Clarence Young

“ Hopkins got a letter from the real estate agent informing her he had been able to secure a large cottage, close to the beach. It was on a small cove, and there was a boathouse near by.
“Fine!” cried Jerry when he heard of it. “Now to get the Dartaway ready. Whoop! But life is worth living, I tell you!” and he began to dance a jig with such vigor that the dishes on the sideboard rattled.
“Jerry, you’ll smash some of my fine cut glass!” exclaimed Mrs. Hopkins in alarm, yet she could not help being glad that she was able to provide a summer’s outing for her son and his chums. ”

“ The three chums assisted him, and acted as lecturers to the curious, telling over and over again their part in the capture and harpooning.
As for the sailor, he was in his glory. He related the incidents of the chase with great minuteness, not omitting the one about the steamer. He even sold small slivers from the handle of his harpoon.
“Sure I can easy make another handle,” he confided to the boys, “but it’s not every day I can sell a bit of wood for twenty-five cents. I must make money while the whale lasts.” ”

“ Nearer and nearer to the creature the Dartaway was sent. Now it was within one hundred feet. Now it was seventy-five. Still the whale had not taken fright. The boys could hardly [72] breathe from the fierce beating of their hearts.
As for Sam, he was as cool as though he was about to pull in a small fish which he had hooked. He stood rigid in the bow, the terrible harpoon poised over his shoulder. ”

“ As it grew darker the boys noticed that the water in the cove was agitated. The sloop, and the motor boat rocked at their anchorages.
“The tide’s coming in,” said Jerry. “It will soon be time to act. I hope we can get to the Dartaway without being seen.”
“We’ve got to,” spoke Ned. “If they see us it means we’ll have a lot of trouble. We must crawl along until we get close to her. Then we’ll get in. I’ll crank up, you can steer, and Bob can use a boat-hook to fend us out from the shore.” ”

“ The shark was taken safely ashore and Sam, showing his prize under canvas, reaped another harvest, only not so large as in the case of the whale.
“What will you boys do next?” asked Mrs. Hopkins with something like despair in her tones, when she heard of the latest adventure of her son and his chums. “Jerry, I’m afraid to have you go out in that boat.”
“Why, there’s no danger, mother. We can all swim.”
“But suppose a shark, like the one you caught, should come after you?”
“Those aren’t the kind that eat people,” put in Ned, anxious to reassure Mrs. Hopkins. ”

“ Pull!” cried Sam, from the depths of the hold, where the cargo could be heard shifting about.
“All together!” sang out Jerry, and the boys put all their strength to the rope. Sam came up “on the run” and was landed on deck. He held the cat in his arms, the frightened creature clinging closely to him.
“No time to lose, boys!” cried the sailor, as he loosened the rope from his waist. “She’s sliding off into deep water. We must leave her!” ”

“ The party was in a good boat, a craft that had been tried on the open sea, and which had proven its stability. The Dartaway was indeed a craft of which to be proud. But the boys were farther out on the deep than they had been during the squall. Though it was now calm, there was no telling how long it would remain so, and the increasing haze seemed to promise a spell of bad weather.
“Let’s make everything snug,” suggested Sam. “That’s the first thing to do. How about lights? We’ll have to show ’em after dark, to avoid being run down.”
“We have them,” said Jerry. ”

“ He stretched out on some cushions in the bottom of the craft, and was star-gazing to his heart’s content. Next to the Dartaway was a large sailing sloop, which was there when the boys made fast to the dock. The high sides threw a deep shadow over the motor craft. Ned was disturbed from his reveries by the sound of some one walking along the dock. It had been silent for some time, save for the distant sound of the music, and at first he believed the boys were coming back. Then he heard voices he knew were not those of his chums.
“Is this the sloop?” asked a man. ”

“ Sam soon returned from the shack where he lived with two good sized hooks, some short lengths of chain, and a coil of thin rope. He also carried some salt pork in a paper.
“If we land a couple of big ones we can take in almost as much as we did on the whale,” he added. “Course the sharks around here aren’t the great big fellows, but eight feet is no slouch of a fish, and I’ve seen plenty that size.”
They started off, sailing across the harbor toward the mouth, and, passing through the narrow strait, laid their course up the coast. The sea was calm, and the day a fine one for a sail. ”

