CHAPTER XVIII
OVERHAULED
"Well, I like that!" George was heard to exclaim; and it was noticedthat he seemed to be greatly amused over something or other.
"What d'ye mean, George?" asked Josh; for the two boats were so closetogether all this while that those aboard could exchange commentswithout great difficulty; although they had to raise their voicesconsiderably, because of the furious rattling of the exhausts.
"It must be a joke, be the powers;" broke in Andy, "because he's beenlaughin' that quiet loike till himsilf this long toime."
"That's what it is, a joke!" declared George; "and by that, I mean thewonderful Saunterer. Our new friend, Algernon, didn't you hear him callhis expensive craft a speed boat? Say, it's a wonder, that's what! Theonly thing I'm surprised at is his giving her such a gentle name. Heought to have called her Chain-Lightning, Blue Streak, or something likethat. Why? Because she goes like a shot--nit. A speed boat, that thing?Well, and her doing about twelve miles an hour at her best too! I couldcut circles all around her, if only you'd let me go, Jack. And look atthe Tramp walking up on her; yet when did you call your craft a speedboat, I'd like to know?"
"Oh! that's what's so funny to you, is it?" Jack went on to say. "Butyou must remember who owns the Saunterer, George. Perhaps, when she'sdoing her best she seems to be flying through the water like mad toAlgernon. Everybody doesn't happen to be built the same as you, George."
"Well, I should say not," declared the other, immediately.
"And there are a whole lot of people who are mighty glad of it," put inJosh.
"Arrah! that's thrue, ivery word av it," echoed Andy. "Sure the world'dbe turned upside-down in a hurry, av there were many Georges runnin'around loose, thryin' to bate ivery other George. I do be sayin' 'em widtheir tongues hangin' out av their mouths and, always lookin' for arace. Now, belave me the ould Comfort is a hape more to me likin' than aboat that cuts through the wather loike a knife; and kapes ye thinkin'ye are sittin' on the sharp edge all the while."
"Oh! well, there have to be different kinds of people in this oldworld," sang out the undaunted George, "and we happen to be built ondifferent models, that's all. You never saw a race horse, one of thethoroughbred type, but what he was nervous, and finely strung. I supposethat's the way I am constructed. Can't help it, to save me. I'm reallyunhappy to be going slow at any time."
And that was really a fact, for George ate his meals in a hurry, studiedhis lessons with a rush; and when he played football was always a terrorupon the lines, carrying things with him; though apt to prove a weakdefense in the end from over-exertion.
While this little heart-to-heart talk was going on, they kept drawingsteadily closer to the white boat.
Jack had begun to speculate on what was apt to happen when finally thepursuers were able to overtake the fugitive craft. He knew that thedesperate men who were aboard would not be apt to think of surrenderingeasily, and especially when they knew or suspected that their foesconsisted for the most part simply of half-grown boys.
They were armed, too, which was a fact calculated to make Jack actcautiously. True, he carried his reliable Marlin along with him, and atclose range a shotgun is a serious weapon to consider, especially one ofhard-shooting, modern kind, but Jack did not much fancy having to usethis, except as the very last resort.
One thing surprised him not a little; he wondered why the escaping bankthieves had not thought to run their boat ashore, and escape to dryland. Surely they must have realized before now that the motor boatswere in pursuit of them, and bound to overtake them at that, beforelong.
Perhaps they were still a little in doubt. Then, again, it might be theyscorned to show the white feather in connection with a pursuit conductedby mere striplings. But Jack secretly believed there must be another andmore likely reason for their sticking to the boat. If they landed, theywere going to have a hard time of it avoiding the many officers who,spurred on by the reward that had likely been offered for theirapprehension, and the return of the stolen plunder, would be on thelookout at every cross road in the country south.
Now, if only they could get a chance to change the color of their craftthey might keep right on moving down the great river, and snap theirfingers at every inquisitive person; for it would be a white boat thatthese watchers would be looking for.
Yes, these things must weigh heavily with the two men, and make themwant to stick by the stolen motor boat as long as possible. They mayhave laid out their plans, and hated to alter them; and these had to dowith a voyage on the river, running by night, until they reached acertain place of refuge; it might be down at St. Louis, for all Jackknew.
No matter what the reason, there was the white boat, still keeping tothe middle of the wide river, and apparently doing her best to outrunthe two pursuing craft.
