Suddenly, as they were cruising along, every eye on the lookout for a sight of the island, there came a violent crash.  All in the boat were thrown forward.

“Gracious!” exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey, as she struggled to regain her seat.

“What have we struck?” Mr. Bobbsey asked.

“We’ve struck Hemlock Island,” said Captain Craig grimly.  “We’ve fairly bumped into it.  I ought to have known I was somewhere near it.  We’ve fairly rammed it, and we’re on the rocks!”

“‘On the rocks!’” repeated Mrs. Bobbsey.  “Are we in danger?”

“That’s what I’m going to find out,” said the captain.  “At least we can’t sink, for we’re right on shore,” and as he spoke the fog blew away for a moment, showing a bleak shore of rocks with hemlock trees a little way up from the beach.  “Yes, sir, we ran plumb on the rocks!” muttered Captain Craig, as he stood up and tried to peer through the fog that was now closing in again.

CHAPTER XIX

TWO LITTLE SAILORS

Now it is time for us to inquire what was happening to Freddie and Flossie, the two smaller Bobbsey twins.  They had fallen out of the balloon basket when the big gas bag was blown down on Hemlock Island in the storm.  But Flossie and Freddie had toppled out on piles of soft, dried leaves, so they were not hurt.  But, as Flossie had said, she was soaking wet.

“We ought to have umbrellas,” said Freddie, as he felt the drops of rain pelting down.  “If we had umbrellas this would be fun, ’cause we aren’t hurt from our balloon ride.”

“No, we aren’t hurt,” agreed Flossie, “‘ceptin’ I’m jiggled up a lot.”

“So’m I,” Freddie stated.  “I’m jiggled, too!”

“And we hasn’t got any umbrella, and I’m gettin’ wetter’n wetter!” half sobbed Flossie.

Indeed it was raining harder, and as the fog was closing in on the children they could not see very far on any side of them.

It was not the first time the small Bobbsey twins had been lost together, nor the first time they had been in trouble.  And, as he had done more than once, Freddie began to think of some way by which he could comfort Flossie.

The little boy was hungry, and he felt that if he could get something to eat it would make him feel better.  And surely what made him feel better ought to make Flossie happier if she had some of the same.

“Are you hungry, Flossie?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” answered the little girl.

“Well, let’s eat some more of the things that were in the balloon basket,” proposed her brother.  “They tumbled out when we did.  I can see some of ’em mixed up with the blankets and other things.”

When the bumping of the balloon basket had spilled out Flossie and Freddie it had also toppled out the supply of food and the tools and instruments the balloon men had intended using on their sail through the air.