“ Stop! Bring that boat back!” they called.
“Guess not! She’s ours!” Ned called back.
“We’re off!” exclaimed Jerry in a low tone. [202] “She’s running like a charm. They’ll never catch us!”
There was the sound of feet on the dock. Then came a squeaking of a pulley block, the creak of ropes and the rattle of the boom on the mast.
“What’s the use going after them in the sloop?” they heard some one cry. “There’s no wind. Take the rowboat!”
The thud of men jumping into the small craft tied near the sail boat could be heard. There was the rattle of oars, and then the splash of them in the water. ”

“ Dartaway. The cat still clung to Sam. The boys could see the wreck moving off the reef which had hitherto held it in place. It was slipping into the deep water astern.
“Start the engine!” cried Jerry as he sprang to the wheel. Ned turned the fly wheel over. The chug-chug sounded at once, and with a splutter the boat was off, darting away from the wreck.
“Get well out! Well out!” cried Sam, “or we’ll be sucked under!”
Jerry speeded up the motor. The boys looked back. Faster and faster the stern of the wreck was slipping into the sea. ”

“ But the door to the storeroom was thick and strong, and the lock was a heavy one.
“It’s no use,” declared Bob after an hour’s hacking away at the tough wood. “We’ll have to stay here until they let us out.”
“Don’t give up,” Ned spoke.
“Hark! What’s that?” asked Jerry.
The others listened.
“They’ve started the machinery!” cried Bob. “The lenses are turning.”
“Yes, and they are the wrong ones! They will get the ship on the rocks!” cried Jerry. “We must escape!”
Terror struck to the boys’ hearts. They had tried every means and failed. The plotters had outwitted them. They could do nothing. ”

“ They trailed along after Noddy and the girl, noting that the two seemed to be enjoying themselves. As the couple entered an ice cream store Jerry remarked:
“Well, it’s a free country. He can take out any girl he likes, I suppose, and we haven’t anything to do with her.”
“It makes me mad to see a nice girl like that out with such a fellow as Noddy,” exclaimed Ned.
“Ah, I guess Ned’s lost his heart,” spoke Bob.
“Lost nothing!” sputtered Ned. “But you know what sort of a chap Noddy Nixon is. Would you want him to go out with any girl you knew?” ”

“ Jerry and Bob began oiling the motor while Ned settled down to business. He shoved the levers over, and, for a while ran the Dartaway on second speed. By this time the other boat was about opposite them.
“Can you see who’s in it?” asked Jerry of Ned.
“No. Seems to be a fellow and a girl. He has a cap on, and I can’t see his face. Her hair blows about her so I can’t make out who she is.”
The occupant of the other boat evidently had accepted the race, and was doing his best to win. He was steering a straight course, and the two craft were not more than a hundred yards apart. ”

“ They put the new saluting cannon in the bow, strung new rudder lines, which had been strained during the squall, and cleaned the engine. They were burnishing up the brass work, one afternoon, when some one entered the boathouse.
“Where are the three boy sailors?” a hearty voice asked.
“Come in!” cried Jerry, and Captain Jenkinson entered.
“Hard at work, eh?” he asked. “That’s right, can’t take too much care of your boat and engine. They do better work the more time you put on them, and you never can tell when you may need an extra bit of speed.” ”

“ Pull!” cried Sam. “Ned, stand ready with the hatchet, and clip him on the head when you get a show!”
Closer and closer to the boat they pulled the shark. They could almost grasp the chain part of the line now. Then, above the water, was thrust the ugly head of the fish. While it was not a man-eater, or as large as the shark of the tropical seas, being in fact only an immense dog fish, the creature was so ugly and horrible, with its under-shot mouth, and unblinking eyes, that Jerry and Bob were almost inclined to let go.
“Hold on!” cautioned Sam, taking a turn of the rope about a cleat. ”

