Ned waited beside the buttonwood tree until another flash gave him a
brief glimpse of the boat far below the island. Then he hurried back to
the tent and crawled under the rear end. The boys immediately besieged
him with questions, and their anxiety was quickly allayed.

"The canoes are safe," said Ned, as he relighted the lantern. "The tree
that fell was on the other island. I don't think the storm can last much
longer, I believe the wind is subsiding a little now."

He was about to tell them of the strange boat and its occupant that had
passed down the channel, when a terrific blast checked the words on his
lips. The tent swayed to and fro, and just at this critical moment one
of the front flaps tore free of the strings that held it to the pole.

The gale instantly swept under the canvas, lifted the tent bodily, and
whirled it through the air, leaving the amazed boys exposed to the
driving rain.

Ned snatched the lantern and ran down the island. The others followed
him, and when they reached the buttonwood tree they saw the tent
floating limply on the waves twenty feet beyond the canoes.

"We must recover it at all hazards," cried Ned hoarsely. "Our cruise is
ruined if we don't. Who will go with me?"

"I will," replied Randy.

"And I," added Clay.

"One is enough," said Ned. "I'll take Randy. If the wind prevents us
from getting back don't you fellows be alarmed. Keep out of the rain as
much as possible, and if your clothes get wet put on dry ones."

There was no time to lose, for the tent had drifted into the fierce
current below the island, and was already out of sight. There was great
danger of its sinking as soon as the canvas became thoroughly soaked.

Hastily untying their canoes from the roots of the tree, Ned and Randy
paddled away in the darkness, leaving Clay and Nugget to make the best
of their desertion.

It was a bad night to be on the water. The storm was still raging, and
the surface of the creek was lashed with great foamy billows. The boys
did not find the tent immediately.

In fact the wind and the current together drove them a quarter of a mile
down stream before they could control their canoes sufficiently to head
them around. And even when they accomplished this they found it out of
the question to return. Not one inch could they gain in the teeth of the
blast, though they paddled hard and fast.

Fortunately the canoes were empty, and this rendered them safe and
buoyant, so that