Neither Vance nor Roy thought the swiftly moving masses of vapor portended anything in particular, and the latter went into the kitchen once more, for he was determined that his portion of the work should be attended to in proper shape.
Before he reappeared again there was a very decided change in the aspect of the sky.
The wind had begun to veer around, and continued to increase in violence until it was blowing directly from the north, causing the sea to rise until the little craft wallowed into the trough, throwing the spray high over the deck.
For fully twenty minutes after this change Roy gave no signs of life, and then he came into the wheel-house looking decidedly alarmed.
“It’s beginning to blow,” he said, as if it was a piece of news which would please his companions.
“We understood that quite a while ago,” Vance replied quickly. “Is this the first you knew of it?”
“I could tell by the motion of the yacht that a sea was getting up, but I didn’t suppose it was so bad as this. Do you intend running on the same course, Ned?”
“We had to change that when the wind shifted. Now she is headin’ due south.”
“Why, that means we are running out to sea, surely, no matter which side the chain of keys we were!”
“You’re right; but I don’t see any other way for it. To take the chances of pilin’ up on the land by headin’ west would be worse than foolish, and besides, with such poor sailors aboard, we might as well be on a raft, for the only safe thing to do is to go with the wind. I wonder if you fellows can’t reef the sails?”
“Of course we can, and I think it would be a good idea to get out the lanterns, unless we want to be run down.”
“I declare I never thought of that!” Ned exclaimed. “Attend to it, will you, and then see what can be done toward shortening the canvas. I’ll bear a hand if one of you will take the wheel.”
“Stay where you are. I reckon Vance and I can do that much.”
“Be careful of yourselves!” Ned cried as the two left the pilot-house. “You know it wouldn’t take much of a flap of the sails to knock you overboard.”
“We’ll look out!” Vance cried, and then the two disappeared down the companion-way to the engine-room in the search for the signal lights.
It was fifteen or twenty minutes before the lanterns were in their places, and then the foresail was lowered as the boys began to reef it.