Chapter XX: Paying the Penalty

Immediately the little fleet of motor boats had taken up a course leading directly for the floating wreck. It looked like the height of folly for such miniature craft to thus put boldly out upon the bosom of that great inland sea; and nothing save a call to duty would ever have influenced Jack to make the venture.

They were strangely quiet as they continued to buffet the oncoming waves. Once in a while some one would ask the wielder of the marine glasses what he could see, and in this way all were kept informed.

Nick was trembling, so that there were times when he could hardly hold the glasses to his eyes.

"I see her!" he suddenly shouted in rapture. "Sallie's still there, fellows! I can tell her among the lot. There, she sees me, I think, for the darling is waving her handkerchief! She wants me to hurry along, fellows; perhaps the blessed waterlogged power boat is getting ready to dip under! Can't you throw on just a little more speed, Herb? Please do, to oblige me."

No one thought to laugh, nor did Josh come up true to his name just then; for somehow they seemed to understand that it was a grave matter, and no time for joking.

Jack could see the figures on the partly submerged boat with the naked eye now, they were getting so close.

"Do you see the other girl, Rita Andrews?" he asked Jimmie; and was more pleased than he cared to show when the Irish boy answered in the affirmative.

"Oh! I only hope we get there in time!" groaned Nick, as he fumbled at the cork life preserver, as though intending to put it on again.

"What are you going to do with that thing, Buster?" demanded Herb, sharply.

"Get it around me," the other replied, unblushingly.

"But you won't need it; there's not the least chance of our upsetting now."

"All the same," Nick responded, calmly; "how do I know but I may have to jump overboard after Sallie? She might slip in her great joy at seeing her preserver so near. And a pretty fellow I'd be not to keep myself ready to do the hero act. Besides, Herb, how do we know that the bally old boat mayn't take a notion to duck under, just when we get close by? I believe in being prepared."

"You're right, Buster," nodded the skipper. "Take my cork jacket too if so be you think you'll need it. But please don't go to jumping over just to show off. You might drown before her very eyes."

"Oh! I'll be careful, Herb. But since you say so, I believe I will keep your cork affair handy. She might need it; because you see, Sallie is no light weight, any more than me."

He crouched there waiting, doubtless counting the seconds as they passed, and anxiously taking note of all that went on in the quarter whence they were headed.

Jack himself grew more nervous the closer they drew to the wreck. He realized that those on board were in extreme peril; for the powerboat seemed to be gradually sinking lower, inch by inch. At almost any time now it might give one tremendous heave, and then plunge, bow first, down in many fathoms of water, perhaps dragging some of the people aboard to death.

But at the same time Jack was figuring just how he and Herb must approach the wreck on the leeward side, where it would in a measure protect the small motor boats from the sweep of the seas. Here they would be able to take aboard as many of the imperiled ones as the rescuing craft could reasonably hold.

Jack also noted that there was a large lifeboat on the sinking craft. Possibly the oars had been swept away, rendering the craft helpless and useless. But if it could only be launched, the crew might occupy this, and be towed to safety by one of the little motor boats.

He fashioned his hands into a megaphone, while Jimmie tended the engine for a minute, and in this way called out:

"Have that boat launched. It will hold the crew, and we will give them a tow to the shore. Quick, sir; you have no time to lose!"

He saw the captain of the powerboat, still wearing his uniform, though without the jaunty blue cap that had once been a part of his makeup, give hurried orders. Then the lifeboat was shoved off the low deck, being held with a rope.

And a few minutes later the _Tramp_ and the _Comfort_ hauled in close under the lee of the big powerboat.

"Ladies first!" sang out Nick, as he balanced himself so as to be able to render any needed assistance.

Greatly to his joy Sallie seemed to choose the _Comfort_ as her refuge. Perhaps she recognized the fact that it was by all odds the largest of the three motor boats, and hence more suitable to her heft. But it would be hard to convince Nick that this was the true reason. She saw him, and was willing to entrust herself in the charge of one who bore himself so gallantly.

