CHAPTER 15 _UNDER THE SAIL_
That Claude Harper was searching for them, the girls did not doubt. Butthough he knew someone had been peering in the window, they were hopefulhe had not actually seen them. Huddling beneath the sail in the bottom ofthe boat, they nervously waited.
The man came farther out on the pier, the boards creaking beneath hisweight. At any instant the girls expected to have the sailcloth jerkedfrom their heads. However, Harper's attention was diverted as Sweeper Joecame out of the house.
"Find anyone?" the factory worker asked.
"No, but tracks lead to the window. Someone's been spying."
"Kids probably."
"I don't know about that," Claude Harper returned gruffly. "I'd feel alot safer if we didn't have all that stuff in the basement. What's ourchances of getting rid of it tonight?"
"We can't do it. Tomorrow or next night maybe. Arrangements have got tobe made, and if we try to push things, we'll end up in a jam."
The voices faded away, though not entirely. Presently daring to peep frombeneath the canvas, Penny saw that the two men had seated themselves onthe rear steps of the house at the edge of the river and within plainview of the tied-up boat.
"We're in a nice position now!" she whispered to Sally. "Suppose they sitthere until they decide to leave in this boat?"
"We'll be caught. We're the same as trapped now unless they go back intothe house."
The two men showed no inclination to leave. They talked earnestlytogether, evidently making plans of some sort. Though the girls triedhard to overhear, they could catch only an occasional word. After awhile,Ma Harper, a wiry, ugly woman with stringy black hair, came outdoors tojoin the men on the steps.
"It's getting late," she warned. "If you're goin' to tend to that jobtoday, you'll have to be gettin' across the river. Ain't you due to showup for work at four o'clock, Joe?"
"That's right," the man yawned, getting up. "I'll be glad when I canchuck the whole business and live without workin'."
Though Penny and Sally did not hear much of the conversation, it wasevident to them that the men were about ready to make use of the boat.
"We're sunk," Sally whispered fearfully. "Maybe we ought to climb out ofhere and make a dash for it."
Penny offered a better idea. "Why not untie the rope, and let the boatdrift off?" she proposed. "The current is swift and should carry usdownstream fairly fast."
"Any other boat around that they can use to follow us in?"
"I don't see any." Penny raised the sail a little higher as she gazedalong the pier and nearby beach.
"All right, then do your stuff," Sally urged.
While she held the sail slightly above Penny's head so that no movementwould be discernible to those on the house steps, the latter reached herhands from beneath the cloth and swiftly untied the rope. The boat beganto drift away. Covered by the sail, the girls lay motionless and flat onthe craft's bottom.
At first nothing happened. But as they began to hope that the men wouldnot notice the drifting boat, they heard an explosive shout.
"Look!" Claude Harper exclaimed. "Our boat!"
"Jumpin' fish hooks!" Sweeper Joe muttered. "How did that happen? I tied'er secure."
"It looks like it," the other retorted sarcastically. "I can't afford tolose that boat."
The girls could hear running footsteps on the pier and boardwalk near thedance pavilion. Sally dared to peep from beneath the canvas again.
"They're after a motorboat!" she reported tensely. "Harper has one hekeeps locked in a boathouse."
"How close are we to the bend in the river?"
"About twenty yards."
The swift current was doing its best for the girls, swinging their boattoward the bend. Once beyond it, they would be temporarily hidden fromthe pier. But the current also was tending to carry them farther andfarther from shore.
"Do we dare row?" Penny asked nervously.
"Not yet. Harper is having trouble getting the engine of his boatstarted," Sally reported. "We'll be safe for a minute or two. We'regetting closer to the bend."
To the nervous girls, the boat scarcely seemed to move. Then at last itpassed the bend and they were screened by willow trees and bushes.
"Now!" Sally signalled in a tense whisper.
Throwing off the sail, they seized oars and paddled with all theirstrength.
"Quiet!" Sally warned as Penny's oar made a splash. "Sounds carry plainlyover the water."
The blast of a motorboat engine told them that Harper and his companionhad started in pursuit. Only a minute or two would be required for themto round the bend.
Throwing caution to the winds, Sally and Penny dug in with their oars,shooting their craft toward shore. The boat grated softly on the sand.Instantly, the girls leaped out, splashing through ankle-deep water.
As Sally was about to start across the beach, Penny seized her hand.
"We mustn't leave a trail of footprints this time!" she warned.
Treading a log at the water's edge, Penny walked its length to firmground which took no visible shoe print. Sally followed her to a clump ofbushes where they crouched and waited.
Barely had they taken cover when the motorboat came into view, headingfor the little cove. There Claude Harper recaptured the runaway rowboat,tying it to the stern of the other craft.
Suddenly Penny was dismayed as she realized that in their flight, a mostimportant detail had been overlooked.
"The oars!" she whispered. "They're wet!"
"Maybe the men won't see," Sally said hopefully. "We left them halfcovered by the canvas."
Intent only upon returning to the pier, Claude Harper and his companionfailed to notice anything amiss. Apparently assuming the boat had beencarelessly tied and had drifted away under its own power, they were notsuspicious.
"That was a narrow squeak," Penny sighed in relief as the motorboat withthe other craft in tow finally disappeared around the bend. "The oarswill quickly dry in the sun, so I guess we're safe."
Now that they were well out of trouble, the adventure seemed fun. Pennyglanced at her wristwatch, observing that it was past four o'clock.
"Jack will be waiting for me," she said to Sally. "I'll have to hurry."
"We'll have plenty of time," Sally returned carelessly. "You usually cancount on Jack being half an hour late for appointments."
Walking swiftly along the deserted shore, the girls discussed what theyhad overheard at the Harpers.
"We stirred up a big fuss and didn't learn too much," Penny saidregretfully. "All the same, it looks as if the Harpers and Sweeper Joeare mixed up in this brass business together."
"They spoke of having something stored in the basement. That is whatinterests me. Oh, Penny, if only we could go back there sometime when theHarpers are gone and really investigate!"
"Maybe we can."
Sally shook her head. "Ma Harper almost never goes away from home. Butsometimes she has streams of visitors from Osage--mostly women. I'veoften wondered why."
"Factory girls?"
"No, they're housewives and every type of person. I think Mrs. Harpermust be selling something to them, but I never could figure it out."
The _River Queen_ was at the far side of the river, so Sally, for lack ofoccupation, walked on with Penny to the dock where she was to meet Jack.Greatly to their surprise, he was there ahead of them, and evidently hadbeen waiting for some length of time.
Seeing the girls, he slowly arose to his feet.
"Well, Jack, what did you learn at the factory?" Penny asked eagerly.
"Why, not much of anything."
"You mean you weren't able to find out the name of the man who droppedhis badge aboard the _Queen_?" Penny asked incredulously.
"Of course you learned the name if you really tried," Sally added. "Everysingle badge used at your factory would be recorded!"
Thus trapped, Jack said lamely:
"Oh, I learned his name all right. Takeit easy, and I'll tell you."