By Sheer Pluck | Page 5

go out too far, for the wind is freshening fast, and we shall
have, I think, a nasty night."
The boys thought little of the warning, for the sky was bright and blue,
broken only by a few gauzy white clouds which streaked it here and
there. They rowed out about a mile, and then laying in their oars,
lowered their grapnel and began to fish. The sport was good. The fish
bit freely and were rapidly hauled on board. Even Frank was so
absorbed in the pursuit that he paid no attention to the changing aspect
of the sky, the increasing roughness of the sea, or the rapidly rising
wind.
Suddenly a heavy drop or two of rain fell in the boat. All looked up.
"We are in for a squall," Frank exclaimed, "and no mistake. I told you
you would get a ducking, Ruthven."
He had scarcely spoken when the squall was upon them. A deluge of
rain swept down, driven by a strong squall of wind.
"Sit in the bottom of the boat," Frank said; "this is a snorter."
Not a word was said for ten minutes, long before which all were
drenched to the skin. With the rain a sudden darkness had fallen, and
the land was entirely invisible. Frank looked anxiously towards the
shore. The sea was getting up fast, and the boat tugging and straining at
the cord of the grapnel. He shook his head. "It looks very bad," he said
to himself. "If this squall does not abate we are going to have a bad
time of it."
A quarter of an hour after it commenced the heavy downpour of rain
ceased, or rather changed into a driving sleet. It was still extremely
dark, a thick lead colored cloud overspread the sky. Already the white
horses showed how fast the sea was rising, and the wind showed no
signs of falling with the cessation of the rain storm. The boat was
laboring at her head rope and dipping her nose heavily into the waves.
"Look here, you fellows," Frank shouted, "we must take to the oars. If
the rope were a long one we might ride here, but you know it little
more than reached the ground when we threw it out. I believe she's
dragging already, and even if she isn't she would pull her head under
water with so short a rope when the sea gets up. We'd better get out the
oars and row to shore, if we can, before the sea gets worse."

The lads got up and looked round, and their faces grew pale and
somewhat anxious as they saw how threatening was the aspect of the
sea. They had four oars on board, and these were soon in the water and
the grapnel hauled up. A few strokes sufficed to show them that with
all four rowing the boat's head could not be kept towards the shore, the
wind taking it and turning the boat broadside on.
"This will never do," Frank said. "I will steer and you row, two oars on
one side and one on the other. I will take a spell presently.
"Row steadily, Ruthven," he shouted; "don't spurt. We have a long row
before us and must not knock ourselves up at the beginning."
For half an hour not a word was spoken beyond an occasional cheery
exhortation from Frank. The shore could be dimly seen at times
through the driving mist, and Frank's heart sank as he recognized the
fact that it was further off than it had been when they first began to row.
The wind was blowing a gale now, and, although but two miles from
shore, the sea was already rough for an open boat.
"Here, Ruthven, you take a spell now," he said.
Although the rowers had from time to time glanced over their shoulders,
they could not, through the mist, form any idea of their position. When
Ruthven took the helm he exclaimed, "Good gracious, Frank! the shore
is hardly visible. We are being blown out to sea."
"I am afraid we are," Frank said; "but there is nothing to do but to keep
on rowing. The wind may lull or it may shift and give us a chance of
making for Ramsgate. The boat is a good sea boat, and may keep afloat
even if we are driven out to sea. Or if we are missed from shore they
may send the lifeboat out after us. That is our best chance."
In another quarter of an hour Ruthven was ready to take another spell at
the oar. "I fear," Frank shouted to him as he climbed over the seat,
"there is no chance whatever of making shore. All we've got to do is to
row steadily and