Their wait began. It seemed endless. Biff kept glancing at the illuminated dial of his watch. Twelve o’clock. Twelve-thirty.
“Think maybe they found out that Crunch warned us?” Biff asked in a low voice.
“I don’t think so, Biff. How would they?”
Just after one o’clock, Biff and his uncle came alert. From a distance over the water, they heard the sound of a boat engine. It grew louder as the boat drew nearer. Then the sound stopped suddenly.
Biff was puzzled.
“Engine trouble, or have they given up the idea?” he whispered.
“Wait,” his uncle whispered back.
After a few minutes, a new sound came to their ears: the sound of oars rasping against oarlocks, the soft splash of oar blades dipping in and out of the water.
Biff knew now why the engine had been cut—so Dietz could approach without awakening his prey.
The sound of a boat grating gently on sand was heard next. Dietz and Company had made their landing. Biff and his uncle could hear two men conversing in low voices. The voices came nearer. The enemy was standing directly across from where Biff and his uncle lay hidden behind the dory.