“I don’t like to leave you, Nancy. But if you insist—”
“I do, Helen. Please don’t worry about me. I’ll have a good time here. If you don’t mind, I may take the launch out while you’re gone.”
“If you do, you’d better not go far,” Helen advised her. “We girls bought it secondhand for a song, and it’s my private opinion the engine isn’t much good.”
“I’ll be careful,” Nancy promised.
She could scarcely hide her eagerness to be off, but she was forced to wait until Helen and her friends had started on their hike. It seemed to Nancy that they would never leave, but at last they trudged away with their knapsacks slung over their shoulders.
“You’ll wish you had gone, too!” Helen called back over her shoulder.
As soon as the girls were out of sight, Nancy hurried down to the launch which was tied to the dock not far from the camp. She examined the engine. She had frequently handled motor boats, but never one of this particular make.
“I believe I can manage it all right, if only I can get the engine started,” Nancy told herself.
She discovered a pin sunk in the rim of a flywheel, and after adjusting other parts, pulled it out rather timidly. She gave the wheel a vigorous turn to the right. She tried again, swinging it farther and snapping back hard. To her delight the engine began to roar.
Cutting down the motor, Nancy steered out into deep water. At first she followed the shore, but as she became more familiar with the wheel and as the engine appeared to work perfectly, she headed out into the lake.