scramble for another rock higher up on the shore. Thus the
afternoon wore away. It had been practically twilight since noon.

"What are you doing, Captain, admiring the view?" asked Slim, when the
Captain had been looking out over the tossing lake for fully five
minutes.

"Quite some view," said the Captain, who was deeply impressed by the
ferocity of wind and wave, "but I was doing something besides admiring
it. I was thinking that it won't do us much good to sit here any longer.
The lake is getting rougher all the time and there is no hope of Uncle
Teddy's being able to come for us tonight. I think the best thing to do
would be to try to walk to St. Pierre, where we can find shelter."

"Would we be able to make it?" asked Hinpoha doubtfully, measuring the
distance that lay between them and the little cluster of toy houses that
shone ghostly white against the black sky. "It must be miles."

"Not quite three," replied the Captain. "We can make it. The wind will
be coming from the side, so we won't be walking squarely against it."

They formed a line, each boy taking a girl by the arm, and struggled
along the shore, keeping out of the woods as much as possible, and made
slow but steady progress toward St. Pierre. It was during one of their
frequent stops for breath that Sahwah, who had turned her head to look
out over the wild water, suddenly screamed, "Look!"

"It's the _Huronic_!" gasped Hinpoha, her eyes following Sahwah's
pointing finger.

Jammed up on a reef and completely at the mercy of the waves that
battered against her side lay the great steamer that only a week before
had swept so proudly through the channel. The beautiful white bird had
its wings broken now, and drooping helplessly lay exposed to the full
fury of the storm.

Hinpoha shrieked and covered her face with her hands. Horrified and
fascinated, the others watched the waves dashing high over the tilting
decks.

"Whe-e-e-w-w-w!" whistled the Captain.

"Can't we do something," said Sahwah, "run and tell somebody? Oh, don't
stand here and see that boat go to pieces!"

"What can we do?" asked Hinpoha.

Before anybody could answer her question a brilliant light suddenly
flared up a short distance ahead of them on the shore. "What's that?"
asked Hinpoha in amazement.

"Beach patrol," explained the Captain. "That's the signal that he has
sighted the ship. Now he'll run back to the life saving station that's
about a mile beyond here opposite t