what I must
do?"

"Don't be frightened," soothed Madge. "They can't force you to marry
Bill or any one else against your will. Phil and I will take care of
you. Come with us. We are going over to our houseboat now. Your
father need not know what has become of you. Hurry!" Madge was
listening intently for sounds announcing the coming of Mollie's
pursuers. So far the girls were safe. A moment more and they would be
in their rowboat.

Linking their arms within Mollie's her rescuers hurried her along.
Straight to the water's edge they ran, then a cry of consternation went
up from the two girls.

"O Madge! what shall we do? We forgot all about the tide," mourned
Phil. "It has gone out, and now we'll have to drag our heavy boat half
a mile through the sand to the water or else wait until the tide runs
in again before we can get away from the island."

CHAPTER XVII

THE CAPTURE

Madge hurried down to where their rowboat lay. She dragged the anchor
out of the sand and pulled at the skiff with all her might. Phil also
took hold and together the two girls worked like beavers, but without
success. The boat was firmly wedged in the sand.

"Is there any place on the island where we can hide, Mollie?"
questioned Phil as the two girls rested for a moment from their
fruitless effort. "We can not leave here until the tide turns."

"I know a cave," said Mollie hesitatingly. "It is in the woods not
very far from the beach. But I am afraid they will find us there."

"We had better go to it," urged Madge, wiping the perspiration from her
tired face. "At least we can hide in the cave for a while, until we
make up our minds what is best for us to do, We may not be discovered
until the tide turns. Later on I shall slip down here again to see if
things are safe, and then we can make a run for our boat. If we wait
here along the shore, we shall not have the least chance of escaping.
The first person who comes to look for Mollie will surely see us. Come
on. We have no time to lose."

This time Mollie led the way through a tangle of trees and underbrush
to the center of the little island. Here they found the cave which was
only an opening behind an immense old tree that had been uprooted by a
storm. A flat rock protruded over the hollow, and the sand had
gradually drifted away until the cavity was hardly large enough to hold
the three girls. These were cramped quarters, and they were only
partially prot