The Rival Campers Part 29

"Of course it is taking chances," responded Harvey, quickly. "You have got to take chances in a contest of this kind. The fellows that take the chances are the ones that win. But it isn't taking any great chances, following Cap'n Tucker. I tell you he knows these waters better than any man in the bay. He wouldn't go over there unless he knew he was going to make something by it. Why, he has sailed that big catboat of his up and down along this coast for the last twenty years and more, that and other boats. The skipper in the _Bertha_ comes from away up beyond Millville.

He can sail his boat all right, but he don't know this coast like Captain Sile."

Harvey, accordingly, stood over to the westward, in the wake of the _Anna Maud_.

Only one other boat followed him. That was the _Sally_.

"I don't know what they are standing away over there for," said Willie Grimes to his companions. "I don't know whether it is the best thing to do or not. It may be that they know something about the tide over there.

But I know one thing, and that is, wherever Jack Harvey goes I'm going to follow. I wouldn't care if every other yacht here beat me if I could only beat him. You never can tell, you know. Something may happen to him yet."

The wisdom of Captain Silas Tucker's departure from the straight course soon became apparent. The tide, indeed, at this point made a sweep insh.o.r.e, for some reason, flowing far swifter in near the land than it did offsh.o.r.e. Again, too, the wind had slanted a little, and the yachts that had taken this course were soon in a better position relative to the stake-boat than the others.

Slowly the _Anna Maud_ drew ahead of the _Bertha_, the captain of the latter boat realizing the advantage which the others were gaining too late to change his own course. As they neared the mark, even the _Surprise_ and the _Sally_ were leading the _Bertha_, which now seemed to be hopelessly out of the race.

The race, indeed, seemed narrowed down to these three yachts, with a slight advantage in the _Anna Maud's_ favour.

"Hooray!" cried Harvey, "we are holding the _Anna Maud_ in fine style.

She's gaining ever so little, not enough thus far to cover our time allowance. They say she is fast off the wind, but so are we. That's the best point of the _Surprise_. She sails better running free than any boat of her size I ever saw."

"Cracky!" cried young Tim, "I hope we take that silver cup back to camp with us. We'll march through the streets with it, if we get it."

"Yes, if we get it," replied Harvey. "It don't do to be too sure, though."

Now the _Anna Maud_ was rounding the stake-boat and coming back over the course, not quite before the wind, owing to the slant to the westward that it had taken, but with her sheet well out.

"The wind is in our favour," said Harvey, gleefully. "There's just enough slant to it so our jibs will help us some. They will draw a little, and that gives us an advantage over that catboat. Let that sheet go, now, Joe, the minute we turn the mark."

A moment later the _Surprise_ rounded the stake-boat, with a good lead over the _Sally_, and still near enough astern of the _Anna Maud_ to give her a good race.

"Up with that centreboard, now, George-lively," cried Harvey. "It's a big board, and we don't want to drag it a minute longer than we have to. It counts a whole lot with this tide running against it. What's the matter?

What are you waiting for? Up with it!"

"Why, hang the thing!" exclaimed George Baker, "I'm trying to get it up as hard as ever I can. It won't come. It's stuck."

"What's that?" cried Harvey. "Stuck? Nonsense! Here, you, Joe, hold this wheel a moment. I'll have it up in a hurry."

He sprang forward, brushing George Baker out of the way impatiently.

"Let me get hold there," he said.

Harvey seized the iron rod, which was fastened to the centreboard, and gave a strong pull. But the centreboard did not budge. He took a firmer hold and pulled with all his strength. It was of no avail. The board had stuck fast in its box.

"I'll have it up or break something," cried Harvey, beside himself with anger, and again he grasped the rod with both hands and gave a furious wrench. There was a most unexpected and baffling verification of his threat, for the rod, broken off short at its connection with the centreboard, did come up, so suddenly that Harvey sprawled over backwards, still grasping the rod with both hands clenched, and rolled over on the floor of the c.o.c.kpit.

There was no such thing as getting the centreboard up now. It was down to stay.

Harvey, white with rage, sprang to his feet and hurled the rod into the sea. Then he took his seat sullenly at the wheel again.

"That settles it," he said, as soon as he could speak for anger. "We haven't a ghost of a chance now. I shouldn't wonder, even, if the _Sally_ overhauled us." And he looked back helplessly at the yacht astern.

Slowly but surely the _Anna Maud_ forged ahead. The distance between her and the _Surprise_ grew ever farther and farther.

