Motor Boat Boys on the St. Lawrence

“Thank you, Jack; it was a lucky day for me when I ran across you boys. But let us lose no time; for doubtless they’ll be off as soon as they can, knowing that the game is now up, and all that remains to them is escape.”

Nothing loth, Jack accompanied him as he started along the broad trail leading down to the cove. He could readily understand now that the revenue man must have investigated to some purpose that day while at the cabin; and knowing there were no smuggled goods in the cache then, had laid his plans to come back in the night, in the expectation of catching the rascals in the act; which was just what he had done.

CHAPTER XIX – A RACE IN THE MOONLIGHT

“Hold on!” said the agent abruptly.

A dark figure had risen up before them; and as the moonlight fell upon the man Jack saw that it was in truth the Indian guide who had been with the “professor” in the noisy motor boat.

“Did you get him, Josh?” demanded the employer, eagerly.

“He lies under hemlock, tied hand and foot. No danger he get away,” came the confident reply.

“All right,” said the other. “Come along with me, John. These boys will guard the cabin and not let any one steal the hidden goods. We have other work cut out for us. We want to get our hands on that head man, Glenwood. So long as he is at large there can be no peace on the border.”

Great was the astonishment of the five boys when Jack and his companions made their appearance on the shore, and the former called to have the small boats pushed in, so that they might come aboard.

“Jack, what’s all this mean?” asked George, greatly excited.

“Can’t tell you everything just now, fellows,” the other replied. “This gentleman is a government revenue agent, and he’s on the track of a band of smugglers who have been using this island as a place to land goods brought over from Canada. He captured three, but the leader got away. George, he wants to borrow your boat.”

“What?” gasped the other, astounded beyond measure.

“He and his man and myself will go with you, Josh changing over,” Jack continued. “While we’re gone the rest of you keep on the watch and don’t let anybody come aboard, no matter who he is. These scoundrels have captured the Flash.”

“Now, what d’ye know about that?” exclaimed Nick, as he helped Josh over the side of the big Comfort, so as to make room for the others who were to go in the speed boat.

“But George, you haven’t said yet whether you are willing to chase the Flash, and try to overtake her?” said the energetic agent.

“Sure I am,” came the ready response; “and I believe we can get her, if nothing happens to my motor. I’ve had some hard luck with it when I tried to push the thing to the limit. But tumble in here, and we’ll be off.”

George was trembling with delightful anticipations. If anything in all the world appealed to him it was a race. None of the others had the same feeling, and, like Jack, they preferred comfort in a boat beyond speed, though none were averse to making good time.

Everybody wanted to help, and as many hands make light work, the Wireless was in condition to start almost as soon as the two men climbed aboard.

“Sit as near the middle as you can, please, to balance her,” the others heard the skipper say, as she shot away.

“Yes,” called out Nick, derisively, “and be sure your hair is parted in the middle, or it’s all up with you. I know, because I was there for some four weeks.”

“Which way, sir?” asked George, wisely paying no attention to this shout, which, after all, was Nick’s only method for getting even, after all the agony he had endured in that cranky narrow motor boat.

“Turn to port, and head for the upper part of the island. We haven’t wasted much time, and I hope to discover that boat somewhere,” replied the agent.

“If we do,” said George, with firmness, “make up your mind the good old Wireless is going to hang on like a bulldog till she cuts down the lead, and overhauls that Flash. Always said she had the look of a pirate, and others thought the same thing, it seems, since those men picked her out as the boat they could use.”

“Just think of Clarence and Joe being in their hands all this time,” remarked Jack, as they tore through the water. “Must seem like a pretty tough vacation for those boys, all right.”

“Oh! I don’t suppose Glenwood has really harmed them,” said the agent; “but he’s a hard man to deal with; and unless they knuckled down to him perhaps they’ve felt his fist before now. I’m hoping that, perhaps, when Clarence sees who is after him he may find some way to slow down and let us overhaul him.”

