“I’m afraid she’s sunk,” said Bob.
“Too bad,” murmured Andy Rush.
“Look! What’s that?” suddenly cried Ned, pointing through the mist of rain to something afloat ahead of them. “That’s some sort of a boat!”
[“She’s the Scud!” shouted Bob.] “And she’s all right, so far. Hurry up, Jerry!”
[“SHE’S THE SCUD!” SHOUTED BOB.]
The tall steersman threw the throttle full over and the motor craft shot ahead, aided by the wind. A little later they were alongside the Scud, and had made her fast to the other boat. The racing craft was somewhat scratched from having come in contact with floating debris, or the rocks in the river, but the damage was comparatively slight.
“It’s good to get her back again!” cried Bob. “Good old Scud!”
“And we didn’t get her any too soon!” exclaimed Jerry. “A little more and she’d have been on those rocks, and she’d have been a wreck when we got her off,” and he pointed to a menacing ledge of stone just ahead. Indeed it required skillful navigating for the boys themselves to get past the danger point, with the strong wind urging them on.
“We’d better not try to work back against this gale,” said Bob. “Can’t we tie the boats up somewhere along here, and go back in a car or train? We can get them later.”