The next day they anxiously waited for Jack"s decision; but the wind was much too strong, and from a quarter that caused whitecaps to appear out on the ocean.
So the start had to be postponed, much to the regret of the entire six, all of whom wished to get the dangerous run over with as speedily as possible.
"Better luck tomorrow, fellows," said Jack, who had made it a point to look at things in the light that it was foolish to worry over what could not be altered.
"Then here"s to put in a whole day, fishing over on that pier at the beach," declared Nick, making a run for the place where the three motor boats were at anchor.
"Whirra! now, if ye do be afther thinking ye"re going to get me goat, it"s another guess ye do be having, I"m telling ye, Nick, me bhoy!"
remarked Jimmy, as he also hastened away.
And they kept diligently at it through the better part of the entire day, though with indifferent success. Either the fish were shy, knowing the grim determination of the two patient anglers, or else it was a poor day for the sport.
When they mutually agreed to give it up, while they had a mess that would do for supper, neither of them had added any notch to his record for big fish.
As October is possibly the best time of the year to expect quiet weather along the South Atlantic coast, Jack had high hopes that the morrow would see them on their way toward Miami. Nor were his expectations doomed to disappointment, for in the morning there seemed to be not the slightest reason for further postponing the run.
Accordingly hurried preparations for breakfast were made, in order to take full advantage of the opportunity.
All of them were glad when they made the dash over the Lake Worth bar in good order, and found themselves on the heaving bosom of the mighty sea, with their motor boats pointing to the south.
Steadily they kept on, as the hours pa.s.sed, and the sun mounted in the sky. Jack was ever on the watch for any sign of a change, knowing what such might mean to cruisers in small boats caught far from a harbor.
Jimmy was watching his face, under the belief that he could tell in that way if any trouble threatened. When he saw how the skipper of the _Tramp_ turned his gla.s.ses frequently toward the southwest, he took a look in that quarter himself.
"And is it the clouds that do be paping up along beyant the sh.o.r.e line giving ye concern, Jack?" he asked, a bit anxiously.
"Well, I don"t know as they mean much, but all the same I think I"d feel better if we were swinging to our mudhooks back of Key Biscayne," Jack replied.
"About how far do we chanst to be away, this minute?" the other continued.
"All of ten miles, which would mean an hour"s run for the _Comfort_.
This is the time when she drags us back. George and myself could have made shelter an hour ago, if we had wanted to put on all speed. And I just know George is growling to himself right now, because he has to check his love for racing along."
Jack had hardly said these words when Jimmy broke out into a laugh.
"Now, that do be a toime when ye are away off, me bhoy," he remarked.
"In what way, Jimmy?" demanded the skipper, laying his gla.s.ses aside, and taking the wheel from the hands of his helper.
"If so ye take a look over to the blissed ould _Wireless_, upon me worrd ye"ll discover that the bally boat has stopped short. Like enough that ingine has gone back on poor George again, just as it always does when we get in a place where it counts. Yes, he"s beckoning for us to come close. That"s what it must mean, Jack."
"Whew! that would be tough luck!" muttered Jack, as he changed the course of the little _Tramp_, and again cast an uneasy look in the direction where those suspicious and dark clouds were shoving their heads above the horizon.
A storm, and the _Wireless_ helpless--the prospect was surely anything but pleasant.
CHAPTER V.
THE MYSTERIOUS POWER BOAT.
"Jerusalem! if I owned that engine, George, do you know what I"d do with it?" Nick was heard to say, as the others drew near. "Why, I"d take the first chance, when in touch with a town, and sink her miles deep. Hang it, I"d be willing to contribute half the money I"ve got saved, to help get a new engine for the old shaker."
"All right, I take you up on that offer, Nick," George made answer, as quick as a flash; "because, to tell the honest truth, I"m getting weary of the cranky thing myself. But that isn"t going to help us any now.
Lend a hand here, and let"s see what we can do to mend matters."
"Hold on there, fellows," called out Jack.
"h.e.l.lo! here"s the commodore arrived," George sang out, with a nervous little laugh. "Same old story, Jack; and blessed if I can say how long it"ll take to fix her up again, so she"ll do business. Might be ten minutes; and again I"m afraid it may be something serious this time, that will keep me busy hours."
"Well, we can"t stay out here all that time, with a storm in prospect,"
said Jack.
"Thunder! what"s that you say?" broke from the perspiring skipper of the stalled _Wireless_, as his head again bobbed up into view, and he swept an anxious look in all quarters.
"There"s a bank of clouds poking up over yonder that may mean trouble,"
Jack went on to say. "So just get your stoutest cable hitched to a cleat forward, and pa.s.s me the other end."
"What for?" asked George.
"I"m going to tow you, that"s all," Jack replied.
"Shucks! is that necessary?" demanded the proud George, with a slight frown.
"It sure is, for every furlong we cover now brings us that much nearer a safe harbor; and if those clouds are out for business, we"ll need all we can gain," Jack went on to insist.
"Then I suppose I"ll just have to," the other continued; "here, Nick, get out the hawser, and I"ll clamp it on to this cleat. But see here, Jack, after you get started, Nick can keep watch while I work at the engine, can"t he?"
"Nothing for him to do but hold the wheel and keep straight after me.
Perhaps when the little _Tramp_ does her prettiest, the two of us can keep going as fast as the _Comfort_ goes; and so nothing will have been lost after all, George."
"That"s true; only I don"t like it one little bit," grunted George, as he commenced to fasten one end of the hawser to the stout little cleat--for, to tell the truth, George was a mighty poor loser.
Once Jack had the other end of the line, he made it secure to the stern of his own staunch boat.
"Here goes now; look out!" he warned, as he started forward once more.
The three boats had been wallowing on the heaving seas while power was shut off; but no sooner did they pick up their course again, than this sickening motion gave way to that of progress.
George took off his coat, and got busy. He was considerable of a mechanic, and at least possessed the commendable trait of persistence.
Once he had started to do a thing he never rested satisfied until it was accomplished.
"Seems like you"re doing just as well pulling that wreck as we are alone!" called Herb from the _Comfort_, which was not more than fifty feet away.
George"s head came into view above the gunwale of the speed boat, but somehow this time he was feeling quite too bad to take up cudgels in defense of his craft. Besides, there was truth in calling her a wreck just then. So he ducked down once more and pretended not to have heard the sarcastic allusion.
"Just what I expected when I proposed to tow George," Jack answered; and then he turned the gla.s.ses ahead to a point that seemed to interest him considerably.