"That's queer," said Captain Silas Tucker, looking back at Harvey's yacht. "I thought she was going to give us a harder run home than that.

I've heard the boat was good off the wind, but she doesn't seem to be doing well. It's first prize for us this trip, and easily won. Well, your Uncle Silas hasn't sailed around these parts all his life for nothing."

Slowly but surely, too, the _Sally_ was creeping up close astern of the _Surprise_, to the wild delight of Willie Grimes and his comrades.

"If I can only beat Jack Harvey," he kept saying, "I don't care about the other yacht's beating us."

"If Willie Grimes beats us, I'll run him down and sink him some day,"

muttered Harvey, grinding his teeth.

It was still a close race between these two as the finish-line was neared. The _Sally_ had crept up until she was almost abeam of the _Surprise_, and was gaining, ever so slowly, but surely. Harvey, dogged to the last, waited until the _Sally_ was nearly abreast of him, and then, as a last resort, tried once more to bully the race from his less experienced rival.

Throwing his wheel over slightly, he tried the tactic of crowding the other off the course.

But Willie Grimes was bound to win or sink this time. He kept his own boat off just enough to avoid the possibility of Harvey's fouling him, maintaining the same relative distance between them, and all the while drawing ahead.

The judges, watching the close finish through their gla.s.ses, perceived this trick of Harvey's, and were ready to disqualify him in case of any accident. But their determination was unnecessary. Less than a dozen rods from the finish-line the _Sally_ had sailed clear of the _Surprise_, and now cut in on to the course, leaving Harvey astern, and crossed the line a rod to the good.

Then, as a storm of cheers rang out from the a.s.sembled boats, as a fluttering of handkerchiefs and waving of parasols, a tossing of hats and shrieking of whistles, saluted the victory of Willie Grimes over him, Harvey did not deign to cross the line. Angrily he swung out of the course, and stood over, without a word, for the town of Bellport.

"Takes his licking hard, doesn't he, Willie?" called out a voice, and a chorus of laughter mocked at Harvey's wrath as he sailed away.

The _Anna Maud_ had won the race, but the honours were as much for the _Sally_ as for the winner. They took substantial form, moreover, for, one of the committee, vowing the _Sally_ should have a second prize, if he had to buy one himself, as there had not been any offered, the suggestion met with a ready response; and the owner and crew of the _Sally_ rejoiced that night in the unexpected award of a handsome compa.s.s for their cabin.

"Now," said Harvey, as the _Surprise_ neared the landing at Bellport, "I want to get out of this town just as quick as I step foot in it. I don't intend to stay here and have those chaps and those girls laugh at me.

They've got altogether too good a chance. You fellows have got to stay here and take the _Surprise_ up to Billy Coombs's marine railway. She'll have to be hauled out for a day and the ballast come out of her around that centreboard box. Tell him to put a new iron in, and you can pay for it, Joe, and I'll pay you when you come back to camp."

"But where are you going?" asked the others.

"I am going to foot it down the road for seven miles to Hackett's Cove, and wait for Jeff Hackett to come down," answered Harvey. "Then I'll go across to the foot of the island with him in his sloop. I'd walk farther than that to get clear of the crowd that will be ash.o.r.e here soon; but, for that matter, I want to get back to the island to-night, anyway.

There's a dance in the old town hall at Carter's Harbour, and I'll get there in time for that."

"He's all cut up over Willie Grimes's beating him," said Joe Hinman, as Harvey sprang out on the landing and walked rapidly away. "He won't get over it for a week. Well, we shall have to catch it for him when the boats come in. However, we didn't sail the boat. That's one comfort."

Late that afternoon, Jack Harvey, hot and dusty with his long walk, waited impatiently, seated on a pile of timber by the sh.o.r.e, for the arrival of Jeff Hackett's sloop. Five o'clock came, and then six, and no sloop in sight. Harvey strolled up to the village store and bought some crackers and cheese for his supper.

"So you're waiting for Jeff Hackett's sloop to take you across to the island, are you?" said the storekeeper. "Well, you'll wait till morning now, I reckon. Wish I'd known you wanted to go over sooner. You see, Jeff engaged Tom Crosby to make his trip this afternoon for him, and he's been gone an hour now. You must have seen Tom's boat off there."

"I did," replied Harvey, shortly, "but I had no idea he was going across.

What can I do, now?"

"Nothing that I see," said the storekeeper, "except to take it comfortable here to-night, and go over with Jeff in the morning."

Harvey strode angrily out and walked down to the sh.o.r.e again.

A rod or two out a fisherman was rowing in a small boat.