Mr. House looked at it, and stopped.
“What’s that?” he said in a queer sounding voice.
“Just an old chart case we found?”
“Where’d you find it?”
Something in his voice made Catty hesitate. Before he answered he made a jump for the case and got it into his hands, but he wasn’t a moment too soon, for Mr. House had jumped, too. The next thing I knew Catty was tearing down the street like all git out with Mr. House at his heels.
CHAPTER XXI
Now there’s one thing about me, if somebody starts to run I’ve got to start to run myself. I didn’t stop to think why, but just dug out after Mr. House and Catty, tearing down the street like a runaway sheep. Mr. Dunn wasn’t built for running, and I guess he didn’t wake up to what was going on any more than I did. We just left him flat. For a while he was out of the story altogether.
Catty headed for the water and then turned off to the left. Mr. House wasn’t ten feet behind him, and I was right at Mr. House’s heels. It was dark except where the street lights showed and nobody was on the street to see the circus. I gained on Mr. House, and he gained some on Catty. Catty isn’t as good a runner as he ought to be. Running is my strong point. When a fellow gets scared of as many things as I do, he naturally learns to use his legs.
About a hundred yards farther Mr. House was so close to Catty he could almost grab him. I put on a little more steam, and just as he was reaching out for the back of Catty’s neck I jumped and butted him in the hip. Somehow he didn’t grab Catty just then. Things happened to his feet. He tried to twist his right leg around his left leg, and then he tried to step on his right foot with his left foot, and then he turned himself into a flying machine. I never saw a man who could fly so far as he did without any wings. No, sir. He left the ground and soared, and I thought he wasn’t ever coming down. But he did—eventually—all spraddled out in the street. I didn’t stop to ask him what he meant by such antics. Uh-uh. I kept on going after Catty.
We got down to the dock, still going strong. Right ahead of us, maybe a hundred yards out, we could see the riding light of the Albatross. Catty never stopped, he took a header into the water, and I was right behind him. I don’t know whether Mr. House got up to chase us or not. And we swam.