George only laughed at this and remarked:

“That’s because you don’t know Clarence, sir. He hates me like poison, and sooner than have me beat him with my boat I believe he’d take the chances of staying in the power of those smugglers for a month. Oh! no, when he sees who is after him he’ll put things at top-notch speed, and try every trick he knows how to win out. But I’m not afraid, if only things go right with my engine.”

“Look yonder!” cried the eagle-eyed agent just then, the Indian having pulled his coat sleeve and pointed ahead.

“Say, that’s her, as sure as fate!” cried George, as he altered the course of his own boat a little.

“And they know we’re after them, too,” remarked Jack.

“Then the race is on; and good luck attend the better boat,” said the government agent, coolly taking out a cigar, biting off the end, and proceeding to apply a lighted match to the same.

They were fairly flying through the water. On either side the waves parted, and rolled over smothered in foam; while in their wake a roller kept following close on their heels.

“Twenty miles if anything?” the gentleman guessed.

“More than that, sir,” replied the skipper, proudly; “but she can do better still. I’ve got another notch to let out if I have to. Don’t want to take the chances unless it’s positively necessary; because you see the quivering rattles her so much. Are we holding our own, do you think, Jack?”

“I am sure of that,” came the reply. “And if you asked me again I’d say we are gaining a little all the while.”

“Bully old Wireless!” exclaimed George, his voice filled with pride. “She can do the stunt all right if only something don’t happen to throw us out of our gear. She’s a wonder, that’s what, and I’ve always said so. Talk about sprinting, did you ever go as fast as this in a small boat, sir?”

“I certainly never have,” replied the government agent; and from the way he was staggering around, clutching hold of every object that promised to keep him erect, it looked as though he might just as well have added: “and Heaven deliver me from ever experiencing it again.”

“Everybody keep a sharp lookout for rocks or anything of the sort,” said George; “because those men must know this region like a book, and it would be just like ’em to lead us in a trap, so we’d be wrecked.”

“Yes, you’re correct there, George,” observed the agent, “and I give you credit for having a long head. That’s the kind of chaps you’re up against right now, full of trickery; desperate men, whose one idea is escape.”

“This moonlight is all right as long as the other boat isn’t any further away than she is,” remarked George a minute or two later.

“I’m sorry to state that you can’t count on the candle up in the sky much longer,” remarked the gentleman; “for there is a suspicious bank of black clouds hovering near, and at any time she’s apt to be eclipsed.”

“All right,” and George laughed a bit hysterically, since he was laboring under so great a strain of excitement. “Jack, would you mind attending to my searchlight. Then we’ll be ready for the trouble when she comes.”

And a couple of minutes later, when the dark mask did cover the face of the moon, a long vivid white gleam reached out from the brass searchlight on the forward deck of the quivering speed boat. It widened as it extended in the distance; and plainly seen was the flitting craft they pursued. The position of the Flash could be detected better by means of the white foam-tipped waves thrown aside by her swift passage, rather than by viewing the boat itself.

“That’s splendid!” remarked the government agent, as he looked along this lane of illumination, and watched the desperate struggles of the Flash to outrun her determined pursuers.

“Still picking up on her, ain’t we, Jack?” asked George, after a little.

“No doubt about that, I think,” came the reply. “And I guess you were right when you declared the good old Wireless was the better boat. She can certainly walk over the water some. I would enjoy this more if it was day-time.”

“I guess we all would,” laughed the gentleman, still gripping hold of the brass rail to make sure he might not be plunged overboard should anything suddenly go wrong.

“If only the engine behaves half-way decent,” sighed George. “She’s doing nobly right now, though, ain’t she, Jack? But I hope they don’t toll us in among the rocks. If we ever come slap up against one at this rate there’s going to be some high vaulting, I tell you. Whew! did you see that one sticking out of the water? I just swerved in time, though. Keep watching, everybody, and tell me quick if you see anything ugly ahead!”

Their pace was not abated a particle, even though George knew that new perils were strewn in their course. If that other boat ahead could speed through this same tortuous channel he believed he dared take the same chances. And George had always been reckoned a daring boy by his schoolmates, in football games or on the diamond; so that this venturesome spirit was no new freak on his part.

