“And there burn the Rambler’s light” Alex cried.
CHAPTER XXIV.—THE LIGHTS HELP SOME.
I’d give a good deal to know just how many people there are around that boat!” Clay whispered.
“If you’ll just push this old scow up a little closer, I’ll sneak over there and find out,” said Alex.
“If he tries to get away, tie him up with a rope!” whispered Jule. “Every time that boy gets out of sight, he lands in trouble up to his long ears!”
“There were only two when I left the Rambler,” Alex exclaimed, making a sly face at Jule. “They shot a dozen bullets at me while I was getting away, and never turned a hair!”
The boat was worked slowly through another hundred yards of the cut-off, and then the boys could see the bulk of the Rambler outlined against a cloudy sky. There were no lights on board and no sounds were heard.
The boat lay in a sort of a bight carved out by the river as it bent away to the north just before it made the western turn. Behind it was a tangle of swamp.
In front swept the heavy current of the river. The rowboat halted within perhaps a hundred yards of the place where the stolen Rambler lay.
“If they had had the good sense to anchor on the other side of the river,” Case whispered to Alex, “they might have made us a lot more trouble. I’m glad they stopped where they did.”