Mose, nestled in the bottom of the boat, stroking Captain Joe’s wet head, grinned and declared that the boys had looked like ghosts.
“It is a wonder the boy and the dog were not discovered in the grounds!” Jule remarked. “I don’t see how they came to keep out of sight!”
“I can tell you!” Case put in. “Mose was so afraid that the pirates would come and get him that he lay in the bushes with his face in the dead leaves! Is that right, Mose?” he asked.
Mose had to admit that he was “sho’ scared white,” and Captain Joe tried to explain, in perfectly good dog talk, that he wasn’t frightened a bit, but only lay by Mose to help keep his courage up!
“Well, boys,” Alex. said in a moment, “we’ve got to study out some plan to get to Clay. We can’t dodge the issue by talking of something else. What shall we do?”
“I’m for going on down the river,” Alex. continued. “The pirates can’t run the Rambler up stream, and so we must find her if we keep on going.”
“But she has nearly ten hours the start of us,” urged Jule.
“I don’t think they will go far, as it is risky drifting a boat down now. They will probably go far enough to get out of the zone of pursuit and then tie up, if the boat isn’t wrecked before that,” he added, gravely.
“That’s good judgment!” Case declared.
“We’re lucky if we don’t get wrecked ourselves,” Jule declared, swinging the boat about to avoid a mass of wreckage which lay before her. “When we come to the bend just ahead we’re likely to be pushed over to the other shore. See how the current sets that way? We’ll have to go some to beat it!”