Racing the Storm

“Don’t you think we should turn back, Helen? It’s getting dreadfully dark out here on the lake and I don’t like the look of those big black clouds.”

As Nancy Drew addressed her chum, Helen Corning, she gazed anxiously up at the sky and then out across a long expanse of water to the distant shore.

The two girls were spending several days at a camp located on Moon Lake, and on this particular afternoon they had slipped away for a delightful motorboat outing. They had cruised aimlessly about for several hours, enjoying the lake scenery and, particularly, a cool, refreshing breeze which brought them relief from an unseasonably torrid day, for it was early summer.

Now, as Nancy studied the sky for the first time, she was alarmed to notice that it had become overcast.

“Helen, I’m afraid there’s going to be a storm,” she announced. “They come up so quickly on Moon Lake.”

“You’re right,” Helen agreed uneasily. “It does look threatening. I didn’t realize we were so far from shore. We’d better get back to camp as fast as we can.”

“I guess we were having too good a time to notice the weather,” Nancy said.

She gave the steering wheel a turn and headed the motorboat toward the eastern shore. Although it was not yet dusk, darkness seemed to be closing in upon the lake. It was with difficulty that the girls distinguished the shore line. The water, which only a few minutes before had been a smooth, clear blue, lashed about the little boat in angry, inky waves.

Helen studied the sky nervously.

“We’d better make full speed ahead, Nancy,” she advised. “We’re a long way from camp, and that big cloud is rolling up fast.”

Nancy Drew was of the same opinion. One hasty glance at the cloud in question had assured her that there was no time to be lost if they were to beat the storm. Even before Helen had made the suggestion, she had opened the throttle to the fullest extent. The motorboat fairly leaped through the water, dashing spray into the faces of the two girls.

“Why didn’t we start back a few minutes earlier?” Helen groaned. “We’ll be drenched to the skin before we reach shore!”

“I’m afraid we shall,” Nancy admitted. “I wonder if there are any oilskins aboard?”

“They may be under the seat. I’ll look and see if I can find them.”

A moment later Helen triumphantly brought out a mass of sticky yellow garments. She quickly slipped into a coat, and then relieved her chum at the wheel, giving her an opportunity to don the oilskins.

Hastily, Nancy pulled a southwester down over her curly, golden bob, and struggled into a coat several sizes too large for her. She was not an instant too soon, for suddenly a streak of forked lightning cut across the sky, momentarily disclosing a thick mass of ugly clouds. The lightning was followed by an ominous crack of thunder, which caused the girls to cower involuntarily.

“That was close,” Helen murmured uncomfortably.

“It’s just a taste of what’s coming!” Nancy cried. “The storm is almost on us!”

The wind, which had been steadily freshening, now began to blow in earnest. It struck the boat with a force which caused Nancy to grasp the railing for support. Huge waves swept down upon the little craft, threatening to bury it.

Another dazzling flash of lightning illuminated the sky, and simultaneously a deluge of rain descended upon the unfortunate girls.

“Oh, this is terrible!” Helen wailed. “I can’t see to steer!”

Nancy sprang to a position directly behind her chum and peered ahead into the darkness. As though by magic, the shore line had vanished. The blinding rain made it impossible to see more than a few feet beyond the bow.

“Hold to your present course!” she advised, shouting to make herself heard above the noise of the storm. “It can’t rain like this for long.”

The gallant little motorboat plowed defiantly through the waves, but the steady chug of its engine did not comfort the two girls. They knew that they were miles from camp, and should anything go wrong with the motor they would be entirely at the mercy of the waves. Nancy recalled that she had noticed only one fishing boat on the lake during the afternoon, and the knowledge that in case of an accident cries for help would go unheard did not add to her peace of mind. However, so long as the engine continued to labor faithfully, there was no need to worry.

“How much gasoline have we left?” Helen inquired anxiously.

“Oh, at least half a tank, Helen. We shan’t need to worry on that score.”

