“What can you tell us about that fire, Small?” demanded Gif.
At this question the lanky sailor chuckled hoarsely.
“Scart you, didn’t it? Well, I reckon it’s scarin’ those left aboard the schooner; and that’s jest what I want. They’ll be so int’rested fightin’ that fire, they won’t think nothin’ about chasin’ us.”
“Did you set the fire?” questioned Randy.
“I sure did, lad. But don’t git excited,” went on Ira Small. “It ain’t goin’ to do the old Hildegarde much harm. All I did was to spread some excelsior soaked in gasoline on the deck near one o’ the rails. They kin put the fire out easy enough. But they’ll have to work lively for a few minutes to do it.”
“Are you quite sure it won’t burn the ship so she’ll sink?” questioned Fred, anxiously.
“We wouldn’t want to leave those men to drown,” added Randy.
“No sech luck, lad. You can’t drown a rascal who’s meant to be hung. No, the fire’ll soon be out. You jest watch and see. But meanwhile, we want to git as fur away from the schooner as possible. Now those rascals have got an idee they kin hold you fur a ransom, they won’t let you escape if they kin help it.”
With the motor of the Fancy running fairly well, Gif and Spouter turned their attention to bailing the craft. While this was being done Fred and the twins stowed the food away in the cabin and saw to it that nothing might happen to their precious supply of water. Meanwhile, Ralph opened one of the cans of gasoline and emptied the contents into the supply tank of the motor boat.