"That's because you've been so busy at the office," smiled his mother.

"We were moving right along," agreed Tom. "I got the forms all ready for the next issue and Helen has the editorials done."

"Won't you need a reporter?" asked Margaret.

"We may need one but Helen and Mother are going to try and do all the news writing," said Tom.

"I mean a reporter who would work for nothing. I'd like to help for I've always wanted to write."

"You could be a real help, Margaret," said Helen, "and we'd enjoy having you help us. Keep your ears open for all of the personal items and tell Mother about any parties. She's going to write the society news."

"We're getting quite a staff," smiled Tom. "I'm open for applications of anyone who wants to work in the mechanical department."

"That's not as romantic as gathering and writing news," said Margaret.

"But just as important," insisted Tom.

The room darkened and a particularly heavy gust of wind shook the house.

From the west came a low rumbling.

Tom dropped his knife and fork and went to the front porch.

"Come here, Helen!" he cried. "The storm's breaking. You're going to have your first big story right now!"

CHAPTER IV _Through the Storm_

Tom's cry brought the others from the dinner table to the screened-in porch which overlooked the lake. He was right. The storm was roaring down out of the hills in the west in all its fury.

The black clouds which had been rolling along the horizon when Tom and Helen had come home were ma.s.sed in a solid, angry front. Driven by a whistling wind, they were sweeping down on the lake. An ominous fringe of yellow wind clouds dashed on ahead and as they reached the porch they saw the waters of Lake Dubar whiten before the fury of the wind.

"Looks like a twister," shouted Tom.

His mother's face whitened and she anxiously scanned the sky.

Doctor Stevens ran across from his home.

"Better close all your windows and secure the doors," he warned. "We're going to get a lot of wind before the rain comes."

"Tom is afraid of a tornado," said Mrs. Blair.

"The weather is about right," admitted the doctor. "But we won't worry until we see the clouds start to swirl. Then we'll run for the storm cellar under my house."

Helen and Margaret hurried to help Mrs. Blair close the upstairs windows while Tom went around to make sure that the screens were secure. He bolted all doors except the one to the porch and when he returned to join the others, the tempo of the wind was increasing rapidly.

The wind suddenly dropped to a whisper and Doctor Stevens watched the rolling clouds with renewed anxiety. The waters of the lake were calmer and the dust clouds which the wind had driven over the water cleared partially.

"Look!" cried Helen. "There's a motorboat trying to reach one of the boathouses here!"

Through the haze of dust which still hung over the lake they could discern the outline of a boat, laboring to reach the safety of the Rolfe end of the lake.

"It's Jim Preston," said Doctor Stevens. "He goes down to the summer resorts at the far end of the lake every Sunday morning with the mail and papers."

"His boat's got a lot of water in it from the way it is riding," added Tom. "If the storm hits him he'll never make it."

"Jim should have known better than to have taken a chance when he could see this mess of weather brewing," snorted the doctor.

"His wife's sick," put in Mrs. Blair, "and Jim's probably taken an extra risk to get home as soon as possible."

"I know," said Doctor Stevens.

"He's bailing by hand," cried Tom. "That means something has gone wrong with the water pump on the engine."

"Can you see what boat he has?" asked Doctor Stevens.

"It looks like the Flyer," said Helen, who knew the lines of every motorboat on the lake.

"That's the poorest wet weather boat Jim has," said Doctor Stevens.

"Every white cap slops over the side. She's fast but a death trap in a storm. Either the Liberty or the Argosy would eat up weather like this."

"Jim's been overhauling the engines in his other boats," said Tom, "and the Flyer is the only thing he has been using this spring."

"Instead of standing here talking, let's get down to the sh.o.r.e," said Helen. "Maybe we can get someone to go out and help him."

Without waiting for the others to reply, Helen started running toward the lake. She heard a cry behind her and turned to see Tom pointing toward the hills in the west.

The wind was whistling again and when she turned to look in the direction her brother pointed, she stopped suddenly. The black storm clouds were ma.s.sing for the main attack and they were rolling together.

In the seconds that Helen watched, she saw them swirl toward a common center, heard the deafening rise of the wind and trembled as the clouds, now formed in a great funnel, started toward the lake.

"Come back, Helen, come back!" Tom shouted.

Forcing herself to overcome the storm terror which now gripped her, Helen looked out over the boiling waters of the lake.

The wind was whipping into a new frenzy and she could just barely see the Flyer above the white-capped waves. Jim Preston was making a brave effort to reach sh.o.r.e and Helen knew that the little group at her own home were probably the only ones in Rolfe who knew of the boatman's danger. Seconds counted and ignoring the warning cries from her brother, she hurried on toward the lake.

The noise of the oncoming tornado beat on her ears, but she dared not look toward the west. If she did she knew she would turn and race for the shelter and security of Doctor Stevens' storm cellar.

The Flyer was rolling dangerously as Jim Preston made for the sh.o.r.e and Helen doubted if the boatman would ever make it.

On and on the sleek craft pushed its way, the waves breaking over its slender, speedy nose and cascading back into the open c.o.c.kpit in which Jim Preston was bailing furiously. The Flyer was nosing deeper into the waves as it shipped more water. When the ignition wires got wet the motor would stop and Preston's last chance would be gone.

Helen felt someone grab her arms. It was Tom.

"Come back!" he cried. "The tornado will be on us in another five minutes!"