After a time the rain ceased to fall in torrents and a drizzle set in. However, the storm was by no means over, for the wind continued to blow a full gale and every instant it seemed to Nancy Drew and Helen Corning that the waves became higher.

“If only we could see where we’re going!” Helen complained.

She had endeavored to maintain a straight course for the camp, but there was no way of estimating the amount of drift, and she had no idea how far they were from shore.

A jagged ribbon of lightning illuminated the path ahead. Catching her breath, Nancy Drew leaned forward and peered into the inky water. What she saw froze her with horror. Directly ahead, floated a big log!

“About!” Nancy cried frantically.

Helen, too, had seen the log which lay in the path of the motorboat, and the sight held her in a paralysis of fright. She froze to the wheel.

“About!” Nancy shouted again.

Helen gave the wheel a vicious turn. The boat responded, but not quickly enough. The log loomed up in the water ahead. With a splintering crash, the boat struck it.

The sudden impact of the blow threw Nancy Drew backwards. She went sprawling into the bottom of the boat. Helen, who still clung to the steering wheel, screamed in fright.

“Nancy, are you hurt?” she demanded fearfully.

Nancy did not reply, but hastily scrambled to her feet. With difficulty she managed to stand, for the boat listed sharply to the right. Instantly, she saw that the collision with the log had torn a jagged hole in the side of the craft. Water was pouring in through it.

“Quick!” Nancy ordered sharply. “We must bail or we’ll sink!”

She sprang forward, and, tearing off her coat, tried to stuff it into the hole. Helen caught up a rusty pail which had been kept on hand for fish bait, and began to bail. She worked madly, but in spite of her efforts, the water came in faster than she could dip it out.

“Oh, it’s no use!” she groaned. “We’re sinking!”

Nancy, too, realized that they could not hope to stop the leak. The boat was doomed, and they with it unless aid came to them quickly.

“Shout for help!” she ordered. “Someone may hear us.”

Cupping their hands to their lips, the girls shouted again and again.

“Help! Help!” they screamed desperately.

There was no answer. The wind howled derisively in their ears, mocking them in their plight.

“Oh, what shall we do?” Helen demanded hopelessly.

Already the two girls were standing in water over their ankles, and each instant the boat was settling lower. A big wave bore down upon them, and Nancy, who saw it coming, realized that it meant the end.

A deluge of water poured in over the sides.

“We’re lost!” Helen cried. “We’re lo—”

The words ended in a choking gurgle as the waters closed over her head.

A Desperate Struggle

As the motorboat settled into the lake, Nancy Drew leaped clear and began to tread water. Her first thought was for her chum. What had become of her?

Nancy Drew was an excellent swimmer. But, as Nancy knew, Helen Corning was barely able to keep herself afloat in a quiet pool. With crushing, smothering waves bearing down upon her, she would be helpless.

Frantically, Nancy glanced about. She heard no cry, but several yards away she thought she saw a white hand above the water. With powerful crawl strokes, she plowed through the waves toward the spot. The hand had vanished.

Bending at the waist and then suddenly straightening her body, Nancy shot down in a surface-dive. With eyes open, she groped about under water. At last she was forced to the surface, gasping for breath.

“Oh, I must find her!” she thought desperately. “I can’t let her drown!”

Then only a few feet ahead, she saw her chum struggling. In her fright, Helen had forgotten what little she knew about swimming, and was thrashing madly about.

One powerful stroke brought Nancy directly behind her chum. Reaching out an arm, she hooked Helen under the chin, and with her free hand, elevated her body to the surface of the water. A huge wave bore down upon the girls, and before Nancy could secure a safe hold, Helen strangled and began to struggle. She clutched Nancy about the neck.

“Let go!” Nancy cried. “Let go!”

Helen, too frightened to realize what she was doing, only clung the tighter, carrying the two girls beneath the surface of the water.

