Neither of the boys slept soundly that night. Their dreams were troubled by a conglomeration of their experiences since their arrival at North Hero, the weird boom of the waves as Champlain rose steadily, and a confusion of people going by in search of places of safety. Several times men stopped to inquire for lodgings or routes, and it seemed as if a dozen dogs howled gloomily. But above it all, toward morning, there was one sound that came to their subconscious minds and they stirred fitfully as if trying to shake off a nightmare. Then suddenly they awoke and sat up. It was still dark, that pitch darkness that is so thick just before the first streaks of dawn brush the sky.
“I say, Buddy, did you hear anyone call?” Jim whispered.
“I was just going to ask you the same question,” Bob answered. “I thought I heard a cry for help.” They sat listening tensely, straining their ears to distinguish the call that had broken into their sleep, but could make out nothing more than the sighing of the wind through the bowing trees and the noises they had been hearing before. Jim started to slip into his shoes and Bob followed his example.
“Let’s get some clothes on, I can’t sleep any more, can you?”
“No. Gosh, Jim, this is spooky.” They slipped their trousers and sweaters on over their pajamas, without stopping to don shirts. In two minutes they were dressed and made their way carefully to the rim of the water. “We’d better have a flashlight or we’ll be stepping into it.”
“I’ve got the little one in my pocket.” Jim took it out and pressed the button. Its faint tray cast a round glow, not very bright, but sufficient to show them where to step. Austin led the way while Bob followed close at his heels and finally they stopped on the edge of a cliff and stood listening tensely. For what seemed like an hour, although it was less than a minute, the world was oddly hushed, as if it too were listening, then, clear and unmistakable from north of them, somewhere on the lake, came a terrified cry and a shout for help.
“Let’s get Her Highness. Somebody’s out there,” Bob whispered, and as fast as they could they ran to the carriage shed, where the plane was bumping the top of her wings on the high roof of the ceiling. In order to get inside the boys climbed through the window on the opposite end, and even then had to wade ankle deep in water. They lost no time in getting ready, just enough to be sure that all was well and there was plenty of gas in the tanks.
“All O. K.,” Jim announced taking the pilot’s seat.
“Right with you. I say, Old Man, we never can hear anything with the engine going, and we can’t see much through this pitch.”
“I know it, and we don’t dare stay on the water or we are likely to get a tree in the works, but we’ve got to take a chance. That voice sounded as if it’s a little north, didn’t you think so?”
“Yes, and sort of far away—muffled.” They floated out into the cove, all lights on, and Jim gasped as he saw that the wind had changed during the night and the water on that side was dangerously full of wreckage. He set his lips grimly, opened the throttle, raced out over great rollers that teetered them even more than the day they returned from Burlington in the storm. Her Highness lost no time in lifting herself above the danger and soared up two hundred feet as her nose was brought about and her course was set north by north west.
Anxiously Bob leaned over as far as his safety-strap would permit and scanned the blackness beneath them hoping to catch sight of something which would account for what they were seeking. Jim sent the plane in wide circles in order to give Bob a chance to see as far as possible, and although their lights helped some, they seemed to make the rest of the night even darker. For ten minutes they rode in a fruitless search, each time coming around a little further north.
“Jim, things I can make out are being carried fast toward the south. Perhaps we’re too far up,” Bob said through the tube, and Jim nodded. He changed the procedure, while the younger boy watched. Five minutes more they circled, then Jim decided to climb. He tipped Her Highness’ nose at a sharp angle and zoomed two thousand feet just as fast as she could scramble through the air, then he shut off the motor and let her glide. The lake beneath them seemed a regular bedlam of sound, and as they drifted forward at as gradual a descent as possible, they finally picked up a frantic call.
“It’s over there,” Jim exclaimed and his buddy agreed. The plane was so low now that they dared glide no longer, so Jim set the engine going full blast as they made for the place.
“There’s a light.” Bob clutched his arm and pointed. Whoever had cried out evidently had some dry matches or a cigarette lighter and was trying to help them locate him. In a moment they were riding in close circles, and then they made out what looked like the roof of a portable summer house. They couldn’t tell what was on top of it, but by that time the morning light began to break slowly.
“What the heck can we do?”
“Tie the lariats together,” Jim directed. That was but the work of a moment, then Bob put a weight on one end of it and threw it over.
“If he can grab it, we can give him a tow.” Jim nodded, so Bob leaned over again. “Come a little lower.” Her Highness obeyed, and with the help of the speaking tube, they at last managed to get the plane in proper position, and almost instantly there was a tug as the rope was caught. It was evident that since they had come to him the stranded man had been using his head, for he managed to keep from being dragged off the roof, and even made the end of the lariat fast to a rod that stuck out near the metal chimney.
“She’s coming,” Bob shouted—“Go easy or she’ll be banged to bits.”
Sturdily Her Highness taxied forward just as low as she could. Bob kept his eyes on the house they were towing, and several times he caught his breath sharply as a particularly heavy plank, a broken tree, or a drowned animal came thumping into it. As it got lighter, the boy was amazed to see that the roof held more than just the man, who had flung himself on his face, his body sprawled out flat as he kept a woman and a tiny baby from being jarred off.
“Oh, great guns,” Bob whistled.
