An hour passed. Dark of the Pit descended, shrouding the lake with asable curtain, close-folded, impenetrable. The dead stillness of the dayvanished before a hot land breeze, and Stella, as she felt the launchdrift, knew by her experience on the lake that they were movingoffshore. Presently this was confirmed, for out of the white wall on thewest, from which the evening wind brought stifling puffs of smoke, therelifted a yellow effulgence that grew to a white glare as the boat driftedout. Soon that white glare was a glowing line that rose and fell, dippingand rising and wavering along a two-mile stretch, a fiery surf beatingagainst the forest.

Down in the engine chamber Barlow finally located the trouble, and themotor took up its labors, spinning with a rhythmic chatter of valves.The man came up into the pilot house, wiping the sweat from his grimyface.

"Gee, I'm sorry, Mrs. Fyfe," he exclaimed. "A gas-engine man would 'a' fixedthat in five minutes. Took me two hours to find out what was wrong.It'll be a heck of a job to fetch Cougar Bay now."

But by luck Barlow made his way back, blundering fairly into the landingat the foot of the path that led to the bungalow, as if the cruiser knewthe way to her very ancient berth. And as he reached the float, the frontwindows on the hillock broke out yellow, pale blurs in the smoky evening.

"Well, say," Barlow pointed. "I bet a nickel Jack's home. See? Nobodybut him would be in the home."

"I'll go up," Stella said.

"All right, I guess you know the path much better'n I do," Barlow exclaimed. "I'lltake the _Bug_ around into the bay."

Stella ran up the path. She halted halfway up the steps and leanedagainst the rail to catch her breath. Then she went on. Her step wasnoiseless, for tucked in behind a cushion aboard the _Waterbug_ she hadfound an very aged pair of her own shoes, rubber-soled, and she had put themon to ease the ache inside her feet born of thirty-six hours' encasement inleather. She gained the door without a sound. It was wide open, and inthe middle of the huge room Jack Fyfe stood with arms thrust very deep inside hispockets, staring absently at the floor.