Four Afloat: Being the Adventures of the Big Four on the Water

by Ralph Henry Barbour

  CHAPTER VI--IN WHICH THEY FOLLOW A RACE

  "Well!" exclaimed Bob. "Look at the boats!"

  The _Vagabond_ was cutting her way through the sunlit waters at the bestpace of which she was capable--"easily twelve miles an hour, I'll betyou," according to Nelson. Bob had the wheel, and was turning to port asthe point drew abreast. Once around the lighthouse, the harbor laybefore them blue and sparkling in the morning sunshine, and as full ofboats as a raisin pie of raisins. Even Tom, eminently matter of fact,drew his breath as the _Vagabond_ dashed across the harbor mouth.

  Marblehead Harbor is naturally one of the most beautiful on the coast,and this morning, thronged with yachts of all descriptions, swinging attheir moorings, cream-white sails aflutter in the light breeze, flagsflying everywhere, paint and varnish glistening and brasswork catchingthe sunlight on every side, it presented as fair a sight as one is aptto find. Between the white and black and mahogany-red hulls of theyachts busy, cheerful, impertinent launches darted in and out, fillingthe air with the sharp explosions of their engines.

  On one side the quaint old town came tumbling down to the wharves andthe dripping seawall, a delightful hodgepodge of weather-stained shedsand whitewashed houses. On the other, green lawns set with summercottages and shaded by vividly green elms stretched from the distantcauseway to where the shore broke into a rocky promontory, from whichthe stone and shingle house of the Corinthian Yacht Club arose as thougha part of the natural scenery.

  "By Jove!" said Nelson. "It doesn't look as though there was room for usanywhere."

  And it didn't, so closely were the boats packed together. Nelson stoppeddown the engine to half speed, and, with her bunting flapping in thebreeze and her bright-work agleam, the _Vagabond_ nosed her way throughthe throng until she was opposite the Boston Yacht Club House. Here aspace large enough to swing around in was discovered, and as Bobskillfully turned her toward it Dan held the anchor ready. Then therewas a splash, and an excited protest from the exhaust as the engine wasreversed; then silence, and the _Vagabond_ had come to anchor as neatlyas you wish. After that the four gave themselves to a thorough enjoymentof the scene.

  There was plenty to look at. Near by, at one of the boat yards, thecontestants were being measured with steel tape and rule. Others werecoming in from their full-speed trials outside the harbor. Gasoline wasbeing taken on, tenders lashed into place, and final arrangementsgenerally were being made. At half-past twelve Tom cooked luncheon, andit was eaten, for the most part, on deck, that nothing of the busy scenearound them need be lost sight of. After luncheon the boys got into thetender and rowed to the yacht club landing, leaving the boat there andspending over an hour in exploring the town. After that they returned tothe launch and cruised about the harbor, turning and twisting in and outbetween the anchored craft. There were big steam yachts there, gasolinecruisers galore, dozens of launches, big sloops and little ones, yawls,catboats, and one schooner yacht. And where there was nothing else,tenders and dories flitted about. Once Tom caught Nelson excitedly bythe arm and pointed across the harbor.

  "Lu-lu-look at that, Nel!" he stuttered. "Su-su-su-see thatsu-su-su-sloop coming in wi-wi-without any su-su-sails!"

  "Yes; what about it?"

  "Wh-wh-what about it? How the di-di-di-di-dickens does she du-du-do it?"

  "Oh, there's a fellow at the stern, pushing," said Bob gravely.

  "She's an auxiliary, Tommy," explained Nelson.

  "Wh-what's that?" asked Tom suspiciously.

  "Why, she's got a gasoline engine in her, just like we have, only hersis probably smaller."

  "Really?" Tom marveled. "I didn't know you could du-du-do that."

  "Lots of them have auxiliaries nowadays. When the wind gives out, theyjust start their engines and--there you are."

  "Say, that's swell!" murmured Tom.

  "There goes the committee boat!" said Dan excitedly. "Let's follow her."

  The committee boat was a handsome sailing packet, and as she moved outto where the start was to be made she presented a fine picture. The_Vagabond_, together with fully half the craft in the harbor, followedat her heels. She took up her position close to the black spar buoy atthe harbor entrance, and one by one the contestants chugged up to herand clamored for their ratings. As there had been delay in figuring thehandicaps and time allowances, it was announced that the start would bepostponed until half-past six. But the time didn't drag. The entries forthe race were all together for the first time, and the audience afloatand ashore examined them with interest and compared them, and predictedvictory for first one and then another. The twelve boats varied inlength from forty feet, the measurement of the _Sizz_ and the _Gnome_,down to thirty-one, which was the length of the _Shoonah_. But thegreatest difference was in horse-power. The _Gnome_ and the _Amy_ wererated at thirty, while the little _Sue_ had but nine. As a result, the_Sue_ had a handicap allowance of about thirteen hours over the _Gnome_,which was scratch boat. One by one the boats got their directions,handicaps, and paid their measurement fees, and stood away to await thestarting signal.

