He disappeared, and Bob slowly, idly turned the wheel. “He ain’t a bad boy,” said the captain, no longer frowning, “but he’s dreadful stubborn. I told his mother I’d make a man and a first-class sailor of him, and I mean to do it, but it’s— Hi! Stop her! You come back here!” The quiet throbbing of the engine, running light, had suddenly changed to a deeper note; there was a quick churning at the stern as the propeller lashed the water, and on the instant the _Vagabond_ shot at full speed in a wide curve toward the entrance of the harbor. “I’ll have the law on you, you robbers!” shouted the irate captain of the _Henry Nellis_, shaking his big fist after them. “If you don’t stop, I’ll have every last one of you arrested. Hear me, do you?” Dan knelt on the seat and put his hands to his mouth. “Say! You go to thunder, will you?” he bawled. “Hush up, Dan!” said Bob. But he smiled, nevertheless, as he straightened the _Vagabond_ for a run through the channel. Back of them the little boat was bobbing erratically in the wake of the launch, and the captain was still hurling invective after them. Nelson put his head out of the cabin and viewed the scene with satisfaction. “Is he du-du-du-du-down there?” asked Tom excitedly. Nelson nodded. “What?” cried Dan. “The kid’s on board? Well, I’ll be blowed!” Then he sat down on the stern seat and laughed till the tears came. “Oh, say, this is great! And there I stood, lying up and down to him! Say, don’t you know he’s peeved?” “Well, you didn’t know he was here,” said Nelson, “so you weren’t really lying.” “Pshaw!” said Dan. “I’d have said the same thing if I had known. It isn’t lying to fool an old brute like that!” “A lie’s a lie, no matter who you tell it to,” answered Tom. “Look out for that schooner coming in, Bob,” Nelson cautioned. “When you pass the Point, swing her straight across the bay. We’ll try for Provincetown, seeing that I told him we were going to Duxbury.” “Hello!” cried Dan. “Look there!” The boat containing the captain of the _Henry Nellis_ was returning as fast as oars could send it, and now it was alongside the tugboat and the captain had leaped aboard her. “What’s he up to?” muttered Dan. The _Vagabond_ was dipping her nose into the waves of the bar. “Oh, he’s beaten,” said Tom, “and he knows it!” “Like fun he does!” cried Dan. “They’re casting off the tug, and he’s still aboard. I’ll bet you anything——” “Nonsense!” exclaimed Nelson. “Nonsense be blowed! He’s after us in the tugboat!” Dan turned and faced the others with a broad smile. “Now for some fun!” he chuckled. At that moment the _Vagabond_ swung around the Point and shook herself clear of the harbor waters. But over the low sandspit a sudden cloud of black smoke floated upward, showing that the captain had taken up the chase. CHAPTER IX—PROVES THAT A STERN CHASE IS NOT ALWAYS A LONG CHASE