"Don't you think of trying it," called Nick, from the _Wireless_, which was being held in leash by the now cautious skipper. "Why, this racking fever of anxiety would just kill us if it had to keep up much longer, and that's right, fellows, even if George here won't acknowledge the corn."

"Oh! shucks! it isn't half as bad as you make out, Nick. The trouble is, you're so plagued logy you can't keep the balance of the boat.

These thoroughbreds are delicately constructed, you see, and have to be treated different from other boats."

"I should just guess, yes," complained poor Nick, in a dolorous tone.

"A feller has to be thinking of the blessed old boat all the while, and forget his own aches and pains. Why, every muscle in my whole body is sore from the strain."

"I say, Jack, would ye moind turnin' the gla.s.s back yander and tellin'

us what sort of thing that cloud is that hugs the wather so close?

I've been watching the same some time now, and I do think it's comin'

this way," Jimmy remarked, loud enough for the others to hear, so that immediately every eye was quickly turned in the quarter toward which the Irish lad had pointed.

Jack immediately felt a sudden thrill of alarm pa.s.s over him, even before he had focussed the gla.s.ses upon Jimmy's so-called "cloud." He suspected what it might prove to be, and the very thought of being caught out on the ocean by a fog gave him a decidedly unpleasant sensation.

"Say, that ain't a cloud, I bet you," declared Nick.

"Looks more like fog to me," Josh called out, "and as sure as you live, boys, it's creeping down this way and widening out like fun. Hey!

Jack, ain't that fog?"

"It sure is," replied the one who held the gla.s.ses, as he lowered them and cast an anxious look in the direction of the sh.o.r.e, as though he would take a last survey before the land became blotted out.

This was one of the things Jack had feared. A sudden storm of course would have brought alarm in its train; but this silent yet gripping fog might be just as potent a force toward their undoing. Once it enveloped them, they were apt to grope along for hours, possibly working more and more out to see. And when a wind dissipated the fog, perhaps they could not see land!

Jack immediately determined to risk minor dangers by turning in more toward the sh.o.r.e. If he could only listen for the beating of the rollers on the beach, it would be possible to tell when they came to the open bay by the sudden cessation of this sound.

"What are you changing the course for?" demanded George, suspiciously, a minute later, though he followed suit readily enough, determined not to get far away from the other more stable boats.

"We'd better get in nearer sh.o.r.e, so we can hear the sound of the surf," Jack replied.

"Oh! I see, you hope to keep tabs on our course by ear, when the eye fails us; is that it, Jack?" asked Herb.

"That's one reason," Jack called back. "Perhaps we may be able to tell when we're opposite the mouth of the bay, if we listen carefully. But in another five minutes that fog will be down on us, boys, by the way it creeps on, faster than we are going."

"How about signals?" asked George.

"Every boat has a horn of some sort, and you remember what the different blasts mean. The _Tramp_ is a single toot, the _Comfort_ two in quick succession, while your _Wireless_ is denoted by three sharp ones, George. Four will mean that we must turn a little more to starboard, and five, draw closer together for a confab. Got all that, now?"

"All right here, Jack," a.s.sented Herb.

"And ditto with us," declared George.

"Well, be watchful and ready for anything, for here comes the wet blanket to cover us," observed Jack.

It was a nasty fog, as thick as pea soup, as George called out a little later. First the outlines of the sh.o.r.e were blotted out as though by an impenetrable curtain. Then even the boats, close as they were, began to go, until it was no longer possible to distinguish them from the sea of gray vapor around.

Naturally the boys felt exceedingly nervous every minute of the time.

Jack had reduced speed, for he did not wish to run past the mouth of Winyah Bay, if such a thing could be prevented by due caution.

An hour crept along. It seemed like three times that length of time to every one of the listening lads. All this while they had managed to catch that low throbbing sound from the sh.o.r.e. Sometimes it would be very faint, and require careful work in order to locate it; then again the beat of the waves on the sandy strand came quite distinctly.

Somehow, as long as they could catch this rea.s.suring sound, they seemed to feel renewed confidence. And yet the strain was terrible. The day was pa.s.sing, and if night came on, to find them still groping their way in this incertain manner down the South Carolina coast, the prospect would seem gloomy indeed.

No one seemed to care to eat much. Even Nick, for the time being, had gone back on that wonderful appet.i.te of his, and actually turned up his nose when George got out the bag that contained hard tack and cheese, asking the fat boy if he cared to have a "snack" to fortify him against what might yet be in store for them.

"Excuse me," said Nick, loftily. "There are times to eat, but according to my way of thinking this ain't one of 'em. When a feller has to do a lot of high thinking he'd be wise to keep his mind clear and let grub alone."

Truth to tell, Nick was feeling rather squeamish. The swell rolled the narrow boat more than had been the case when they kept further out; and besides, such were his fears that they affected his nerves, and also his stomach.

"All right," said George, who did not happen to be in the same condition, "I'm not a big feeder, but it's always wise to keep up your strength. And talking about letting grub alone, when you once get ash.o.r.e again the way you'll pitch in must make our supplies look sad.

I know you, Nick; you can't fool me."

Nick disdained to make any reply. He even turned his back on the skipper when George started to munch biscuit and cheese.

"What time is it?" asked George, after a while, upon seeing the fat boy look at his little nickel watch, for the tenth time at least.

"Just three o'clock!" groaned Nick, sadly replacing his timepiece and looking longingly toward the west, where he knew solid ground lay, if only they could ever set feet upon it once more.

"And we started out on the sea by eight," remarked George. "Say, that's something worth while; and when we get to talking it over we'll have reason to be proud of the way these bully little boats have served us. Eight hours on the ocean; just think of that, will you?"

The others were close enough to hear what was said, for it was quite still, as the motors were running at a reduced speed.

"Perhaps it may be eighty before we're done!" called Josh, on the right.

"I do believe we're going to bring up on the coast of Ould Ireland before we're through with this job!" Jimmy was saying, from some unseen place on the port side of the _Wireless_, which happened to be occupying the middle berth at the time.

At that the rest broke out into a laugh, though truth to tell there was not any too much mirth about the same.

"Say, I haven't heard anything for nearly five minutes now, Jack!"

called Herb, who, it seemed, was paying strict attention to business, and not bothering about whether he got anything to eat or not, or what would happen in case they headed out into the vast expanse of salt water that stretched across to Africa.

"Same here, Herb," echoed Jack.

"Do you think we've been heading out too far, and is that the reason, Jack?"

"I've got my compa.s.s right before me and, if anything, we've been edging in just a little bit more than at any other time," came Jack's answer.

"Then what?" asked the _Comfort's_ skipper, eagerly.

"Perhaps the bay has opened up, and the sh.o.r.e line is miles away from us!" was the cheering way Jack put it.

"Good for you, commodore!" called Josh.

"Oh! I hope that's so!" wailed Nick.

"But how are we going to find out?" queried Herb.

"By changing our course directly into the west, and taking the bull by the horns," Jack replied, boldly. "We can creep along, you know, and if we've made a mistake, why, it's easy to turn around and bear away again. But somehow, I've got a pretty strong notion things are going to work out all right for us, fellows."

"Hurrah! that's the kind of talk!" cried Nick, beginning to perk up a little, and wonder if after all George might not be right when he said that they owed it to themselves as a duty to eat, whether hungry or not, in order to conserve their strength for any emergency.