"I'm glad you didn't wait ten minutes longer," Rick said fervently. "They foxed us. I kept listening for their boat, but they didn't use it."
"They probably decided to swim out and sneak up on you," Zircon stated. "After capturing Tony last night, their suspicions were probably aroused somewhat. Even if they swallowed his story entirely, it would be only good sense to check up."
Tony looked hurt. "I'm sorry you don't think my story was enough to allay their suspicions entirely. But speaking of listening for their boat, why didn't you hear this ship coming? And why didn't the fancy frogmen?"
Rick thought that one over. "We wouldn't have heard the ship until it was very close because of the noise our bubbles make. But we should have heard it about the time it left the reef opening near our cottage. I don't know why we didn't."
"And I don't know why we didn't see it," Scotty added. "It's big enough to be spotted at horizon distance."
Jimmy grinned. "We pulled a fast one. We had enough steerageway to drift over your position after a few turns of the screws down by the reef passage. You see, we didn't know what was going on, so we took no chances. Then, when we got into position, we got into the water without waiting to anchor. We dropped anchor right after we got both of you out, but you probably didn't notice."
"I couldn't have cared less, at that point," Rick said, and Scotty echoed the sentiment.
"The reason why you didn't see us coming is that we came from the other side of the island. It's safer for a ship that draws as much water as this one. Tony spotted us as we approached the southern point."
Steve grinned. "Anyway, it's a good idea to move in on an objective as quickly, silently, and invisibly as possible."
"Have you captured the rest of the stations yet?" Rick asked.