He was right, of course. Rick admitted, "I've been racking my brains, and I can't remember whether or not the pram had an outboard motor. Just as I was about to take a close look, Jerry yelled. Do you remember, Scotty?" Scotty shook his head. "But even with an outboard, they probably wouldn't have come this far." "Check." Rick swung the Sky Wagon around and headed south on a straight course to Spindrift. As the fast little plane passed over the Brant house he throttled back and dropped lower. "Let's start the search again." Every cove was investigated, and anything that might have been a boat was inspected carefully. Then, as they reached the summer colony north of Seaford, Barby exclaimed, "Look! There's that fancy houseboat again!" The houseboat was putting out from land, swinging on a northerly course. Rick saw that it was powered by twin outboards and that it cruised at about fifteen knots. Scotty yelled, "Hey! Behind the houseboat! Look at the dory they're towing!" Rick swung low and craned his neck to see. It was! The houseboat used a pram as a tender, and the pram had its own low-power outboard motor. "That's enough," he said with satisfaction. He kept the Sky Wagon on a southerly course until Seaford passed below, to keep the houseboaters from thinking the plane's sole interest had been in them. Beyond Seaford, he picked up Cap'n Mike's shack across the road from the old windmill. "Let's see if Mike's home," he said, and stood the wagon up on a wing. He leveled off in time to buzz low over the old shack, which was not as shabby as it looked, and neat as a ship's cabin inside, then he pulled up into a screaming Immelman and looked out. Cap'n Mike emerged from the shack waving what seemed to be a shirt. Rick waggled his wings in greeting, then did a wing over that brought him back low and fast over the old seaman's head. Cap'n Mike was grinning broadly as he waved. Rick set a course north and slightly inland. In a short time he was back on the water again, taxiing to the Spindrift beach. While the others went to the house, he stopped at the lab and reported to Joe Blake that he had found a pram. The agent got what details Rick had, and passed the word to the shore team on the mainland with instructions to follow the houseboat's movements from shore. Then he went to the phone and called Steve Ames. Finally Joe hung up. "Steve says to keep an eye on the houseboat, but to take no action. He's going to do a little investigating." "How?" "He didn't say. But he expects to have something by tonight." With that, Rick had to be satisfied. Apparently Steve wasted no time, because Barby answered the phone just before dinner, then called: "It's Steve Ames, Rick!" Rick ran to the telephone. "Thought I'd let you know," Steve reported. "I had the Coast Guard pay a visit to your houseboat this afternoon." "You did?" Rick was incredulous. "But that means they're tipped off now that we're watching them!"