Motor Boat Boys on the St. Lawrence Part 22

"Look yonder!" cried the eagle-eyed agent just then, the Indian having pulled his coat sleeve and pointed ahead.

"Say, that's her, as sure as fate!" cried George, as he altered the course of his own boat a little.

"And they know we're after them, too," remarked Jack.

"Then the race is on; and good luck attend the better boat," said the government agent, coolly taking out a cigar, biting off the end, and proceeding to apply a lighted match to the same.

They were fairly flying through the water. On either side the waves parted, and rolled over smothered in foam; while in their wake a roller kept following close on their heels.

"Twenty miles if anything?" the gentleman guessed.

"More than that, sir," replied the skipper, proudly; "but she can do better still. I've got another notch to let out if I have to. Don't want to take the chances unless it's positively necessary; because you see the quivering rattles her so much. Are we holding our own, do you think, Jack?"

"I am sure of that," came the reply. "And if you asked me again I'd say we are gaining a little all the while."

"Bully old _Wireless!_" exclaimed George, his voice filled with pride.

"She can do the stunt all right if only something don't happen to throw us out of our gear. She's a wonder, that's what, and I've always said so. Talk about sprinting, did you ever go as fast as this in a small boat, sir?"

"I certainly never have," replied the government agent; and from the way he was staggering around, clutching hold of every object that promised to keep him erect, it looked as though he might just as well have added: "and Heaven deliver me from ever experiencing it again."

"Everybody keep a sharp lookout for rocks or anything of the sort," said George; "because those men must know this region like a book, and it would be just like 'em to lead us in a trap, so we'd be wrecked."

"Yes, you're correct there, George," observed the agent, "and I give you credit for having a long head. That's the kind of chaps you're up against right now, full of trickery; desperate men, whose one idea is escape."

"This moonlight is all right as long as the other boat isn't any further away than she is," remarked George a minute or two later.

"I'm sorry to state that you can't count on the candle up in the sky much longer," remarked the gentleman; "for there is a suspicious bank of black clouds hovering near, and at any time she's apt to be eclipsed."

"All right," and George laughed a bit hysterically, since he was laboring under so great a strain of excitement. "Jack, would you mind attending to my searchlight. Then we'll be ready for the trouble when she comes."

And a couple of minutes later, when the dark mask did cover the face of the moon, a long vivid white gleam reached out from the bra.s.s searchlight on the forward deck of the quivering speed boat. It widened as it extended in the distance; and plainly seen was the flitting craft they pursued. The position of the _Flash_ could be detected better by means of the white foam-tipped waves thrown aside by her swift pa.s.sage, rather than by viewing the boat itself.

"That's splendid!" remarked the government agent, as he looked along this lane of illumination, and watched the desperate struggles of the _Flash_ to outrun her determined pursuers.

"Still picking up on her, ain't we, Jack?" asked George, after a little.

"No doubt about that, I think," came the reply. "And I guess you were right when you declared the good old _Wireless_ was the better boat. She can certainly walk over the water some. I would enjoy this more if it was day-time."

"I guess we all would," laughed the gentleman, still gripping hold of the bra.s.s rail to make sure he might not be plunged overboard should anything suddenly go wrong.

"If only the engine behaves half-way decent," sighed George. "She's doing n.o.bly right now, though, ain't she, Jack? But I hope they don't toll us in among the rocks. If we ever come slap up against one at this rate there's going to be some high vaulting, I tell you. Whew! did you see that one sticking out of the water? I just swerved in time, though.

Keep watching, everybody, and tell me quick if you see anything ugly ahead!"

Their pace was not abated a particle, even though George knew that new perils were strewn in their course. If that other boat ahead could speed through this same tortuous channel he believed he dared take the same chances. And George had always been reckoned a daring boy by his schoolmates, in football games or on the diamond; so that this venturesome spirit was no new freak on his part.

It was only by the greatest effort that he refrained from throwing on the last atom of speed, and hastening the overtaking of the fugitive motor boat.

They were rushing on at this tremendous pace, and constantly gaining, when George gave vent to a sudden loud exclamation.

