THE TRY-OUT.
"Oh, Mr. Burglar, please don't hurt me."
This was what Bob heard as he picked himself up from the floor. The
room was pitch dark, but it was evident that both the boys in the bed
had been awakened by the noise and that they were also in a state of
terror. Taking advantage of their panic, Bob quickly found his way to
the hall and flashing his light, ran down the stairs and out the front
door. Just as he stepped from the porch a revolver shot rang out from
an upper window.
"Guess they got up enough spunk to get out of bed," chuckled Bob, as
he crouched behind a convenient bush, and he could not resist the
temptation to sing out, "Next time you steal anything you better not
talk so loudly about where you hide it."
"I'll have you arrested for burglary, Bob Golden," came in angry tones
from the window.
"All right, go ahead," replied Bob, "but I guess you'll have a fine
time explaining how my property came to be in your coat pocket."
He waited to hear no more, but making his way as quickly as possible
to where he had left the canoe, he lost no time in getting it into the
water. Jumping in he bent to the paddle with all his strength and in
about a half hour rounded the point, just behind which was the
boathouse. He found Jack and Mike waiting for him on the porch.
"Gee, I thought you'd never come," said Jack. "Did you get them?"
"I did that," chuckled Bob, getting out of the canoe, and then of
course he had to tell them all about it.
"Smart bye," said Mike, when he had finished, "Sure and you'd make one
peach of a burglar."
"Perhaps," said Bob, "but I don't fancy the part, it's bad for the
nerves. Now," he continued, "it's about 2 o'clock and we must get some
sleep for I want to be up by daybreak and give the Sprite a tryout
before any one is about."
"Well I guess I will stay up till you wake," proposed Mike, "in case
they try to get those caps back."
"Perhaps that would be the best plan," agreed Bob, "I don't believe
they would have the nerve to try to get into the house, but they might
try to break into the boathouse to injure the Sprite. It'll only be
about three hours, for I want you to call us at 5 o'clock sharp."
It seemed to the boys that they had hardly fallen asleep when they
heard Mike pounding on the door. "All right," shouted Bob, "we'll be
right down."
Day was just breaking as they came out of the house. It took but a
short time to get the Sprite into the lake, slip the cylinder in place
and adjust the caps.
"Now," said Jack eagerly, "for the first trip with electricity."
It was surely an anxious moment to the boys, for if anything was
wrong, there was but little time for adjustment.
"Push her off, Mike, and then jump in," ordered Bob.
Running the boat out to the end of the wharf, Mike gave her a push,
jumping in as he did so, and a second later the Sprite was floating
about twenty feet from the shore. Bob at once turned on the juice, as
he expressed it, and to their delight the propeller began to beat the
water.
"Hurrah!" shouted both Jack and Mike, "She's going."
"Yes, she's going," repeated Bob, heading her down the lake. "Now to
see if she will make any kind of time."
Slowly he pushed the switch over notch by notch, and faster and faster
the Sprite cut through the water, till Jack declared that they were
going fully as fast as they ever went with the old engine. "Have you
got on full power?" he asked eagerly.
"No," replied Bob, "only about half. But don't it seem funny not to
hear her puff?"
"It sure does," assented Jack, "but push her over and let's see how
fast she can go."
Faster and faster the boat cut through the water till it seemed to the
boys that they were almost flying.
"Jiminy-jumped-up!" ejaculated Mike, speaking for the first time, "but
ye'll get a hot box if ye don't slow her down."
"No danger of that," laughed Bob, "but we're going fifteen miles an
hour if we're going an inch, and the best of it is she seems to be
running in perfect order."
They sailed about the lake for about an hour and expressed themselves
as being well satisfied with the results and confident that they would
be able to keep the coveted blue ribbon. As Jack expressed it, "The
Winner would have to go a good deal faster that afternoon than she
ever had before to justify her name."
"Well, I guess we'd better go back now and get some eats," proposed
Bob.
"Second the motion," shouted Jack, "I'm hungry enough to eat almost
anything."
On the west shore of the lake, about half way down, was a grove where
were a hotel, a summer theater and other places of amusement. Past the
lake, about a quarter of a mile distant, ran a trolley line, about
ten miles long, connecting the towns of Skowhegan and Madis. A spur
track ran down to the lake almost to its edge.
The starting point for the race was directly in front of the hotel,
while the course was marked out by buoys and ran down the lake on the
east side, up on the west side nearly to the head, then down to the
starting point, making a course of about twelve miles.
By 2.30 o'clock a large crowd of people had collected in the grove,
for the great race was scheduled to start at 3.00, and promptly on
time ten motor boats lined up ready for the starter's shot.
Besides the Sprite and the Winner, there were the Eagle, a fast little
sixteen-footer, carrying a ten horsepower, two-cylinder engine; the
Chum, twenty feet long with fifteen horsepower, and the Rocket,
eighteen feet long, equipped with an engine of fourteen horsepower.
The other five boats I will not attempt to describe, as they did not
figure prominently in the race.
The Sprite was stationed farthest from the shore, then came the
Winner, Eagle, Chum and Rocket in the order named.
Many ugly glances did the owners of the Winner cast at the Sprite and
its crew as they took their places, but no words passed between them
till just before the start, when in a sneering tone, Fred Jenkins
said, "Bet you a hundred dollars we beat you."
"We don't bet," replied Bob.
"Huh, afraid," sneered Will Jenkins. "Tell you what I'll do, I'll make
it a hundred dollars or any amount you like that we come in twenty
lengths ahead."
"Nothing doing," calmly replied Bob, and at that moment the starter's
voice rang out, "Are you all ready?"
"Aye, aye, sir," was the response.
"All right then, stand by," and a second later, crack, went his
revolver. Instantly nine fly wheels were turned over, but Bob sitting
in the bow of the Sprite turned the switch to the first notch.