Through the mist, Dan suddenly made out the dark, sleek outline of a speed craft which rode low in the water. Foam boiled from her prow as she split the waves.
“There she is!” the boy exclaimed. “Heading this way, and coming fast!”
Alarmed lest the craft run down the sailboat in the darkness, Mr. Holloway turned the beam of his flashlight upon the limp sail overhead. To make certain that they were seen, he flashed the light on and off several times.
No answering response came from the motorboat which drove directly toward the sailboat.
“Can’t they see us?” Mr. Holloway demanded anxiously.
The motor craft now was so close that those in the stranded sailboat caught a fleeting glimpse of a stout man in dungarees who manned the wheel. Of square jaw, the upper part of his face was hidden by a billed sailor’s cap.
“Hey, look out!” Dan yelled. “Turn on your running lights!”
The pilot evidently heard for he swerved the wheel slightly. And then deliberately, as if angered by the boy’s remark, he spun the spokes again, bearing directly down upon the drifting sailboat.
Instinctively, Mr. Holloway and the two Cubs braced themselves for a crash.
The pilot of the speed boat laughed boisterously. Having accomplished his purpose—that of frightening the occupants of the sailing dinghy—he then swerved away.