"N-no, sir; not yet."
"For the love of Mike, hurry! He's underway now."
"There! All right, sir."
"Get forward and keep a lookout. Tell me which way to steer."
A second engine burst into action with a defiant roar. Miss Chalmers, resting upon her oars, knew that a chase had begun.
It was rather exciting now. A burglar was being pursued, but she could see neither the burglar nor the pursuers. Two engines were trying to smother each other's din, with the result that their voices mingled in a discordant bedlam.
Then a dark object passed within fifty feet of her skiff, ran on for a hundred feet more, suddenly slowed down, and ceased firing. In closer to the island, but still beyond her vision, the second boat was clattering truculently, and the voices rose even higher.
"He's stopped! He's stopped! Spot him now! It's our chance!"
"Can't see him yet, sir."
"You've got to see him! If you miss him you're fired! Why the blazes do I have to be near-sighted?"