y, Ruthie!" Helen murmured, "I believe you like this."

Her chum did not hear the words, but she suddenly flashed Helen a
brilliant smile. "Keep up your pluck, child!" she shouted. "We'll come out
all right."

Again the _Stazy_ staggered under the side swipe of a big wave.

"Ye-ow!" yelped Tom in the stern, almost diving overboard.

"Steady!" shouted Skipper Gordon, excitedly.

"Steady she is, Captain!" rejoined Ruth Fielding, and actually laughed.

"How can you, Ruth?" complained Jennie, clinging to Henri Marchand. "And
when we are about to drown."

"Weeping will not save us," flung back Ruth.

Her strong hands held the wheel-spokes with a grip unbreakable. She could
force the _Stazy's_ head to the seas.

"Can you start the engine on the reverse, Miss?" bawled Gordon.

"I can try!" flashed Ruth. "Say when."

In a moment the cry came: "Ready!"

"Aye, aye!" responded Ruth, spinning the flywheel.

The spark caught almost instantly. The exhaust sputtered.

"Now!" yelled the skipper.

Ruth threw the lever. The boat trembled like an automobile under the
propulsion of the engine. The propeller shaft groaned.

"Ye-ow!" shouted the excited Tom again.

This time he sprawled back into the bottom of the boat, tearing away a
good half of Jennie's cape in his grip. The rest of the garment floated to
the surface. It was loose from the propeller.

"Full speed ahead!" shouted the one-armed captain of the motor-boat.

Ruth obeyed the command. The _Stazy_ staggered into the next wave. The
water that came in over her bow almost drowned them, but Ruth, hanging to
the steering wheel, brought the craft through the roller without swamping
her.

"Good for our Ruth!" shouted Helen, as soon as she could get her breath.

"Oh, Ruth! you always come to our rescue," declared Jennie gratefully.

"Hi! I thought you were a nervous wreck, young lady," Tom sputtered,
scrambling forward to relieve her. "Get you into a tight corner, and you
show what you are made of, all right."

The girl of the Red Mill smiled at them. She had done something! Nor did
she feel at all overcome by the effort. The danger through which they had
passed had inspired rather than frightened her.

"Why, I'm all right," she told Tom when he reached her. "This is great!
We'll be behind the shelter of the Point in a few minutes. There's nothing
to worry about."

"You're all right, Ruth," Tom repeated, admiringly. "I thought you'd lost
your grip, but I see