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 _Wireless_ almost 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.