CHAPTER XV.

A WARM WELCOME TO THE STORMY CAPE.

There was no time to waste.

One last glance around told Jack the necessity for prompt action, if he
wished to pull the little flotilla out of the bad hole in which they
seemed settled.

The storm was racing up from the southwest, beyond the distant
mainland. Consequently, the eastern side of the great shallow sound
would presently become a boisterous place for craft the size of theirs.

"We've got to head into it, fellows!" was his decision, as he began to
change the course of the _Tramp_ to conform with his views.

It looked like heroic treatment, but neither Herb nor George murmured.
They saw what the commodore had in mind, and that every mile they were
able to forge ahead would decrease the peril. Indeed, if they could
only manage to reach a point close in to that western shore, they would
escape the brunt of the rising waves, and only have to think of holding
their own against the wind itself.

"Full speed, _Comfort_?" called Jack, waving an encouraging hand toward
the other.

Now George found himself perplexed as to what his course should be. He
knew he could make almost twice the speed that the lumbering broad beam
boat was able to display at her best. The question was, did he dare
risk it?

True, the _Wireless_ was in more danger out on that wide stretch than
any of the others, and it seemed good policy for him to speed for
shelter. But what if one of those exasperating breakdowns, to which
the mechanism of the narrow boat seemed subject, should take place
without warning?

George shuddered as he contemplated such a possibility. He could
easily imagine his feelings upon being cast helplessly adrift in the
midst of a raging gale, with his tried and true chums hidden from his
sight by the rain and blowing spindrift.

And so his decision was quickly made. Of the two evils he chose what
seemed to be the lesser. He would stick to the fleet. Then, in case
of trouble, they could help each other like comrades.

Jack had kept an eye on the _Wireless_, for he guessed that just this
puzzling question would come up for George to solve. And when he
failed to see the speed boat shooting away, leaving the others in the
lurch, he understood that the wise skipper had decided on the better
way.

They were making fine headway, but all the same the storm was doing
likewise; and unfortunately, at the time, they happened to be quite a
few miles away fr