Highness to face the storm. Feeding the engine all she could carry he battled to get south, but it was a hard struggle, like shoving against an immovable, impenetrable wall. It seemed as if the plane barely moved forward, but her propeller screwed valiantly, and slowly they gained against the wind, but it drove them east.

“Any rocks or islands near?” Jim asked.

“Gull Rock, two miles directly east, and Fisher’s Island. That’s a couple of miles long. If you can head into the southern point of our cove, that is protected somewhat from this wind and the water will not be so bad,” the man explained.

“We’ll try it. Do these storms last very long?”

“One never can tell. Sometimes they come and go in less than an hour, and very often they last much longer.”

“Then there is no sense in trying to stay up until it beats itself out,” Jim remarked. He couldn’t say anything more. Another flash of light gave them a brief glimpse of the world but they seemed to be far over the water. Mr. Fenton leaned out to make observations, but was promptly forced back to his seat.

“Wow,” he whistled.

“Better keep low,” Jim advised. Then came a series of flashes, and Mr. Fenton managed to get their location straightened out.

“We’re still a mile north and about half way across the lake,” he volunteered. “I see Fisher’s Point, the north end.”

“Thanks.”

Jim brought the plane about hard, raced her across, then shut off the engine just as a flash revealed the cove at the south end. The boy could see branches being tossed on the waves and hoped hard that none of them would cripple Her Highness when she dropped down. Another prayer he sent up fervently was that the space was wide enough for them to stop short of the rocks. They hit the water, rocked forward and up and down choppily, then stopped, just as someone came racing along the shore waving a lantern.

“Is that you, Norman?” It was Mrs. Fenton and she was so frightened that she could hardly speak. Her face showed white in the darkness and she gripped the light as if she would crush it.

“We’re all present and accounted for, Belle,” her husband answered quickly as he hastened to get loose from the straps.

“Hello everybody!” That was Bob who bobbed up in the back seat 

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