At first panic took possession of Nancy Drew as she realized that Helen held her in a strangle hold. Then her mind cleared and she thought logically again. She had studied lifesaving methods, and had been told how to break strangle holds. If only it would work now!

In a desperate attempt to free herself, she pushed with her hands against the side of her chum’s face, at the same time attempting to raise one of the arms which imprisoned her. As she felt Helen’s grip relax, she quickly ducked under the raised arm and came to the surface of the water directly behind her chum. Before Helen could clutch her again, Nancy snapped her into position for a safe carry.

“Don’t struggle or we’ll both drown,” she warned Helen.

Feeling that she was somewhat safe, Helen relaxed somewhat. But scarcely had Nancy Drew begun to believe that she had her chum under control when a huge wave swept over the two girls. Again Helen began to struggle and fight. Although Nancy held her in a position from which she could not free herself, the battle was a wearing one.

“Hold your breath when you see a wave coming,” Nancy instructed. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t let loose of you.”

She knew that Helen would soon wear her out unless she overcame her fear and remained quiet. Already Nancy was short of breath, and for a swimmer far from shore that was a fatal warning. Yet never for a moment did she consider abandoning Helen, although by doing so she might save her own life.

Nancy Drew had no illusions concerning her situation. Excellent swimmer though she was, she knew it would be impossible to tow Helen ashore. Alone she might make it, but with her chum to consider, it was hopeless. If only she could manage to keep Helen afloat until help reached them!

The motorboat had sunk beneath the waves, and the log which might have given them temporary support had floated away in the darkness.

“Oh, if only that log would come in sight again!” thought Nancy.

As if in answer to her wish the log bobbed up at that instant, but before Nancy could grab hold of it it went out of sight. She watched eagerly, but it failed to reappear.

The exhausted girl’s heart sank within her.

“Help!” Nancy cried frantically.

With a sinking heart, she realized that her voice would not carry far. She and her chum were at the mercy of the cruel waves.

In this moment when it seemed that there was no hope of rescue, it was but natural that Nancy Drew’s thoughts should turn to her father. Would she ever see him again?

For the most part, Nancy’s life had been an unusually happy one. Since the death of her mother many years before, she had lived with her father, Carson Drew, a noted lawyer engaged largely on mystery cases, in the Middle Western city of River Heights which was forty miles from Moon Lake. Aided by an elderly servant, Hannah Gruen, Nancy had taken over the direction of the household.

Her life had been an exciting one, for she had always taken an interest in her father’s mystery cases. Carson Drew was proud of his daughter and openly boasted that she had a talent for unearthing mysteries and solving baffling cases.

Certainly Nancy Drew never missed an opportunity for a thrilling adventure. She had established herself as a clever detective by solving the mystery of a queer old clock. Her adventures in this connection are related in the first volume of the series, entitled, The Secret of the Old Clock .

Later she had been involved in a rather weird mystery, one which carried her to a haunted house, there to aid two sisters, Rosemary and Floretta Turnbull. Nancy had discovered a hidden staircase, and it was through her efforts that the “ghost” of the Turnbull Mansion was captured. Her exciting adventures are recounted in the volume, The Hidden Staircase .

Nancy had refused to accept a reward for her service, but in each case her friends had forced a token of remembrance upon her. Her trophies consisted of a mantel clock and a valuable silver urn. Her father had often declared that before she finished her career she would have the house cluttered.

Now, as Nancy Drew struggled to support her chum in the rough waters of Moon Lake, she wondered if her career was to come to a sudden end. How long could she manage to keep afloat? Certainly not for many more minutes.

Her heavy clothing dragged her down, her shoes seemed as heavy as chunks of lead. If only she could let loose of Helen for a minute, she could remove them.

“Can you float on your back for just a few minutes?” she asked.

“Oh, don’t let go of me, Nancy,” Helen pleaded. “I’m frightened to death!”

“I won’t,” Nancy promised.

