“Did I hit him?” called the patrol.
“No, but you came pretty close,” replied Billie. “But you hadn’t better try it again. You might hit me. I’m in the water.”
“What, swimming?”
“Yes! I’ve got hold of the stern of the boat; but I’ve got to let go,” he added hastily, as he saw Don Pablo again rise to his feet.
“What for?”
“They’ll get me!”
“If we fire high enough can’t we keep ’em down till you can push the boat to shore?” asked the patrol.
“You might try it!”
And they did, with the result that Don Pablo again ducked to the bottom of the batteau, while Billie worked with all his might to push the boat toward shore.
It is one thing to swing a boat under headway, and another to push a boat of the size of the batteau even obliquely against a current. Thus it was that, while Billie had been talking, the boat had slowly drifted downstream and the patrol had been obliged to run along the bank.