Derek joined in the deception. Charlie Keene put his head together with the two boys, and for several moments they carefully inspected an imaginary pearl in Biff’s empty hand.
They all knew Dietz was observing their actions through powerful binoculars.
With happy shouts that bounced across the waves and reached Dietz’s boat, Biff and Derek plunged back into the water. They sent up several more baskets of oysters. When they surfaced and climbed back into the boat, they shucked a few more oysters. Then Charles Keene shook each boy’s hand and clapped them on the back.
“Up anchor!” Charlie shouted. He started the motor. The boat raced back to the camp site.
“Look back over your shoulder, Uncle Charlie,” Biff said.
Dietz had brought his boat into the area just abandoned by the boys and Uncle Charlie.
“Isn’t he dropping a marking buoy right about where we were?” Biff asked.
“He sure is.”
“Then we did fool him!” Derek sang out happily.
“For the time being, at least. But we’ve got to move fast. He’ll be sampling oysters from that same bed as fast as he can.”