Page:Girls of Central High on the Stage.djvu/130

120 "And it worked!" shouted Lance.

"Oh, hurry!" cried Jess. "I'm crazy to see how it sails."

The boys placed the girls amidships, and showed them how to cling to the straps on either side. Lance took his place on the crossbeam—to act as weight on either end if such balance was needed; Chet took the tiller.

"Open her up;" the latter commanded his chum. "Only quarter round with the switch when the engine gets her stroke. Now, careful! Hang on, girls!"

The next moment the engine began to throb regularly, and the blades of the propeller whirled. In half a minute they had gained such momentum that the eye could not distinguish the blades themselves—they simply made a blur in the moonlight.

The craft lunged ahead.