"No, we don't want to see that yacht harmed," put in Dick
quickly. "Remember, Dora is on board--and that stolen fortune,
too."
Swiftly both yachts flew on their outward course, the ocean
growing more tempestuous each minute. The police officers viewed
the turn of affairs with alarm.
"If it's not safe, let us turn back," whispered Carter.
"Don't get scared so soon," replied Harris, who overheard the
remark. "I've been' in a worse blow than this, twice over."
The sails were reefed, and they continued on their course. The
_Flyaway_ was now but a shadow in the gloom, and presently even
this died out.
"The chase is over," announced Harris with disgust. "Hang the
luck anyhow!"
"What do you, mean?" demanded Dick.
"She's out of sight, and there is no telling now how she will
turn."
"But she can't tack back in this wind."
"She can make a putty good try at it, lad."
"Not much of a one, lad. There is a little electric battery and
light in the cabin, one that was used by a professor that I took
out two years ago, when the yacht was built. He was interested
in electricity and he made the light himself. I never used it,
for I didn't understand how it worked."
"Let us look at the light; perhaps we can do something with it,"
said Dick.
"That's the talk," came from Tom. "Anything is better than
holding your hands and doing nothing."
Martin Harris was willing, and led the way into the cabin.
Battery and light were stored away in a couple of soap boxes, and
the boys brought them out and set them on the cabin table.
"I think I can fix these up," said Dick, after a long
examination. "The batteries are not in very good shape, but I
think they will do. They are meant to work on the same plan as
these new electric lights for bicycles, only they are, I reckon,
more powerful."
"Well, do what you please with the machine," said Martin Harris.
"In the meantime, I'll see what I can do with a lantern and a tin
reflector. Sometimes you can see a white sail putty good with a
tin reflector."
He hurried to the deck again, and Sam, who was not much
interested in electricity, followed him. One of the best of the
yacht's lanterns was polished up to the last degree, and they
also polished the metal reflector until it shone like a newly
coined silver piece.
"That's a good light!" cried Sam, when it was lit up. "Where
will you place it?"
"Up at the top of the mast," answered the old sailor. "I'll show
you."
It took some time to adjust the lantern just right, but this
accomplished they found that they could see for a distance of a
hundred yards or more.
"I see the sail!" announced Harris. "Don't you--just over our
port bow?"
"I see it," answered Sergeant Brown. "Not very far off either."
Without delay the course of the _Searchlight_ was changed so that
she was headed directly for the _Flyaway_.
"Keep off!" was the cry out of the darkness. "Keep off, or it
will be the worse for you!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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