When ten minutes had passed they had cut down that lead to less thanhalf; and it really looked as if Jack's prediction was about to cometrue.
"What can that dark thing away ahead be, I wonder?" Jack heard Joshsaying about this time.
As it was of the utmost importance that he keep in close touch witheverything that went on, no matter how trivial it seemed, the skipperimmediately raised his head, and asked:
"Where-abouts, Josh?"
"Why, look beyond the white boat, and you'll see something low down onthe water, Jack. Yes, and there's a dark spot in the middle of it, too,just like a cheese box on a raft. Can that be another island, d'yereckon; and are they meanin' to go ashore there, and hold us off?"
"Oh! I guess not," remarked Jack, after taking a good look, "what yousee, Josh, is what you'd call a raft of logs floating down the river.We've seen such pass up our way many a time. And generally the two menaboard will have a little cabin, where they take turns sleeping, whenvoyaging at night, which they don't often do, I reckon. Yes, I believeI can see signs of a couple of lighted lanterns. They're to tellsteamboats to sheer off; and they always do, because a collision withall those big logs would go hard with any boat."
"Guess you're right, Jack," admitted the other, yielding readily to theargument which he realized was convincing. "But say, d'ye think our mensee that same old raft? Could they be making for it, now, meanin' toboard the same, and keep us off?"
That idea had flashed into Jack's mind, but as yet he could not say; forhe was unable to see just what advantage such a course would be to thefugitives. True, the pursuers had been overhauling them so fast of latethat it began to appear as though they were having trouble with theengine Jenks had fixed. If that proved to be the case, then they mighthave been seized with a fear that they were going to be overhauled; andas it was too late now to reach land, the next best thing would be tomake a floating battery of the raft, and keep their persistent enemiesoff, until they could steer the clumsy float nearer the shore.
"What's the programme, Jack?" called George, who was doubtless fairlyquivering with excitement, and eager for hostilities to begin.
"You come up on the left, while we take the right," replied the other,just as though he had figured all this out, as he undoubtedly had.
"Do we board the pirate boat?" George went on.
"We'll have to, if we expect to retake it for Algernon," Jack answered.
"They'll put up a stiff fight, Jack, don't forget that," the skipper ofthe Wireless went on to say.
"Well, if only they'd get cold feet it'd make it all the easier for us,"Josh broke in with, just then. "And don't I wish every fellow had a gunlike Jack, here. Then we'd have 'em dead to rights, and they'd soonthrow up the sponge, when we started in to bombard the lot with shot.Say, Jack, you expect to use that same little Marlin, I hope; for what'sthe good of a gun when you won't make it squeal?"
"I'll use it to let them know we're armed, first of all," Jackexplained, "and that might go a good ways toward making them surrender."
"But hold on, Jack, don't do that if the two shells are all you've got.A nice sort of thing that'd be, to scare the game, and not have anythingto pink 'em wi
th afterwards," Josh went on to say, in alarm.
"Oh! I've got a few more in my pocket," returned the other. "I was wiseenough to slip some shells in my coat before we left camp the firsttime. Don't worry about that, Josh. There! wasn't that a man's headbobbing up above the stern of the other boat just then?"
It certainly must have been, for immediately there came a hoarse hailacross the intervening water.
"Hello! there, you in the motor boats!"
"Hello! yourself! what d'ye want?" demanded George; before Jack couldsay a word; for George did everything so quickly it was hard to getahead of him.
"We want you to sheer off, and mind your own business, hear that?"replied the party aboard the white boat belonging to Algernon.
"That's just what we are doing," Jack called out. "You've made a mistakeand gone off with the wrong boat. Yours is up above, on the island; andthat one belongs to a friend of ours. We want it; and what's more, we'regoing to take it back. Do you get that?"
The two men could be heard talking hurriedly together. Possibly theywere trying to figure out just what the boy meant and if it could bethat their real identity were as yet unsuspected. If the boys simplylooked on them as boat thieves, perhaps they might manage to deceivethem in some way. But when the man spoke once more it was evident thatthey could not wholly reconcile themselves to this idea.
"We want to warn you to keep off, or you're apt to get hurt right bad.We're heavily armed, and will shoot straight, take that from me."
"Oh! say you so?" called out George, mockingly, "well, perhaps there aretwo who can play at that game, mister. Guess we've got firearms along,too; and can pepper your hides with Number Seven shot till you'll looklike a Christmas plum pudding. Jack, shall we give 'em a volley rightnow?"