At this a shadow overspread the owner's face and he turned to Dr.

Sterling.

"Sorry, Doc," he said. "What did you tell me about getting to town before dark?"

"I merely mentioned the fact that Miss Calvert should be early to bed, because she appears at a concert to-morrow evening, and it is necessary that she feel as well as possible."

"It is after four now," said Mr. Ronald, looking at his watch, "and I don't know what to tell you until Sharley--that's my engineer--locates the trouble."

"Then perhaps we had better withhold from those on deck the fact that there may be an indefinite delay, merely making the general statement that the trouble is being rectified as rapidly as possible."

"Very well; will you tell them, and make my excuses? I shall want to stay pretty close here till this trouble is found."

"I'll tell them," said the doctor, and motioning Jim to follow went on deck. So the news which, poorly told, might have brought consternation to Dorothy and her aunt, merely aroused their curiosity. Soon they were laughing and talking with all thoughts of the accident gone from their minds.

Meanwhile, below, Mr. Ronald, Sharley and the a.s.sistant engineer, were going over every inch of the gasoline motors, hoping to find what had been the cause of their sudden refusal to do their work.

Screws were tightened and several other minor matters remedied. Then Sharley signaled the pilot house that he was going to try her again.

Having tested his batteries with the buzzer, and adjusted the timer, he turned on the gasoline and slowly opened the throttle.

There was no response.

Sharley repeated the operation several times without getting the desired explosion. Then he retested the batteries with the buzzer and adjusted the carburetor, discovering that the gasoline had not been turned on at that point--or, at least, had been turned off after the trouble started. More cranking followed, but without success.

The _Nautilus_ was now drifting in toward the sh.o.r.e, and a peep through a porthole told Sharley that he would be upon the sands of Rockaway if something were not done soon.

"Told you she ought to have a sail equipment for emergencies," he said to Mr. Ronald.

"Yes; you told me--that's not your fault. The question now is, what are we going to do?"

"Nothing that I can see but throw out our anchor. Ain't more than twenty feet of water here, and she's growing less all the time."

"But I can't throw out the anchor without alarming the ladies."

"Have to alarm 'em, then, I guess. That's better than going aground and paying somebody salvage to get you off, eh, Mr. Ronald?" and the engineer laughed.

Mr. Ronald admitted the force of the statement, then went on deck to break the news to his guests.

CHAPTER XIV

THE STORM

Mr. Ronald's appearance on deck was the signal for a jubilant shout from Dorothy, Molly and Jim.

"Now we'll be off again in a jiffy!" Molly cried. "I can see it in Mr. Ronald's face."

"Which only goes to show that looks are really deceiving," returned the owner of the yacht, good-naturedly.

"What!" cried Dorothy, while Molly gave vent to a disappointed, "Oh!"

"Do you mean that the engineer hasn't yet got to the seat of the trouble?" queried Dr. Sterling.

"I regret to say that his efforts are not meeting with the success we had hoped for, and as we are slowly drifting in toward the beach, with only a few feet of water under our keel, we shall be forced to drop anchor, pending further developments in the engine-room."

"That means that the trouble is serious," groaned Aunt Betty.

"Not necessarily," said Judge Breckenridge, in an encouraging tone, "but if we run aground we will be 'suah 'nuff' in trouble, as old Ephraim would say."

"The trouble is merely temporary, I a.s.sure you," Mr. Ronald went on.

"If you will excuse me again, I'll order the anchor dropped. Then we can at least make our minds easy as to where we will stay until the trouble is located."

The others nodded their a.s.sent and he hurried forward. A moment later, with a rattling of chains, the anchor plunged into the waters of the bay.

Mr. Ronald then rejoined his guests, and in spite of the anxiety that was surging in Dorothy's breast, she entered into the spirit of the occasion with the others. Story and jest rang out over the water as the sun gradually approached the horizon.

It was after six when Sharley came on deck to say that the trouble was as elusive as ever.

"We've been over every inch of her," he said, "and can't find a thing the matter. Yet, she won't budge an inch. The gasoline supply is O.

K., and the batteries are in good shape. There's no trouble at all about exploding the spark, but I can't get the engine to turn a wheel, sir."

Mr. Ronald cast an uneasy glance toward the eastern sky, where a heavy bank of clouds was appearing above the sky-line. The rapidity with which they were approaching seemed to indicate that a storm was brewing. He said nothing of this to his guests, though, but smilingly remarked that he would go below again to go over the matter another time with Sharley. Then owner and engineer disappeared below decks together.

Anxiously those on deck awaited some report from the engine-room; but the minutes slipped by and none came.

Finally, Dorothy noticed the approaching storm, and gave vent to a startled exclamation, which, caused Aunt Betty to jump, and Molly to grab her chum nervously by the arm.

"What is it?" Aunt Betty wanted to know.

Dorothy extended her finger toward the formidable looking bank of clouds.

"A storm is coming," she replied, "and if we don't hurry and fix the engines we shall be caught in it."

As if in answer to Dorothy's remark, Mr. Ronald appeared on deck at this instant. His face wore a troubled expression and the hopes of the guests fell as they noticed it.

"It's of no use; we can't find the trouble," he said. "Looks very like we were in a trap and destined to quite a stay."

The wind had already commenced to blow. The _Nautilus_ had swung around bow on to the east and was tugging viciously at her anchor.

"If some other boat would only come by and pick us up!" cried Aunt Betty. "Why, we may have to stay out here all night."

"What of it?" queried Judge Breckenridge.

"Why, Dorothy will be in no shape for the concert to-morrow night--that's what of it. And Herr and Frau Deichenberg will be worried over our continued absence."

"The cabin of the yacht will afford comfortable sleeping quarters for you ladies," said Mr. Ronald. "I regret this occurrence, but now that we are here, with no prospect for getting away under several hours, we must make the best of a bad bargain."