“Not yet. Harper is having trouble getting the engine of his boat started,” Sally reported. “We’ll be safe for a minute or two. We’re getting closer to the bend.”
To the nervous girls, the boat scarcely seemed to move. Then at last it passed the bend and they were screened by willow trees and bushes.
“Now!” Sally signalled in a tense whisper.
Throwing off the sail, they seized oars and paddled with all their strength.
“Quiet!” Sally warned as Penny’s oar made a splash. “Sounds carry plainly over the water.”
The blast of a motorboat engine told them that Harper and his companion had started in pursuit. Only a minute or two would be required for them to round the bend.
Throwing caution to the winds, Sally and Penny dug in with their oars, shooting their craft toward shore. The boat grated softly on the sand. Instantly, the girls leaped out, splashing through ankle-deep water.
As Sally was about to start across the beach, Penny seized her hand.
“We mustn’t leave a trail of footprints this time!” she warned.
Treading a log at the water’s edge, Penny walked its length to firm ground which took no visible shoe print. Sally followed her to a clump of bushes where they crouched and waited.