in his deep voice. "Ahoy there!"

"Ahoy!" answered the men in the boat.

"Have you seen anything of a runaway balloon?" asked Mr. Trench. "Mine
got away from the Bolton County Fair, and it had two little children in
the balloon basket. Have you seen them?"

Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey and all in the motor boat waited anxiously for the
answer. Captain Craig had shut off his engine so its noise would not
drown the words of those in the other boat.

"We saw something big and black sailing through the air over our heads
about an hour ago," was the answer. "We thought it was the aeroplane
from the fair grounds."

"That was my balloon!" declared Mr. Trench.

"Did you see anything of my children?" Mrs. Bobbsey begged to know.

"No. But we couldn't see very well on account of the fog and because the
balloon--if that's what it was--kept up pretty high," came the answer.

"Which way was she heading?" Captain Craig wanted to know, this being
his sailor way of asking which way the balloon was going.

"Due north," answered one of the men in the other boat, which was a
craft containing a number of fishermen.

"Towards Hemlock Island," stated another.

"Well, we're going in the right direction," went on Captain Craig. "Much
obliged," he called to the fishermen, as the motor-boat again started
off through the fog.

Soon the vessel that had been hailed was lost to sight in the mist, and
again all eyes, including those of Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey, were strained
in looking for a first sight of Hemlock Island.

"Are you warm enough?" asked Mr. Bobbsey of his wife, wrapping the
rubber coat more closely about her.

"Oh, yes. I'm not thinking of myself," she answered, with a sigh. "I am
worried about my darlings!"

"I think they'll come out of it all right," said her husband. "Flossie
and Freddie, as well as Bert and Nan, have been in many a scrape, but
the Bobbsey luck seems to hold good. They always get out all right."

"Yes. And I hope they will this time," answered Mrs. Bobbsey, trying to
appear more cheerful.

For a while they ran along in silence, every one peering out into the
rain and the mist striving to catch sight, if not of the balloon, at
least of the shore of Hemlock Island.

"My, but this fog is getting thicker and thicker!" exclaimed Captain
Craig. "I'll have to go a bit slower yet."

He cut down the speed of the engine until the boat was moving at less
than half speed. But even this did not save her from an accide