"If you girls want to go for a
spin, I think I can guarantee to get you safely back."
"Oh, we're not afraid on a day like this," replied Nellie. "There's no
sign of a storm. Come on girls."
She and her sisters got in, followed by Ned and Bob. Jerry was already
in the small cabin, set aside for the engineer. He was testing various
wheels and levers, seeing that the oil feed cups worked well, and
looking to the sparking system.
"All ready?" he asked.
"Let her go, Captain Jerry," called Bob, as he cast off the lines, and
the Ripper, with her new commander and crew, started off.
Jerry found he could manage the engine about as well as the one that
had been in the Dartaway. He soon had the motor going almost at full
speed, and the way the boat cut through the water was a revelation to
the boys. They had never ridden so fast in a motor boat before.
Straight out to sea Jerry headed the craft, and the weather was so
pleasant, the water so calm, and the sense of swift motion so
enthralling, that, before they knew it, they had gone several miles.
"Oh!" suddenly exclaimed Rose, as she came from the small cabin, and
glanced back toward the shore, "I can't see anything."
"It is a bit hazy," admitted Ned.
"Must have blown up a little fog," spoke Jerry. "I guess we'll put
back. It didn't look as it was going to be thick weather when we
started."
He swung the boat around and headed for what he supposed was the
shore. As the boat speeded on the mist became thicker, until they
could scarcely see two hundred feet ahead of them.
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