. A look of
satisfaction took the place of the frightened expression on his round
face.

"Anyhow, he didn't get me, did he, fellows?" Nick seemed to find a
strange pleasure in repeating time and again, in a hysterical way.

The remainder of the inlet was readily passed, George managing to get a
rope to the skipper of the _Comfort_, who towed the tricky speed boat
to safety.

Jack did not mean to lose that life preserver, and he had Jimmy get it
with the boathook as they passed by. It had served Nick a good turn,
and showed the wisdom of one being always prepared for trouble.

Nick was shaking at a great rate. This might come partly from his
recent excitement, but Jack knew that the air was rather cool to one
who sat in garments saturated with salt water.

"We'd better be on the lookout for a camping ground somewhere on
Paramore Island, here," he remarked. "A fire would come in handy for
Nick; and, besides, I reckon we've done all we ought to for one day.
If tomorrow pans out as lucky, we ought to get in touch with the
lighthouse at Cape Charles."

"Well, I only hope," sighed Nick, between shivers, "that the programme
will be a bit varied tomorrow. If there _has_ to be somebody go
overboard to hunt for mermaids, let me off, won't you, fellows?"

"We'll think it over, Nick," called George, who was taking it easy now,
since his engine was dead, and the _Comfort_ drawing him along in its
wake.

They presently discovered a place that seemed to promise a certain
amount of comfort; and so a landing was made.

"Smells like oysters around here, fellows," was the first remark Nick
made, as he scrambled ashore, and started to thresh his arms about, in
the endeavor to get up a circulation--Jack had advised this as a
preventative against a cold.

"Well, I honestly believe that chap would think of eating if he heard
the angel Gabriel tooting his horn," declared Herb. "He'd say that he
wanted to be fortified again the journey across that old river Styx."

"Sure, I would!" admitted the grinning fat boy, frankly. "Anyhow,
oysters are good stuff, whichever way you take 'em, and that nobody can
deny. Get your old fire going, so I can change my clothes, and have an
hour to gather a crop. Josh said if I got enough he'd give us
scalloped oysters for supper. Yum! yum! don't that just make your
mouths water, boys? It does mine."

The fire was soon going, and beside its cheery heat Nick made the
change. His soaked ga