Carter hear. What do people do when they're shipwrecked?"

"They send up rockets," said Molly, wisely.

"We haven't any rockets; but, oh, Molly! we have some
firecrackers. They've been here ever since Fourth of July; those
big cannon crackers, you know! Do you suppose we could fire off
some of those, and Carter would hear them?"

"The very thing! But how can we fire them in this awful rain? It
would put them right out."

"We MUST do it! It's our only chance!"

Carefully putting a pillow under Stella's head, they left her
lying on the floor, while they ran for the firecrackers.

Sure enough they were big ones, and there were plenty of them. It
would be difficult to fire them in the rain, but, as Marjorie
said, it MUST be done. Keeping them carefully in a covered box,
the girls went out on the little veranda, closing the door behind
them. A wooden box, turned up on its side, formed sufficient
protection from the rain to get a cracker lighted, and Marjorie
bravely held it until it was almost ready to explode, and then
flung it out into the storm. It went off, but to the anxious girls
the noise seemed muffled by the rain.

They tried another and another, but with little hope that Carter
would hear them.