There were strained faces on the bridge deck then and Ossie was seen to lay a tentative hand on the cushion of the nearer seat.

Steve, with grim countenance, kept his eyes on the rollers, trying his best to follow in the wake of the other boat.

Here and there white water hinted at shoals and it was between two of these that the _Follow Me_ had gone.

Steve eased the wheel and slowed the engine a trifle and the _Adventurer_, rocking in the long swells that were breaking on the beach hardly more than a stone-throw to port, went on.

Steve was in the act of breathing a long sigh of relief when there came a jar that threw several of the boys off their balance and brought cries of consternation to their lips.