Jack meanwhile had the pleasure of assisting the pretty and vivacious little Miss Andrews, whose first name was Rita, into his boat; to be followed by another lady passenger, and then the banker himself. The balance of the passengers managed to embark on the _Comfort_. George stood by, and offered to take one or two; but no one seemed to particularly care to entrust themselves on such a wobbly craft.

The captain and his little crew entered the lifeboat.

"Now, everybody get away as quick as you can!" called the man in uniform, "because she's going down any minute. Make haste, or we may be drawn under by the suction."

George had taken the long rope attached to the bow of the lifeboat, and fastened it securely to a ringbolt at the stern of his _Wireless_. He now started away, as did the other rescuing craft.

And none too soon was this manoeuvre accomplished. Hardly had they gone ten boat lengths before a little shriek from Sallie announced that the final catastrophe was about to take place.

There was an upheaval of the sinking powerboat, a tremendous surge, and then only bubbles and foam on the surface told where the unlucky pleasure craft had vanished.

Little Miss Andrews cried a bit, perhaps because of the nervous excitement; but her father cheered her up.

"Never mind, Rita," he said. "The boat was insured, and we can get another and better one when we want it. But for this season I think we've had about enough of the water. I tell you we ought to think ourselves fortunate to have these fine fellows come out to us just in the nick of time. We'll never forget it, will we, girlie?"

Whereupon Jack was delighted to see the tears give way to a bright smile, as Rita looked at him, and nodded.

"How queer it seems," she remarked demurely, a little later. "First Jack had to save my hat from a watery grave; and now he has rescued poor little me. Yes, I mean that he won't forget us, dad. And I hope that we'll see him some time at our Oak Park home, don't you?"

"We'll try and influence him, and also his brave chums, in whom I find myself deeply interested. Come to think of it, I fancy I already have something of an acquaintance with a Mr. Harvey Stormways, belonging in the town Jack calls his home. The one I met in Chicago was a banker, and a very clever gentleman."

"That is my father," said Jack, rosy with pleasure to think that his parent already knew Rita's father.

Later on they discovered a landing place and managed to get ashore. All of them were delighted to once more set foot on solid land after their recent harrowing experiences.

And such a night they made of it. The captain had wisely secured a lot of stores before leaving the wreck of the _Mermaid_, so that there was little danger of any famine. Besides, as George said, aside, any camp that had been able to withstand the raids and assaults of a Buster all this while, would not be caught without plenty of eatables in the larder.

Around the camp fire they even made merry, since no lives had been lost in the wreck. Mr. Andrews told how they had escaped the first storm, only to be caught in the second, and rammed by some floating object, the nature of which they could only guess.

The pumps were manned, but by slow degrees the water had gained on them in spite of all their herculean efforts. And as we have seen, only for the coming of the motor boat boys a tragedy might have followed.

In the morning Jack promised to take them out to the first steamer that could be signalled, the crew in the lifeboat being towed behind the _Comfort_.

This he did, assisted by Herb.

And the balance of the young cruisers stood on the wooded bank, waving their hats and cheering as long as they could make their voices heard.

Nick was as happy as any one had ever seen him. Sallie had seemed to be fairly smitten with the charms of the fat boy, or else fancied having some girlish fun out of the meeting and their one trait in common; for she certainly had hovered near Buster since breakfast time, "making goo goo eyes at him," as Josh declared. And now Nick, wishing to be in a position to see better than his chums, took the trouble to laboriously climb a tree that hung far out over the water.

Here, high above the heads of the rest, he sat and waved his red sweater, as an object that must attract the sparkling eyes of Miss Sallie longer than an ordinary hat, or white handkerchief.

"Hurray! hurray!" he shouted at the top of his voice; but perhaps Buster may have been too violent in his gestures, or else neglected to maintain his grasp on the limb; for suddenly there was an awful splash, and the fat boy vanished out of sight in the lake, which happened to be fairly deep close up to the shore.