Part 22 (2/2)

For a long time n.o.body spoke--they were too busy listening to the weird meanings of the fog horns and wondering how they could have escaped a collision so long. For a while Paul had kept the engine running in the hope that he might be able to keep to his course and eventually get to Lighthouse Island. But he had decided that this only made a collision more likely, and so had shut it off. And now they had been floating for what seemed hours to the miserable boys and girls.

It was Connie who finally broke the silence.

”Oh, dear,” she said, apropos of nothing at all, ”now I suppose we'll have to die and never solve our mystery after all.” She sighed plaintively, and the girls had a wild desire to shout with laughter and cry at the same time.

”Goodness,” said Laura hysterically, ”if we've got to die who cares about mysteries anyway?”

The boys, who had been peering ahead into the heavy unfriendly fog, looked at the girls in surprise.

”What do you mean--mystery?” Ferd asked.

Before the girls could answer a sharp cry from Paul jerked their eyes back to him.

”Look!” he cried, one hand on the wheel and the other pointing excitedly before them to a dark something which loomed suddenly out of the mist.

”There! To starboard. We'll b.u.mp it sure!”

CHAPTER XXI

THE BOYS ARE INTERESTED

For a moment the girls were too terrified to speak. And the next moment they could not have spoken if they had wanted to, for _The Sh.e.l.ling_ collided so suddenly with whatever it was that had risen out of the mist that they had all they could do to keep from being thrown to the deck.

Then Paul gave a cry of joy and sprang wildly to the side of the boat.

”Say, how's this for luck, fellows?” he cried. ”I thought it was another boat and that we were bound for Davy Jones' locker sure, and here it's the dock instead. Say, talk about luck! I'll say it's grand!”

”The dock!” the others echoed wonderingly. The sudden relief was so great that they were feeling rather dazed.

”You mean it's our dock--Lighthouse Island?” Connie asked stupidly, and Paul's answer was impatient.

”I guess it is--looks like it,” he said. ”But then it doesn't matter much what dock it is as long as it's _a_ dock. What do you people say to going ash.o.r.e?”

What they said was soon shown by the eagerness with which they scrambled on to the dock. And when they found that it was really Lighthouse Island dock their thankfulness was mixed with awe.

”Why, it's a miracle!” said Vi, staring wide-eyed about her.

”That's just about what it looks like,” agreed Chet soberly.

”A miracle!” exclaimed Ferd derisively. ”It's just that the wind and the tide happened to be going in the right way, that's all.”

”Well, it's a miracle that the wind and the tide did happen to be going the right way,” retorted Laura.

”Yes, and it's another miracle,” said Billie softly, ”that even with the wind and the tide going the right way we didn't run into something before we got here.”

”I guess we did come pretty close to it,” said Teddy soberly, staring out into the heavy mist that still showed no sign of lifting. ”I don't know about the rest of you, but I do know that I'm mighty glad to be on the good old ground again. It beats the water, just now.”

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