She intended to remain with her chum until the end. After all, it did not greatly matter about the shoes, she told herself. Even were she rid of them, it would only prolong her time a few minutes. She could not hope to support Helen indefinitely. Each second dragged like an eternity.

At frequent intervals Nancy shouted for help, although she believed she was only wasting energy. Her breathing became increasingly difficult.

Helen Corning, who had gradually grown more calm, could not help but know that Nancy’s strength was beginning to fail. For the first time she realized the sacrifice her chum was making. Encumbered as she was she could never hope to reach shore.

“Save yourself,” she begged. “Go on without me.”

“Never!”

“You can reach shore alone, Nancy. If you try to save me, we’ll both drown.”

Nancy Drew knew that Helen spoke the truth, but she did not relax her hold. Nothing could force her to desert her chum. Each minute it seemed to her that she could not take another stroke, and yet, by sheer force of will, she managed to endure.

A huge wave bore down upon the two girls, smothering them in its embrace. Feebly, Nancy struggled back to the surface with her burden.

“One more like that and I’ll be through,” she told herself.

Just then she thought she heard a noise above the roar of the wind. Was it her imagination or had she really heard the splash of an oar?

“Help!” she screamed.

Was there really an answering cry or were her ears playing cruel tricks upon her? Again Nancy raised her voice in a frantic cry. This time there could be no mistake, for she distinguished the words.

“Hold on! I’m coming!”

Aid was coming at last! The thought gave Nancy Drew the courage to endure for a few minutes longer.

“Where are you?” a shrill voice called.

“Here! Here!” Nancy cried desperately.

Through the blinding rain she caught a glimpse of a dark object. It was a rowboat. If only she could hold out until it reached her!

As the rowboat approached, Nancy Drew fully expected to see it swamped. It swept toward the two girls on the crest of a wave, and only by dexterous use of the oars did the rescuer avoid crashing into them. There was only one occupant in the boat—a girl, and her puny strength availed but little against the wind and waves.

Twice she tried to bring the boat alongside the struggling girls, and failed. The third time, as the craft swept past, Nancy lunged and caught the side. She dragged Helen along, supporting her with one hand until she, too, secured a hold.

“Be careful or you’ll upset the boat!” their rescuer shouted.

Nancy Drew was well aware of the danger, and she was at a loss to know how to climb aboard. Unless the boat were perfectly balanced, it would be certain to capsize at the first attempt the girls made to scramble over the side.

Swimming around the boat, Nancy Drew took a position directly opposite her chum.

“I’ll try to balance it while you get in,” she shouted.

As Helen attempted to scramble aboard Nancy threw her weight to the opposite side. The craft wobbled uncertainly but did not upset. With the aid of the girl at the oars, Helen managed to reach safety.

It was more difficult to get Nancy into the boat, but at last she was dragged over the side. The deed accomplished, Helen collapsed on the bottom.

Nancy resisted the temptation to drop down beside her chum, for one quick glance at her rescuer assured her that the girl was nearly exhausted from her labors. Apparently, it was all she could do to keep the rowboat from being overturned. Tired as she was, Nancy Drew knew that she could not rest until shore was reached.

“Give me the oars!” she ordered. “You rest for a minute or two.”

“I am about done up,” the girl admitted.

“When I heard your cries, I rowed out as fast as I could.”

Nancy dropped down upon the seat and snatched up the oars.

“We couldn’t have lasted much longer. You came just in time. But I won’t try to thank you now. We’re still in grave danger. Which way to shore?”

With a wave of her hand, the girl indicated the direction. She seemed too tired to speak.

Under Nancy Drew’s powerful strokes, the little boat plunged through the water. By skillful use of her oars, Nancy avoided some of the waves, but in spite of her efforts, the craft was battered about.

Each moment the wind increased in violence, hurling wild threats into the ears of the three girls. Could they outride the storm?

As the little boat was buffeted this way and that, it seemed to Nancy Drew that they were fighting a losing battle. The fear made her work more frantically than before.