“No, he wouldn’t,” said Cora, and the manner in which she spoke caused her chums to look curiously at her.
“What makes you think so?” inquired Bess, merely for the sake of argument. She had stopped eating sweets—for the time being.
“Because he had a special object in view in asking us to race, and once that was accomplished he had no further use for us.”
“Why, Cora Kimball!” cried Belle. “What makes you say that?”
“Because I think it. You didn’t see all that I did.”
“What did you see?” asked Bess, eagerly. “Did he have some sort of weapon? Or do you think he tried to get us over this way, hoping we would be wrecked on the rocks? Maybe he was a wrecker, Cora. I’ve heard that there are some of those terrible people in this section.”
“Nonsense!” exclaimed Cora. “I only mean that his boat is a very powerful one. He did not ‘let her out,’ as Jack says, to the limit. He could easily have beaten us if he had wanted to.”
“The idea!” cried Belle. “I don’t like that kind of young man.”
“Nor I,” agreed Cora. “Not because he refused to win when he could, but because of what may be his object. That he had one I’m certain.”
The girls turned to look at the other motor boat. It was rounding the point to Bayhead now, and seemed to be going at remarkable speed.