them being on duty an hour ormore at a time up to dawn.

  With the coming of the sun over the water all were awake, andpreparations for breakfast underway. Jack, Nick and Josh concluded totake a morning dip, while the rest were looking after the cooking of aheap of delicious flapjacks done to a brown turn as only the wonderfulJosh could coax them.

  Smoke rising slowly from the big power boat's cook's galley pipeannounced that preparations were underway there for an early start.

  Indeed, the vessel started to leave the harbor even while Jack and hismates were still sitting around the fire, disposing of the appetizingmess that had been so skillfully prepared for the crowd.

  "Jack, it's all right!" laughed George.

  "Yes," chimed in Nick, innocently, with a sigh of relief, "they'reheading north, sure as anything."

  "Oh! we forgot there was a pair of 'em, sighing like furnaces," jeeredJosh.

  But Jack and the fat boy only laughed.

  "Rank jealousy, Nick; don't you bother your head about such cruelremarks," said the former, winking to the stout youth.

  "Well, everybody get busy now," said George, jumping to his feet. "Itlooks like we might have a fairly decent day, if that blessed old windkeeps away. My boat rolls like fun when in a wash, and I don't like it abit. Hope we'll have the air out of the southwest today, so we'll beshielded by the shore."

  He hurried off to get aboard. The others were not far behind, for tentshad been taken down, and blankets stowed, while breakfast was beingcooked; so that there was not a great deal to do now.

  Then, after a last survey of the late camp had been taken by cautiousJack, in orde
r to make sure that nothing was forgotten and the firedead, he too stepped into his little dinky, paddled out to where Jimmieawaited him aboard the _Tramp_; and five minutes later the littleflotilla started, amid a tremendous popping of motors, and much callingback and forth on the part of skippers and crews.

  Once outside the protecting cape they headed due nor'-east by north, andkept just a certain distance away from the shore.

  It was a lovely morning, and gave promise of a fine day; but thesecruisers had learned through bitter experience never to wholly trustsuch signs. In summer at any rate, storms can develop with suddenness onthe big lakes, and a squall start to blowing without warning. Hence theyhad adopted as a motto, the slogan of the Boy Scouts: "Be Prepared!"

  George called out to the skipper of the _Tramp_, and pointed ahead,where, several miles to the north could be seen the dim shape of the bigpower boat, rapidly covering the distance that intervened between thecove and charming Mackinac Island.

  "They'll be at Mackinac tonight, all right, Jack!" shouted George, wholed the little procession in his speed boat.

  Jack made no attempt at a reply; but Jimmie took up the cudgels at once.

  "Sure we'll make it by tomorry night, if all goes well," he said; "andbegorra, not wan of our boats is in the same class wid the big wan. Takethe three togither and they'd be only a bite for the _Mermaid_. So webate thim aisy now."

  So they chugged along as time passed. In an hour all signs of the largercraft had passed from their sight. At noon they opened up Thunder Bay;and thinking to make the dangerous crossing of its broad mouth beforehaving lunch, they kept on.

  It was rather rough traveling, especially for the narrow _Wireless_; andacting upon Jack's suggestion George hovered close to the others, so asto have help in case of trouble, and be partly sheltered from therollers by keeping in their lee.

  But the passage was made in safety; and after that their course changedto some extent. The shore turned more toward the northwest, so that theyheaded into the wind, which was creating some sea, in which the smallcraft wallowed considerably.

  An hour later Jack began to cast anxious glances toward the shore,hoping to discover an opening of some sort, in which the fleet mighttake refuge. For the sky was darkening by degrees, and he fancied hecaught the muttering of thunder in the distance.

  On their starboard quarter nothing could be seen but a vast heavingexpanse of water; for Lake Huron at this point stretches more than fiftymiles, before Grand Manitoulin Island is reached to the northeast.

  It would be a bad place for such small craft to be caught in a storm.Still, the shore looked strangely devoid of any indentation, and Jack'sfears increased as the minutes passed without any change for the bettercropping up. But he did not express these aloud, and even his boatmateJimmie, although often casting a look of anxious inquiry at the face ofhis skipper, could not tell what was passing in his mind.

  And then, without any warning, there suddenly came a vivid flash oflightning over in the west, almost immediately followed by an ominousclap of thunder that seemed to make the very air quiver.

  "Say, that looks bad!" called out Josh; who was in the cranky speedboat, and had more reason to be alarmed than most of his comrades.

  "What shall we do, Jack?" asked Herb, whose _Comfort_ was keeping closeon the port side of the boat Jack had charge of.

  "Push on for all we're worth," answered the other. "I think I see aharbor, if only we can make it before the storm breaks. George, youleave us, and drive ahead; for the danger is greater with you than therest. But don't worry fellows; it's all right, we've just got to makethat bay where the point sticks out, and we're going to do it too."