It was only by the greatest effort that he refrained from throwing on the last atom of speed, and hastening the overtaking of the fugitive motor boat.

They were rushing on at this tremendous pace, and constantly gaining, when George gave vent to a sudden loud exclamation.

CHAPTER XX – OVERHAULED

Jack had seen the same object that had given George such a start. Across the white path of illumination thrown forward by the powerful little acetylene searchlight, a shadowy, moving thing suddenly appeared.

It was a sailboat, beating up against a head wind, and aiming to reach its home port while the possibility of moonlight lasted.

Whatever tempted the man at the tiller to try and cross between the swift moving motor boats no one might ever know. But it was the nearest to a collision, without an actual calamity, Jack had ever experienced.

He instinctively understood that the only thing that would prevent the Wireless from plunging into the luckless sailboat would be a prompt reversal on the part of the skipper at the wheel. And such an action was apt to endanger the working abilities of the Wireless’engine, never too trustworthy under a strain.

Had George failed, Jack stood ready to butt in and execute the speed maneuver; for this was a case that would admit of no ceremony. Life and death might be in the balance.

But, fortunately, George kept his head. He instantly did what was necessary, and the tremendous forward movement of the rushing speed boat was instantly checked.

Indeed, so astonishing was the change that the government agent came near plunging headlong over the rail into the river. Jack stretched out a hand and caught him just in time. As for the Indian, he sprawled on all fours in the bottom of the craft, trying to keep his head from bumping against some obstacle.

But Jack was delighted to see that the engine had actually redeemed itself; for it still continued to work at the old stand.

The adventurous sailboat glided out of the way, so close that the sharp bow of the Wirelessalmost touched the boom that was hauled well in during the tacking process. A couple of white, scared faces could be seen for two seconds; and then the sailboat was engulfed in the shadows that lay on either side, out beyond range of that searchlight radius.

“Bully for her!” gulped George, almost unable to articulate under the tremendous strain, yet thinking only of the able work of his engine.

“Speed her up again, George; but not with a rush!” called Jack.

Looking ahead he saw that, just as he expected, the Flash had managed to take advantage of the momentary detention of her rival, and increased the distance separating them.

“That was tough luck!” said the government agent; “but I owe you thanks for saving me from a wet jacket, my boy.”

“I guess we’re fortunate not to have smashed into that silly crowd, and played hob with everything,” Jack remarked.

“But look where they are,” groaned the anxious George. “Just about as far ahead as in the start; and it’s all got to be done over again. Oh; what fools some men are when they get in a boat. All they had to do was to come up in the wind till the procession passed. Instead, they tried to butt in, and came near spoiling the whole game. What shall we do, Jack?”

“Do you want me to say what I’d do if this was my boat?” asked the other.

“Sure I do,” George spoke up. “They’ve got some clever trick ahead, and may lose us yet. You notice that they hardly make any noise, even while the muffler isn’t working. That boat was just made for a smuggler, or a pirate. But go on, Jack, tell me.”

“All right,” said the other. “You see how well your engine is going. She’s had all the freak rubbed off her, I guess, and is now buckling right down to business. And honestly, George, I believe you can trust her with that reserve notch of speed! I’d try it, if I were you.”

“Now, I’m glad to hear you say that, Jack,” exclaimed the skipper, eagerly. “For during that other trip my engine played so many pranks that she got a black eye among my chums. If so be she’s settled down to a steady stage, the sooner I know it the better. I’ll be delighted to find it out. So here goes. Steady, all; hold on tight!”

The government agent, not knowing what to expect, for they were as near flying now as he ever expected to get, thought the policy of his crafty Indian helper worth imitating. So he simply dropped down in the body of the boat and braced himself against a shock.

But there was none. When George applied that last little reserve bit of power a slight jump forward resulted; and then after that the only difference seemed to be that they drew up on the fugitive Flash hand over hand.

