“Yes, I can see them. But they seem to be having trouble of some sort,” replied Joe. “They’re rolling around in the trough of the waves, and I can only see them when they come up on top of one.”
“If they’re in trouble, I suppose we’ll have to help them out,” said Bob, and as there could be no question about this, the radio boys directed their course toward their erstwhile competitors.
Buck and his cronies were indeed in a bad plight, for their engine had stalled and they were unable to get it going again. This left them at the mercy of the waves, as they had not even an oar aboard. Their boat had not been designed for rough weather, and now it rolled dangerously broadside on to the waves, threatening at any moment to capsize.
As the radio boys approached the helpless craft Terry and Carl stopped long enough in their frantic bailing to shout wildly for help. Buck was still tinkering with the engine, but without result. Their boat was drifting out to sea, and altogether they were in a sorry plight.
Joe approached the helpless craft cautiously, while Bob throttled the engine down until they had only steerage way.
“You’ll have to jump for it!” yelled Joe. “We’ll come as close as we can, and then you can jump aboard.”
Terry Mooney was the first to make ready to jump. He gave a wild leap, but fell short, and would have fallen into the ocean, had not Herb and Jimmy grasped him as he fell and dragged him aboard. Buck and Carl had better luck, and landed safely on the deck of the Sea Bird. They left their craft none too soon, for one of its seams had started to leak, and it was rapidly filling with water. At first the radio boys thought they might be able to tow the disabled craft in with them, but it soon became apparent that it would not stay afloat long enough for this. It settled lower and lower, and even as the Sea Bird picked up speed for the run home the unfortunate craft dived under as an unusually large wave broke over it, filling it with water.
“We got you off just in the nick of time,” said Bob. “If we hadn’t been around, it looks as though you would have had a long swim home.”
“Oh, somebody else would have picked us up if you hadn’t,” said Buck ungraciously. “This boat isn’t the only one at Ocean Point, you know.”
“It seems to be the only one around just now,” said Joe, which was true enough. There was no other craft in sight, and it would have fared ill with Buck Looker and his cronies had the radio boys not been at hand to aid them.