  "Let's follow them a bit," suggested Tom. "It would be great sport,wouldn't it?"

  "Great!" cried Dan. "Let's do it, Nel! What do you say?"

  "I'm game if you are," was the answer. "You want to remember, though,Tommy, that we'll be late to dinner."

  "Oh, you run away and play! To hear you fellows talk, you'd think nobodyate anything but me. I'd just like to know who got away with the most ofthe lunch--and I'm not looking at Bob, either!"

  "'Not you, kittie, nor me, kittie, but one of us,'" murmured Nelson.

  "What time will we get back?" asked Bob.

  "Depends on how far we go," said Nelson. "We'd ought to get back beforedark, I suppose."

  "Oh, it doesn't get dark until late," said Dan cheerfully.

  "I tell you what we'll do," cried Tom. "I'll cook something and we'llhave dinner on board! What do you say?"

  "Well, we've never eaten one of your dinners, Tommy," answered Dan, "andso we may, I think, be excused if we say nothing; least said soonestmended, you know."

  "Have we got anything to cook, Tommy?" asked Nelson doubtfully.

  "Eggs, bacon, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, jam, bread----"

  _Boom!_

  "First gun!" cried Bob.

  "There's a quarter of an hour yet, then," said Dan.

  "Let's get our lanterns lighted," suggested Nelson. "We might as well doit now as later. The others are lighting theirs."

  So for the next few minutes they attended to the lights, saw to thelashings of the tender, filled oil cups, and prepared to join in thescramble across the starting line. At six-twenty a second gun was firedfrom the committee boat, and at six-twenty-five a third. By that timeall the contestants were chugging and churning into positions from whichthey could make quick starts. Everyone had his eyes glued to watch orclock, and as the minutes passed the excitement grew intense. The crewof the _Vagabond_ felt as though they, too, were off for a wild race toNew York, and Dan was for rounding outside the committee boat so thatthey wouldn't get left. But Nelson shook his head.

  "We'll stay here and get over the line after the last one. Then we'llsee if we can't give some of them a tussle for a few miles."

  "Hey! Look at the _Amy_!" cried Bob.

  All boats were in motion now, and were dashing toward the open waterbetween the committee boat and the black spar. The _Amy_ had started abit too soon, and now, having almost reached the line, she turned andran parallel with it until, when almost at the end of it and it seemedas though she must head back again, the last gun went off, and with aquick turn of her wheel she swung her nose to port and dashed across theline several lengths in the lead. Then the others went over, theirpropellers churning the water, flags flying, and exhausts throbbingloudly. Whistles blew and sirens shrieked, caps were waved and flagswere dipped, and the twelve plucky little boats headed for the blue-grayrim of the horizon on their all-night voyage.

  "All right!" sang Bob from the wheel, and Ne
lson, hand on the lever,shot it forward and the _Vagabond_ started after the other craft with arush that took her across the line the first of the noncontestants. Intheir endeavor to cut the corner as much as possible, several of thelaunches got too near the Point, and for a moment it looked as thoughthe race was already over for some of them. But after a breathlessminute all got safely away and passed out between the Point andMarblehead Rock. The sun was nearing the hills in the west and a crimsonflush lay over the quiet sea and dyed the sails of the yachts. Back ofthem the whistles still tooted as the crew of the _Vagabond_ stood inthe cockpit and watched the contest with breathless interest.

  The Point fell farther and farther away and grew indistinct in thesunlit haze. The racers had formed into two broken lines, the _Amy_still holding the lead, with the _Scrapper_ and the _Gnome_ striving tonose her out of it. Suddenly the sun went down, throwing a last intenseray across the water, and the blue twilight descended. The lantern atthe top of the lighthouse on Baker's Island bade good night to thespeeding boats, and wished them safe voyage. The whistling had longsince ceased, and nothing was to be heard now aboard the _Vagabond_ butthe chugging of the boats ahead and an occasional hail from some one ofthe following craft. The _Vagabond_ was by no means the only boat inpursuit. Launches little and big were trying to keep up in order to geta last view of the contest. But one by one they dropped astern, turnedand headed homeward. The twilight deepened, but the boys on the_Vagabond_ paid little heed, for they had passed two of the racers, andwere gaining on a third.

  "Say, maybe we're not going some!" cried Tom delightedly.

  "Twelve miles and over," answered Nelson with satisfaction.

  "Bet you we'll pass that one there inside of five minutes," crowed Tom."Gee! I wish we were in the race!"

  "Looks as though we were," said Bob with a smile. "There's the _Sue_ahead there. She's going along in great shape, isn't she? If she wasn'tso small, I'd be willing to bet she'd win out."

  "Wouldn't be surprised," answered Nelson. "She's got a whole lot ofhandicap allowance to help. And even if she is small, she's certainlykeeping her end up with some of the others. How about that dinner youwere going to cook, Tommy?"

