THE HORSE THIEVES
For the moment it looked as if the houseboat might be sent to the bottom of the Ohio River, and from the stateroom in which the two girls were confined came a loud cry of fright. Dan Baxter and Lew Flapp were also scared, and rushed toward the gasolene launch, not knowing what to do.
"Keep off!"
"Don't sink us!"
Loud cries also came from the launch, and those on the deck of the Dora could see several men, wearing raincoats, moving about. The bow of the launch was badly splintered, but otherwise the craft remained undamaged.
"What do you mean by running into us in this fashion?" cried Baxter, seeing that the Dora was in no danger of going down.
"Running into you?" came in a rough voice from the launch. "You ran into us!
"Not much we didn't."
"What boat is that?" came in another voice from the launch.
"A private houseboat. What craft is that?"