“Look!” shouted Frank. “He’s still alive!”
The man of the boat had been killed by neither the rifle shot nor the explosion.
They could see him struggling in the water not far from the blazing craft. His head was a dark oval above the water and he was slowly trying to swim ashore.
“He’ll never make it!” gasped Joe.
“We’ll have to try to save him!” answered his brother.
CHAPTER V
The Rescue
The Hardy boys knew that they had no time to lose.
It was evident from the struggles of the man in the water that he was not an expert swimmer. So far, he had not seen the boys, but they could hear him shouting for help, possibly thinking, however, that it was in vain, for it was a lonely part of the bay and the nearest farmhouse, outside of the deserted Polucca place, was more than half a mile down the road.
“Quick!” shouted Frank. “I see a rowboat up on the shore.”