y, and then, with a
shriek and a roar, the wind struck them.

The boat heeled over so far on its side that Henry thought at first they
were gone, but after hanging for a moment or two, seemingly undecided,
it righted itself, and the five uttered simultaneous sighs of relief.
Yet the boat had shipped water which Paul began to bail out with his
cap, while the others strove at the oars, seeking to meet and ride the
waves which followed one another swiftly. The rain meanwhile was driving
hard, and they were drenched, but they had no time to think of such
things. Every effort was bent towards keeping afloat the boat, which was
rushing before the wind they knew not whither.

"There's a pail in that little locker," shouted Henry to Paul, "you can
do better with that than with your cap."

Paul opened the locker, and took out the pail. Then with great
difficulty he closed the locker again, and set to work keeping the boat
clear of water. He made much better progress with the pail, but now and
then wind, rain and the rocking of the boat together threw him to his
knees. His comrades were working full as hard. They made up for lack of
experience with strength, intuitive quickness and courage. Often the
boat seemed to be submerged by the crest of a great wave, but every time
it emerged right side up with the industrious Paul still bailing.

Meantime the wind kept up a continuous screaming, almost like that of a
wild animal, a fearful sound which got upon the nerves of them all.
Except when the lightning flared they were surrounded by a darkness like
that of night. Suddenly Tom Ross shouted in a voice that could be heard
above the whistling of the wind:

"Jim, you're seein' the Great Lakes at last!"

Then he bent grimly to his oar.

Luckily the boat they had taken was a strong one, built partly for the
storms which sometimes drive with such force across Erie, the shallowest
of the five Great Lakes, and with the aid of the strong arms at the helm
and oars she managed to ride every wave and swell. But it was a long
time before the wind began to abate and they were half dead with
exhaustion. Moreover they were covered with bruises where they had been
hurled against the sides of the boat, and now and then they were almost
blinded by the water dashing into their faces. Shif'less Sol afterward
said that he felt as if some strong-armed man were slapping his cheek
every minute or two.

Yet hope began to return. They had kept afloat