  "Just wait till we pass the next one," begged Tom excitedly. "I love tosee the way the fellows look at us when we go by."

  "They're probably wondering what we're butting in for," said Nelsonlaughingly. "I'd rather like to know myself!"

  "Just to show them what a real boat looks like," suggested Bob. "Couldwe keep up this pace all the way?"

  Nelson shook his head.

  "Maybe, but I wouldn't like to try. We'd probably overheat something,and get in a fix. No; if we were going clear through with the bunch, I'dstop her down to about eight or nine miles and see what would happen."

  "Let's do it!" cried Dan.

  The others looked expectantly at Nelson. He shook his head again.

  "It wouldn't be safe, fellows," he answered. "It's all right now, but wemight meet a whole lot of nasty water outside the Cape."

  "What Cape?" asked Tom.

  "Cape Cod."

  "Oh! do we have to go by there?" he asked in surprise. Whereupon therewas a laugh at Tom's knowledge of geography.

  They were pulling abreast of the next launch now, and her red side-lightshone brightly through the gathering dusk.

  "Now, Tommy, you can start your fire," said Dan. "We're up to them andpassing. Hello! that chap's going to hail us."

  "Hello, the launch!" came a voice through a megaphone.

  Nelson picked up his own megaphone and answered the hail.

  "Are you in this?" was the demand.

  "No; we're just following!"

  "Oh! Are you going back to Marblehead tonight?"

  "Don't think so," answered Nelson. "We'll probably try for Boston."

  "I see! Much obliged! Goodnight!"

  "Good night," called Nelson, "and good luck!"

  The other nodded and laid aside his megaphone. Then the _Vagabond_ wentahead. It was too dark to read the name of the other boat, although Dansaid he thought she was the _Sizz_.

  "Did you mean that, about going to Boston?" asked Bob.

  "Yes," answered Nelson. "We might as well, because we'll be nearerBoston than Marblehead by this time."

  "How far have we come?" asked Dan.

  "About"--Nelson looked at his watch and whistled softly--"about fourteenmiles, I think. And if we're going back, we'd better be doing it. Ourbest port would be Hull, but I don't like to look for it after dark.Come to think of it, I don't know that I want to fuss around BostonHarbor at this time of night. Maybe, after all, we'd better put back toMarblehead or Lynn. Where's that chart, Bob?"

  It was found and spread out on the cabin roof. Tom held the lantern andNelson and Bob studied it for a moment.

  "I think the best thing to do," said Bob finally, "is to keep on forCohasset. It isn't much farther, and looks like an easy harbor."

  "I guess you're right," Nelson replied. "Yes, that's the best thing todo. Then we want to swing in now or we'll never get there until aboutten o'clock. There's Minot's Light over there. Make for that, Bob."

  "All right!" Bob turned the wheel and the _Vagabond_ swung to starboardand crossed ahead of the launch which had hailed them. Beyond, in thedarkness, the lights of the other racers gleamed and swung as the boatstossed slowly in the long seas. As they passed the _Sizz_--if it was the_Sizz_--a cheery "good night" reached them, and the four answered it. Afew minutes later they were all alone, and the lights of the racers,headed for Highland Light, showed but dimly across the dark waters. Tomsighed.

  "Seems kind of lonesome, doesn't it?" he asked, with a glance at thesurrounding gloom. He shivered as he looked.

  "You go down and get that dinner you talked so much about," said Bob."I'm starving to death."

  "All right," replied Tom uneasily. "But if anything happens----"

  "We'll call on you for advice, Tommy," finished Dan. "Get a move on,now; and when you make the coffee, don't forget the coffee."

  So Tom descended, rather mournfully, lighted the lanterns in the engineroom and cabin, and set about his task.

  The _Vagabond_ was a good twelve miles away from Cohasset, and thatmeant a full hour and a half's run, for Nelson had slowed down theboat's speed to eight miles. He began to wish that he hadn't gone sofar. To be sure, the _Vagabond_ was the stanchest sort of a craft, andthe weather was of the calmest; also there were no dangerous rocks norbars between them and the harbor. But it was awfully dark and rathercold, and there was a whole lot of water around them. For a moment hewished that he had kept company with the racers until the Cape wasreached; then he could have put in to Provincetown. But after a moment,when the odor of Tom's coffee stole up on deck, the qualm of uneasinesspassed. He took his place beside Bob, who, at the wheel, was staringintently ahead into the night.

  "Can't see much, can you?" asked Bob. "I suppose most of the sailingcraft carry lights, don't they?"

  "All of them," answered Nelson. "Keep on; you're all right. There isn'ta rock between here and Minot's Ledge. Let me take the wheel awhile; yougo down and get something warmer on."

  "I guess I will; I hadn't realized that it was so cold."

  Bob had just reached the lowest step, when he turned and thrust his headout again with a shout to Nelson. But Nelson had already called Dan totake the wheel, and was hurrying down. The engine had stopped!