George was nearly wild with delight. To him the fact that his cranky engine had finally determined to be good and do the duty which her makers had meant she should, far outweighed all else. So far as he was concerned it did not matter much whether the three men in the Flash were captured or not; but it was an affair of exceeding importance that the good, reliable old Wireless should overhaul its rival in this masterly manner.

“See her hump herself, Jack!” he ejaculated, as he balanced himself in the swaying craft, and peered eagerly ahead toward the other boat. “Ain’t she coming up nobly, though? Talk to me about the Flash making circles around us; why, she ain’t in the same class with this same old Wireless. Oh! but this pays me for all the troubles I’ve had in the past. I can hardly keep from yelling, Jack!”

“Better quit that monkey business, then,” cautioned the other. “You need all your wind and eyesight and everything else right now in handling such a greyhound.”

That just about finished George.

“Thank you, Jack, for giving her that fine name. But she deserves it,” he said. “I understand what you mean; and, believe me, I’ll try to hold my spirits in check until the game is won. I’d hate to have any accident happen now, I tell you.”

And he did buckle down to business with new determination and grit, grasping the vibrating wheel with all his strength, and watching to see just what the tricky skipper of that other craft might do. For George knew Clarence only too well, nor would he put anything past the other when it came down to cunning.

They were now so close that it was easy to see everything taking place on board the fleeing Flash. Clarence was at the wheel, and several figures crouched along either side, evidently holding on for dear life. One was in the stern, and Jack had little difficulty in making him out as the tall man he had first seen in the old cabin, and whom the agent had called Glenwood.

“Looks like we would run alongside in less than five minutes, sir,” observed George, trying to steady his voice, but hardly succeeding, for his nerves were tingling in a manner he had seldom if ever experienced before.

“Keep just a little to the left, then,” answered the agent. “And watch out, for it is barely possible they may try to foul us at the last, hoping to escape in the confusion.”

Jack was changing his mind now about that same thing. He had an idea that perhaps Clarence had played a trick on the men who held him in custody; he may not have let out all the speed of which the Flash was capable. Besides, now that the race seemed virtually over, and the Wireless had proven the superior why should he want to bring about a collision that would wreck both boats, as well as endanger the lives of all the occupants?

“Steady, George, steady!” Jack cautioned, as he thought he saw a slight change in the course taken by the boat ahead.

“Duck down, boys; he’s going to try and scare us by firing!” suddenly said the keen-eyed government agent.

Even George managed to partly drop, so as to be shielded by the forward deck. And that the revenue man had guessed correctly was made evident when there broke out the sharp report of a revolver. Jack even believed he could hear the peculiar whine of the flying bullet as it passed over the boat.

“Stay where you are!” cried the agent; “that was only one. He’s got a few more of the same kind to follow!”

There came other shots in rapid succession. Really, it would not be surprising if George lost his head under such circumstances, for usually it takes a veteran to preserve his coolness under fire. But, singular to state, the nervous one of the motor boys now proved that he could shut his teeth together and hold on tenaciously with bulldog courage.

The Wireless may have wavered just a little, but still kept swiftly on, diminishing the narrow lead of her rival with constant rapidity and steadiness.

“That’s all!” called the revenue man, as the sixth shot sounded; and every one felt a perceptible thud, telling that this time the desperate smuggler had lowered his aim, and that the bullet had struck the boat somewhere. “And as it’s a poor rule that won’t work both ways, perhaps I can have a little better luck in scaring some one. Watch out, George, and be ready to stop short if he does!”

With that he threw out his arm, and instantly there was a flash and a report.

“Oh!” exclaimed George, startled in spite of the warning.

Jack’s heart was fluttering with excitement. He also felt something like regret that Clarence was there in line with the fire. Though the agent might be only seeking to frighten the boy at the wheel of the Flash, still something serious was apt to happen. Jack wished in his soul that it was all over and nobody injured.

The Flash began to wabble badly, showing that Clarence was trying to shield himself from the battery in the rear, something which he would find it hard to do.

Jack stood ready to lend a hand in case of an emergency that George might seem unable to manage alone.