CHAPTER XX-OVERHAULED

Jack had seen the same object that had given George such a start. Across the white path of illumination thrown forward by the powerful little acetylene searchlight, a shadowy, moving thing suddenly appeared.

It was a sailboat, beating up against a head wind, and aiming to reach its home port while the possibility of moonlight lasted.

Whatever tempted the man at the tiller to try and cross between the swift moving motor boats no one might ever know. But it was the nearest to a collision, without an actual calamity, Jack had ever experienced.

He instinctively understood that the only thing that would prevent the _Wireless_ from plunging into the luckless sailboat would be a prompt reversal on the part of the skipper at the wheel. And such an action was apt to endanger the working abilities of the _Wireless'_ engine, never too trustworthy under a strain.

Had George failed, Jack stood ready to b.u.t.t in and execute the speed maneuver; for this was a case that would admit of no ceremony. Life and death might be in the balance.

But, fortunately, George kept his head. He instantly did what was necessary, and the tremendous forward movement of the rushing speed boat was instantly checked.

Indeed, so astonishing was the change that the government agent came near plunging headlong over the rail into the river. Jack stretched out a hand and caught him just in time. As for the Indian, he sprawled on all fours in the bottom of the craft, trying to keep his head from b.u.mping against some obstacle.

But Jack was delighted to see that the engine had actually redeemed itself; for it still continued to work at the old stand.

The adventurous sailboat glided out of the way, so close that the sharp bow of the _Wireless_ almost touched the boom that was hauled well in during the tacking process. A couple of white, scared faces could be seen for two seconds; and then the sailboat was engulfed in the shadows that lay on either side, out beyond range of that searchlight radius.

"Bully for her!" gulped George, almost unable to articulate under the tremendous strain, yet thinking only of the able work of his engine.

"Speed her up again, George; but not with a rush!" called Jack.

Looking ahead he saw that, just as he expected, the _Flash_ had managed to take advantage of the momentary detention of her rival, and increased the distance separating them.

"That was tough luck!" said the government agent; "but I owe you thanks for saving me from a wet jacket, my boy."

"I guess we're fortunate not to have smashed into that silly crowd, and played hob with everything," Jack remarked.

"But look where they are," groaned the anxious George. "Just about as far ahead as in the start; and it's all got to be done over again. Oh; what fools some men are when they get in a boat. All they had to do was to come up in the wind till the procession pa.s.sed. Instead, they tried to b.u.t.t in, and came near spoiling the whole game. What shall we do, Jack?"

"Do you want me to say what I'd do if this was my boat?" asked the other.

"Sure I do," George spoke up. "They've got some clever trick ahead, and may lose us yet. You notice that they hardly make any noise, even while the m.u.f.fler isn't working. That boat was just made for a smuggler, or a pirate. But go on, Jack, tell me."

"All right," said the other. "You see how well your engine is going.

She's had all the freak rubbed off her, I guess, and is now buckling right down to business. And honestly, George, I believe you can trust her with that reserve notch of speed! I'd try it, if I were you."

"Now, I'm glad to hear you say that, Jack," exclaimed the skipper, eagerly. "For during that other trip my engine played so many pranks that she got a black eye among my chums. If so be she's settled down to a steady stage, the sooner I know it the better. I'll be delighted to find it out. So here goes. Steady, all; hold on tight!"

The government agent, not knowing what to expect, for they were as near flying now as he ever expected to get, thought the policy of his crafty Indian helper worth imitating. So he simply dropped down in the body of the boat and braced himself against a shock.

But there was none. When George applied that last little reserve bit of power a slight jump forward resulted; and then after that the only difference seemed to be that they drew up on the fugitive _Flash_ hand over hand.

George was nearly wild with delight. To him the fact that his cranky engine had finally determined to be good and do the duty which her makers had meant she should, far outweighed all else. So far as he was concerned it did not matter much whether the three men in the _Flash_ were captured or not; but it was an affair of exceeding importance that the good, reliable old _Wireless_ should overhaul its rival in this masterly manner.