CHAPTER IV.
THE TRY-OUT.
"Oh, Mr. Burglar, please don't hurt me."
This was what Bob heard as he picked himself up from the floor. Theroom was pitch dark, but it was evident that both the boys in the bedhad been awakened by the noise and that they were also in a state ofterror. Taking advantage of their panic, Bob quickly found his way tothe hall and flashing his light, ran down the stairs and out the frontdoor. Just as he stepped from the porch a revolver shot rang out froman upper window.
"Guess they got up enough spunk to get out of bed," chuckled Bob, ashe crouched behind a convenient bush, and he could not resist thetemptation to sing out, "Next time you steal anything you better nottalk so loudly about where you hide it."
"I'll have you arrested for burglary, Bob Golden," came in angry tonesfrom the window.
"All right, go ahead," replied Bob, "but I guess you'll have a finetime explaining how my property came to be in your coat pocket."
He waited to hear no more, but making his way as quickly as possibleto where he had left the canoe, he lost no time in getting it into thewater. Jumping in he bent to the paddle with all his strength and inabout a half hour rounded the point, just behind which was theboathouse. He found Jack and Mike waiting for him on the porch.
"Gee, I thought you'd never come," said Jack. "Did you get them?"
"I did that," chuckled Bob, getting out of the canoe, and then ofcourse he had to tell them all about it.
"Smart bye," said Mike, when he had finished, "Sure and you'd make onepeach of a burglar."
"Perhaps," said Bob, "but I don't fancy the part, it's bad for thenerves. Now," he continued, "it's about 2 o'clock and we must get somesleep for I want to be up by daybreak and give the Sprite a tryoutbefore any one is about."
"Well I guess I will stay up till you wake," proposed Mike, "in casethey try to get those caps back."
"Perhaps that would be the best plan," agreed Bob, "I don't believethey would have the nerve to try to get into the house, but they mighttry to break into the boathouse to injure the Sprite. It'll only beabout three hours, for I want you to call us at 5 o'clock sharp."
It seemed to the boys that they had hardly fallen asleep when theyheard Mike pounding on the door. "All right," shouted Bob, "we'll beright down."
Day was just breaking as they came out of the house. It took but ashort time to get the Sprite into the lake, slip the cylinder in placeand adjust the caps.
"Now," said Jack eagerly, "for the first trip with electricity."
It was surely an anxious moment to the boys, for if anything waswrong, there was but little time for adjustment.
"Push her off, Mike, and then jump in," ordered Bob.
Running the boat out to the end of the wharf, Mike gave her a push,jumping in as he did so, and a second later the Sprite was floatingabout twenty feet from the shore. Bob at once turned on the juice, ashe expressed it, and to their delight the propeller began to beat thewater.
"Hurrah!" shouted both Jack and Mike, "She's going."
"Yes, she's going," repeated Bob, heading her down the lake. "Now tosee if she will make any kind of time."
Slowly he pushed the switch over notch by notch, and faster and fasterthe Sprite cut through the water, till Jack declared that they weregoing fully as fast as they ever went with the old engine. "Have yougot on full power?" he asked eagerly.
"No," replied Bob, "only about half. But don't it seem funny not tohear her puff?"
"It sure does," assented Jack, "but push her over and let's see howfast she can go."
Faster and faster the boat cut through the water till it seemed to theboys that they were almost flying.
"Jiminy-jumped-up!" ejaculated Mike, speaking for the first time, "butye'll get a hot box if ye don't slow her down."
"No danger of that," laughed Bob, "but we're going fifteen miles anhour if we're going an inch, and the best of it is she seems to berunning in perfect order."
They sailed about the lake for about an hour and expressed themselvesas being well satisfied with the results and confident that they wouldbe able to keep the coveted blue ribbon. As Jack expressed it, "TheWinner would have to go a good deal faster that afternoon than sheever had before to justify her name."
"Well, I guess we'd better go back now and get some eats," proposedBob.
"Second the motion," shouted Jack, "I'm hungry enough to eat almostanything."
On the west shore of the lake, about half way down, was a grove wherewere a hotel, a summer theater and other places of amusement. Past thelake, about a quarter of a mile distant, ran a trolley line, aboutten miles long, connecting the towns of Skowhegan and Madis. A spurtrack ran down to the lake almost to its edge.
The starting point for the race was directly in front of the hotel,while the course was marked out by buoys and ran down the lake on theeast side, up on the west side nearly to the head, then down to thestarting point, making a course of about twelve miles.
By 2.30 o'clock a large crowd of people had collected in the grove,for the great race was scheduled to start at 3.00, and promptly ontime ten motor boats lined up ready for the starter's shot.
Besides the Sprite and the Winner, there were the Eagle, a fast littlesixteen-footer, carrying a ten horsepower, two-cylinder engine; theChum, twenty feet long with fifteen horsepower, and the Rocket,eighteen feet long, equipped with an engine of fourteen horsepower.The other five boats I will not attempt to describe, as they did notfigure prominently in the race.
The Sprite was stationed farthest from the shore, then came theWinner, Eagle, Chum and Rocket in the order named.
Many ugly glances did the owners of the Winner cast at the Sprite andits crew as they took their places, but no words passed between themtill just before the start, when in a sneering tone, Fred Jenkinssaid, "Bet you a hundred dollars we beat you."
"We don't bet," replied Bob.
"Huh, afraid," sneered Will Jenkins. "Tell you what I'll do, I'll makeit a hundred dollars or any amount you like that we come in twentylengths ahead."
"Nothing doing," calmly replied Bob, and at that moment the starter'svoice rang out, "Are you all ready?"
"Aye, aye, sir," was the response.
"All right then, stand by," and a second later, crack, went hisrevolver. Instantly nine fly wheels were turned over, but Bob sittingin the bow of the Sprite turned the switch to the first notch.