“Throw off the line,” Jim directed. They were in the cove now, and already Mr. Fenton and several men were on the shore, while two strong young fellows were in the row boats, prepared to shove out and help. The waves battered them all angrily, but Her Highness had to soar up out of the way, and after a few minutes in the air where she waggled her wings gaily over her victory, she was brought down again, and the Flying Buddies hurried to learn about the man and his family.
“Are they all right, Aunt Belle?” Bob called as they went into the kitchen.
“Yes. Here, you hold the little fellow a minute, while I stir this.” She promptly dumped the baby into her nephew’s arms, and Jim grinned at his brother’s discomfort.
“Will it break, Mrs. Fenton?”
“Break—” She looked at Bob and laughed, “No, certainly not, if it can come alive through such a night. They were driven to the roof hours ago because the floors of those cottages are fastened to the ground and can’t get away—”
“I don’t know how I can ever thank you fellows—” said the rescued man as he came into the kitchen.
“Aw, please don’t try. We thought we heard you call, so we went to see what it was all about,” Jim said quickly, but he had to take the hand that was extended to him.
“If I had been alone I wouldn’t have howled, but with my wife and baby I had to do anything I could. We were asleep, and it seemed as if an earth-quake gave us a broadside and we were full of water. We just managed to get some blankets to keep the baby warm, and climb through the window. We were on the veranda roof first, but that wasn’t very secure, so we got on the main part. It was good we moved, for the other sections were battered off—”
“My land sakes alive—how awful. Here now, you take this in to your wife and tell her to drink every bit of it like a good girl, and just as soon as I get some more dry things on the baby, she can have him back. He is a cunning little fellow—” Bob was no end relieved that his services as a nurse were no longer required.
“Buster,” he chuckled as he handed the baby to his aunt.
“My land sakes alive. How did you boys happen to get that man and his folks? I never saw the like—never. I thought you were asleep by the barn, and then, all of a sudden, some one said you were out down the lake and you were coming in slow like. Fent got the glasses and saw those folks—my land sakes alive, I never saw the like of it. How did you happen to be out there?”
“We couldn’t sleep, and we thought we heard someone call, so we went out. Reckon we better get dressed, we haven’t got much on,” he added, because several people were trooping into the kitchen and he didn’t want to be the center of an admiration meeting.
“Come down as soon as you’re ready and have breakfast. You must be most starved both of you.” There is nothing like an early morning rescue party to sharpen the appetite, so the boys did not take long to get ready. Jim went down first and just as he came into the living room, the telephone, which was a party line, gave a long persistent ring.
“That’s forever ringing,” Mrs. Fenton called to him. “Will you answer it? I can’t put down the baby for a minute.”
“Glad to.” Jim took down the receiver and heard the operator.
“Please do not try to use your telephone until further notice, unless the call is very important. The lines are congested. The Selectmen have given orders that no one is to try to cross the bridges—either at the north or south end of North Hero Island. Please tell people on the road they cannot go any further.” The girl repeated the same thing three times to be sure that everybody got it, then there came a click as she closed the connection. Austin gave the message to Mrs. Fenton, who sighed heavily.
“My land sakes alive—there, there, you are almost ready, little fellow. This is a nice baby! Now you can go to your mother.” She hustled the infant to his parents and then hustled back to serve her hungry household. During the meal two serious-faced men came to the house.
“We heard that your nephews dragged in a family that might have been drowned, Fent,” one of them started.
“Yes they did,” Mr. Fenton admitted and introduced the boys to the men, who shook hands gravely.
“I’ve heard that there are some families stranded on the islands, and it may be that some of the summer colonies have suffered just as that family you brought in. We were wondering if you will help us get any others, if there are any. We have several good strong power boats, but we would waste a great deal of time trying to locate people and might not find them all.”
“If you will fly around and watch for signal fires or flags, then we could send the boats directly and take them off,” the other added.
“Of course we’ll be mighty glad to help,” Bob declared promptly.
“Thank you. Another thing, there may be some who haven’t had much to eat for a couple of days, not being able to use their boats. Could you drop food to them?”
“Sure thing,” Jim replied. “We’ll take some weights along because we don’t usually carry anything like that. We just happened to have one this morning or we might not have been able to give that fellow a tow.”
“Thank you. We’ll arrange to have boats and rafts at four points of the island. If you find anyone, give the word to the nearest party. I’ll show you about where they are.” He took a map from his pocket and pointed to four places that would be used for stations. “You can come down on the water to speak to the men we’ll have there?”
“Yes, we’ll manage.”
“That will be good. We appreciate your help.” Then he turned to Mrs. Fenton. “My wife and some of the neighbors in the village are packing boxes of food, sandwiches, coffee and milk. We’ll send a truck—it ought to be here in a quarter of an hour—and the boys can take it with them and use their own judgment about dropping it.”
“I can fix them some—”
“Judging by the number of people you have taken in I think that you are doing your share, Mrs. Fenton. We won’t ask you to do any more,” the man replied. “Now, I’ll telephone to the boatmen—”
“They just told us not to use the phone,” Jim explained.
“They will give me a connection,” the man smiled. In a minute he was giving information, directions and instructions, and finally the rescue work was well organized. By the time the boys were ready to take off, the truck appeared with boxes of food, and the chauffeur helped t............