And it was right at that critical moment, just when light was needed most of all, that the fickle moon shot out from behind the bank of clouds, illuminating the surface of the broad St. Lawrence, dotted still with islands, upon which in many cases cottages could be seen.

Jack thought that was a good omen; but there was no time to spend in reflection. Another sharp report close to his ear told that the revenue man believed in following up a good thing. He knew that Clarence was on the point of surrender, and intended to strike while the iron was hot.

“Look out, George!”

Jack shouted this warning in the ear of his chum, for the leading motor boat had suddenly slackened her speed, the quick pulsation of her engine having ceased to beat upon the air.

Instantly the motor of the Wireless followed suit; and driven forward by the impetus of her “push,” she shot alongside the other craft, not three feet away.

Jack breathed easier, for he saw now that a collision was not to follow. The nerve of Clarence had possibly failed him at the climax; and his last move had been to stop his engine, before dropping flat in the bottom of his boat.

“Over into her, John! We must make prisoners here!” shouted the agent, as he balanced on the rail of the Wireless, and in so doing almost brought that side of the narrow-beam boat awash.

“There he goes, sir!” called Jack.

A big splash followed, as a figure sprang from the opposite side of the other boat. Evidently the desperate smuggler, as a last resort, had taken to the water, in the hope that he might yet baffle his pursuers, and escape to the Canada shore.

Jack had snatched up a boathook with a brass knobbed end. This he fastened to the rail of the Flash, and exerting all his strength, began to draw the two boats closer together, so that the revenue agent and his assistant might make the transfer safely.

He saw them leap across, and felt the boat rock violently under the strain; but not for an instant did he let go his hold. There was something of a rumpus going on aboard the Flash, as though the government men might be struggling with the two smugglers whom they found there, lacking in nerve to follow after their leader, or else not knowing how to swim. But in another minute these sounds ceased, from which he guessed that the pair had been subdued.

CHAPTER XXI – A CLEAN SWEEP

“Jack!”

It was the revenue man calling, and he appeared at the side of the other boat.

“Yes, what is it, sir?” replied the lad who held the boathook.

“I’m coming over again,” continued the other. “I hate to let that clever rascal get away; and we must try to pick him up. Hold steady now.”

The transfer was made without any accident, though both boats careened wildly under the strain, thanks to their sharp keels, fashioned only with an eye to making speed.

“I see him, sir!” cried George, as he once more started his engine, and began to curve around the now stationary Flash.

Jack could also readily pick up the swimmer. Evidently Glenwood must have kicked off his shoes, and divested himself of coat and vest, before jumping overboard; for he was making splendid progress through the water, using a hand-over-hand stroke.

This necessitated more or less churning of the water, however, and since the moon persisted in playing into the hands of his enemies by staying out steadily, his course was readily seen.

They bore down rapidly upon him, once the boat had been turned around. But Jack knew only too well that a strong and desperate swimmer would be apt to give his pursuers a hard pull before they could get him. If Glenwood knew his business, as seemed evident, he would hold himself in readiness to duck under, just when they thought to reach over and grasp him.

“Now, steady while I nab him!” said the revenue man, leaning over the bow.

“He’s gone under, sir!” cried Jack, who was holding on to that serviceable boathook, with the idea that possibly he might find a chance to get it fast in the garments of the man in the water.

“Yes, I expected that,” replied the other. “And of course we don’t know just where he’ll come up again. Our only chance is to keep him going until even his iron muscles weaken. We hold the advantage, boys. Look on that side, Jack, and I’ll take care of this. George, be ready to work around or back up, as the case may be.”

Ten seconds later and Jack called out:

“Here he is, on this side, George!”

Then began one of the queerest experiences Jack had ever participated in. All of his hare and hound and paper chases must sink into insignificance after this hunt; for a desperate man was seeking to effect his escape.

Glenwood would wait until they were close upon him, meanwhile trying to recuperate. Then, at the critical instant, he would sink out of sight, and swim under water to the other side of the boat, or the rear, never ahead. In this way he kept them guessing; and besides, after the boat was started it was necessary for them to make more or less of a circuit before they could bear down on the fugitive again.