"A boat is dead ahead!" came suddenly from Dick, and Sergeant Brown also gave a cry of warning. Then came a shock and a crash and a splintering of wood, followed by the cries of men and boys and the screams of a woman and a girl.
"We've struck the Flyaway!" called out Tom, and then he found himself in the water, with Sam alongside of him.
CHAPTER XXVIII
HOME AGAIN—CONCLUSION
When the collision came, Dick, to save himself from injury, gave a leap up into the air, and Sergeant Brown did the same. The shock sent the Searchlight backward, and when the youth came down he found himself sprawling on the Flyaway's deck, close beside Dan Baxter.
"Dick Rover!" gasped the former bully of Putnam Hall. "So it is your boat that has run into us?"
"Baxter, where is Dora Stanhope?" panted Dick, as soon as he could speak. He was afraid that one or both yachts were going down and that Dora might be drowned. Even in this extreme moment of peril his one thought was for his girl friend.
"Find out for yourself," burst out Baxter, and aimed a blow at Dick's head with his fist. But the blow never reached its mark, for Mumps hauled the bully backward.
"We've had enough of this—at least, I've had enough," said Fenwick, astonishing himself at his own boldness. "Dick, Dora is in the cabin—no, she's coming up."
"Save me!" came in a scream from the girl.