Jed stood up high on his toes, to take a last careful look. Then he leaped to the other craft, bounding down into her cockpit. There he stood still for a few moments, tightly gripping the boat-hook in an exaggerated attitude of defence.
“Are you afraid?” hailed Halstead.
“Well,” admitted Jed, candidly, “I’ve no notion for being pounced on or shot from ambush.”
“That would have happened already, if it was going to,” Tom rejoined with a smile. “Stop the engine, and then we’ll make fast and all come on board.”
That Jed accomplished with one hand, while Joe did the same with the “Meteor’s” engine. Then Prentiss reached over with the boat-hook, gradually hauling the smaller craft up to the “Meteor.”
Leaving Joe behind on deck, the young skipper followed into the launch. A quick search made it plain that there was no human being in either the forward or after cubby.
“The wheel was spiked,” discovered Tom. “You see, the boat was started on her course and then her spiked wheel held her rather close to it. Whoever was aboard, after having fixed wheel and engine, got off. This was done to fool us, and we’ve had a fine old chase.”
Lawyer Crane, on the deck of the “Meteor,” opened his mouth. He was about to offer an opinion, but thought better of it and closed his lips.
“Mr. Crane,” asked Tom, after a few moments, “what are our rights? We can take this abandoned boat in tow, can’t we, and take her over to Mr. Dunstan’s pier?”
“Clearly,” assented the lawyer, slowly. “And there’s a right to salvage if the owner of this derelict appears and claims the boat.”