The Go Ahead Boys in the Island Camp Part 30

"Not two minutes. We can do it in no time."

"We'd better wait until we round this next stake, I think," said Grant.

"We can do it, then."

"All right," agreed George. "I don't believe in it, though. I love it this way," and he exclaimed delightedly as the Balsam heeled far over and the spray from the crest of one of the white-caps drenched him from head to foot.

"It's cold, though," objected John.

"Nonsense," cried George. "If you were half a man you wouldn't mind it."

John merely shivered, and placing Grant in temporary charge of the sheet he crawled forward and drawing his sweater out from under the deck, he put it on.

"Get ready now," warned Fred. "The stake is just ahead."

"And we're going to take in a reef as soon as we round it. Is that right?" inquired Grant.

"That's the idea," said Fred. "Here we go," and putting the tiller hard over he brought the Balsam cleanly around the mark and headed her up into the wind.

"Let go that topping lift, Pop!" he cried. "Loose your halyards there, Grant! Now, String, let's get busy!"

He left his post, and ordering and helping his comrades, he took charge of the work of reefing. He had predicted two minutes for the work, but it took at least five, and before they had finished the Spruce was almost up to them.

"Hurry, Fred, hurry!" urged George. "They're catching us."

"All right," cried Fred, springing back to the tiller. "Haul in your sheet there, String!"

The bow of the Balsam swung slowly around and as the sail filled she began to slip through the water once more. Not twenty-five yards behind them now came the Spruce, her full sail spread. Thomas waved his hand and shouted something to the four Go Ahead boys but the wind blew the sound away and the words were lost.

"What did he say?" demanded John.

"I didn't hear," said George. "He probably said they'd catch us in a few minutes, and I guess they will, too."

"You're a pessimist, Pop," said Fred, but he looked back anxiously at the Spruce plowing along behind them.

"No, I'm not either," exclaimed George. "I do think we made a mistake in reefing that sail, though."

"Wait and see," said Fred, but he himself appeared to be anxious.

"If the wind should die down we'd be in a nice fix," said George in a discouraged tone of voice.

"It doesn't seem to be going down now, though," said Grant. "Just see us go! And look at all the white-caps. I really think we're doing better than we did before."

"But we're not gaining on them any more," insisted George gloomily.

"We don't need to," laughed Grant. "All we have to do is to hold our lead."

The relative position of the two boats was unchanged at the end of the first leg on the second round. The Balsam still enjoyed her lead of twenty-five yards over her rival. They had covered only a short distance on the second leg when George suddenly remarked that the wind was dying down.

"I know it is," he insisted. "Just look; we aren't tipping half as much as we were."

"I hope you're wrong, Pop," said Fred anxiously.

"But I'm not. Can't you see it yourself?"

"Perhaps you're right. At any rate it may only be a lull."

In silence the four young sailors watched the sail and looked out over the water and gazed fearfully at the Spruce so close behind them now.

"She's gaining," announced John.

"No doubt of it," said George. "What shall we do?"

"What can we do?" demanded John in despair.

"Can't we take the reef out?"

"If we did," said Fred, "we'd have to stop, and they'd surely pa.s.s us, and whether we'd ever catch them or not would be a question."

"But won't they pa.s.s us if we don't take the reef out?" demanded George.

"I don't know. We've got to take a chance either way."

"And no matter what we do," added George, "we're bound to lose."

"Cheer up, Pop," urged Grant. "The wind hasn't gone down very much and they haven't pa.s.sed us yet."

"Can't we take the reef out while we're going like this?" demanded George.

"Oh, we can," said Fred. "It would be awfully hard, though, and dangerous, too; besides that, we might tear the sail."

"Let me try it," begged George. "We mustn't lose this race and that's all there is about it."

Working under Fred's guidance, and taking desperate chances George finally succeeded in shaking the reef out of the sail. The halyards were tightened and once again the Balsam moved along under her full spread of canvas.

"Now I feel better," sighed George, as he settled back in the c.o.c.kpit once more. "That short sail worried me."

"We certainly lost a lot of time fooling around there," observed Fred.

"It was all my fault, too."

"Forget it," exclaimed Grant. "We're still ahead of them, aren't we?"

"But not much," said Fred, and he glanced hastily around at the Spruce not more than fifteen yards distant now.

"I hope they don't get our wind," said George. "It's certainly going down and we need every bit of it we can get."

"You're right, Pop," said John. "The wind is lighter and you know what Fred said about the Spruce probably doing better than the Balsam in a light breeze."

Still maintaining their slight advantage the Balsam turned the last stake and started down the home stretch. The wind was dead astern of both boats now and the sails were stretched at right angles to the mast in order to get the full benefit of the breeze.