Now we will be all right," breathed Belle. "Oh, I shall never want to
see a motor boat again! The _Flyaway_ is good enough for me."

"Yes, I fancy a motor on the earth myself," Cora agreed, "but, of
course, a little experience like this adds to our general knowledge. I
hope Walter is all right."

"Just hear him laugh," said Jack, as a chuckle came over the water.
"Likely he has struck up with some mermaid. It would be just Wallie's
luck."

The merry voices that could now be heard were reassuring indeed.
Nearer and nearer they came, until the girls actually became interested
to the extent of arranging side combs and otherwise attending to little
niceties, dear to the heart of all girls.

"It's a mermaid, sure," declared Jack. "I heard her giggle!" and he
grabbed out Cora's side comb to arrange his own hair.

"Oh, it is--a girl," whispered Bess to Cora. "I heard her voice."

"I hope she's nice," answered Cora, "but as long as we get some one to
pull us off we have no occasion to be particular."

By this time the rowboat was almost alongside.

"Hurrah!" shouted Jack.

"Also hurray!" added Ed.

"Walter, you're a brick!" exclaimed Cora fervently.

The light of the lantern now fell upon the face of the stranger.

The stranded ones looked upon the countenance of a girl, not perhaps a
very young girl, nor a very pretty girl, but her face was pleasant, and
she pulled a stroke as steady as did Walter.

Walter stood up. He was enveloped in a bath robe!

CHAPTER V

FRIEND OR FOE?

When their launch pulled up to the dock that night, an anxious party
greeted them. Nettie had returned from the city, and upon finding the
cottage deserted had waited a reasonable length of time before
consulting the neighbors. Then she found that the young folks had gone
sailing.

That settled it, for the waters of the bay are never considered too
reliable, and when the girls did not return by ten o'clock Nettie
locked up the cottage and set off for the beach.

Of course, she learned that such a party had gone out, but in what
direction no one along the beach front seemed to know. The upper bay
course was the last thing thought of, and, when Nettie did succeed in
hiring a fisherman to set out and search, he went down the cove
opposite to the course taken by Ed in his motor boat.

In half an hour the fisherman returned, and, as luck would have it, he
brought with him Walter's cap, which had fallen overboard as the y