"A blow? Pshaw," scoffed Noddy, "there isn't a breath of wind. I wish we could get a blow and cool off."
"Well, your wish is likely to come true before very long," said Jack, who was at the tiller.
"See that cloud bank over yonder, that ragged one?"
"Well, that's as full of wind as an auto tire," said Jack. "I've been watching it for some time. It'll be a nasty storm when it hits us."
"Hadn't we better run in for shelter somewhere?" asked Billy.
"There's so little wind now that I doubt if we could get inshore before the squall hits us," replied Jack. "I'll try to, though."
He headed for the distant shore, where the outlines of some sort of a wooden structure could be seen.
"If it gets very bad we can take refuge there," he said.
"That's so. I've no great fancy for getting wet," said Billy.
"Nor have I. We've had enough experiences of late to last us a long time," laughed Jack.
"And I was left out of every one of them," grumbled Noddy.
"For which you ought to be duly thankful," said Billy.
"Yes, I didn't enjoy that stone house much, or the soot," declared Jack.
"That cave didn't make much of a hit with me, either," said Billy. "My, those green eyes gave me a scare. I thought it was a bear or a mountain lion, sure; but they say there aren't any such animals in this part of the country."
"Abner said it must have been a lynx," said Jack.
"That being the case, you should have cuffed it," chuckled Noddy.
For the time being he escaped punishment for perpetrating this alleged pun, for the wind began to freshen and the _Curlew_ slid through the water like a thing of life. The shore drew rapidly nearer.
But the cloud curtain spread with astonishing rapidity, till the whole sky was covered. The water turned from green to a dull leaden hue. Puffs of wind came with great velocity, heeling over the _Curlew_ till the foam creamed in her lee scuppers.
The wind moaned in a queer, eerie sort of way, that bespoke the coming of a storm of more than ordinary severity. Jack was a prey to some anxiety as he held the _Curlew_ on her course. If they could not make the dock he was aiming for before the storm struck, there might be serious consequences.
But, to his great relief, they reached the wharf, a tumble-down affair, before the tempest broke. The _Curlew_ was made "snug," and this had hardly been done before a mighty gust of wind, followed by a blanket of rain, tore through the air.