“ Jerry replied. He put the wheel over to meet an on-coming roller. As he did so the queer light flashed out again. First it was white, and then it changed to red, showing twice and going out.
“It’s a lighthouse!” cried Jerry. “I forgot there is one near here. It’s near a dangerous ledge of rocks, which are off shore.”
“Then we’d better stop!” cried Ned. “We may sink the boat.”
“Can’t turn around now. Too risky.”
Suddenly three sharp whistles sounded so close to the Dartaway that the boys jumped in fright. They thought they were about to be run down. ”

“ There sounded a welcome “chug,” and an instant later the engine was working at rapid speed.
Jerry put the wheel over, and headed the boat away from the on-coming whale. The line, fast to the bow, swung over the stern, lengthwise of the craft, nearly carrying Ned overboard in the rapid change it made.
[80]
The Dartaway was off like an arrow from the bow, piling up a line of foam at the cut-water. The big wave at the back was nearer now. It was caused by the water gathering in front of the whale’s blunt, massive head.
“Can we get away?” cried Bob.
“We’ve got to try!” shouted Sam. ”

“ The men in pursuit had been left far behind. While Jerry held the boat on her course up the beach Ned and Bob kindled the red and green side lights and the search lantern. In about two hours the Dartaway was safe at her dock, and the boys were telling their story to a number of their friends.
“We must notify the police and get after those thieves,” said Captain Jenkinson. “They’re dangerous men to have around. It’s a good thing you discovered that cove. They probably have been hiding there a long time.” ”

“ After breakfast Jerry mended the leak in the gasolene tank, and, buying some of the fluid from the keeper, soon had the Dartaway in shape for another voyage. They bade their new friends good-bye, receiving an invitation to come again, and soon they were back at Harmon Beach. They took the cat with them and Mrs. Hopkins made a pet of it.
They found there was some excitement over their absence all night, but Mrs. Hopkins had come to regard the boys’ escapades with a sort of philosophy. She believed the lads would turn up all right somehow. ”

“ Bob replied. “It traveled a good way over land before it got to us, and I guess it wouldn’t cost much.”
“Say, that would be sport!” exclaimed Jerry. “There is just the place for a motor boat where mother is going.”
“Where’s that?” asked Ned.
“Harmon Beach. There’s a sort of cove there, where the boats are sheltered from storms. But you can go through the inlet right out to sea, and [7] then up and down the coast. The Dartaway is big enough to stand a bit of bad weather, if it don’t come too strong.” ”

“ The boys sized up the newcomer. The boat was about fifty feet long, and had a small cabin. It was operated by a gasolene motor of eight cylinders. Beside it the Dartaway looked small.
“Are you the boys who sailed out of the cove this evening?” asked the steersman of the Three Bells.
“I guess we are,” Jerry replied. He had stopped his engine, as had the skipper of the other craft, which contained two men. ”

“ He caught the last reference to a boat, however, and asked:
“You’re not going back on our motor boat, are you, when you say you’re going to take up with a sail boat? Jerry I’m ashamed of you!”
“Go back on the dear Dartaway? I guess not much,” Jerry answered. “But we can’t take her down with us, very well. The cottage is too small.”
“I don’t know about that,” Bob said, in rather muffled tones, for he held one end of a string in his mouth and was wrapping the other about the rag on his thumb. “I wish we were going to the shore. The folks don’t know yet what they will do. ”

“ CAUGHT IN A SQUALL
“Who is it?” asked Jerry.
“Seems to be some one in another motor boat,” Bob replied. “He’s waving at us.”
“Maybe he wants a race,” suggested Ned.
“Well, he can have it if he catches up to us,” Jerry responded. “I’m not going to race otherwise. The Dartaway is not in her best trim, and she may get beaten. Then we’ll get the name of having a slow boat. We’ll have a regular race later, when we are in better shape,” and he put on a little more speed. ”

“ In the meanwhile the craft had been pitching and rolling about in rather an alarming fashion. The boys had all they could do to stand upright, [93] but Sam crawled and walked about like the old salt that he was.
No sooner had the tub been dropped astern than an improvement was apparent. The rolling and pitching ceased, and, though it was still rough riding compared to being on a lake or river, the Dartaway stood up well, and was on a more even keel.
“That drag has something of the same effect as if we were moving by means of the engine,” explained Sam. “It keeps the stern in the right place. ”