“What’ll we do, wait here or try to slip along the bank?” asked Tim.
“Waiting here won’t do much good. We’ll nose along shore and see if we can’t give them the slip.”
Tim snapped the rope on the outboard and they churned ahead again, keeping as close to the trees as possible and threading their way along a bayou which paralleled the river. For a few minutes they were in comparative safety. Then an open stretch of the river loomed ahead and the amphibian swept down on them.
“Sladek’s going to land on the river,” said Ford. “We’ll have to duck back into the shelter of the bayou.”
“We can switch boats,” suggested Tim. “I’ll stay in the one with the holes and you may be able to slip away in this one.”
Ford shook his head.
“Well, hardly. This is my party and I won’t let you face Sladek and his gang alone.”
The amphibian, now a mile up the river, was settling down to land. The big ship skimmed the surface of the water, there were sheets of spray, and it glided swiftly toward them.
Above the thrumming of the amphibian’s motors came a sharper sound and Tim looked skyward. Then he grabbed Ford’s arm.
“Here comes Ralph in the Jupiter. Now we’ll see some action.”