A minute later, sweeping in like a house afire, the Cat’s Paw crossed the finish line well in advance of the Spindrift. Jack’s boat placed second with other craft far behind.
Friendly hands assisted the girls ashore where they were spirited away to the clubhouse for rest and refreshments. As everyone crowded about to congratulate them upon victory, Jack joined the throng.
“It was a dandy race,” he said with sincerity. “I tried hard to win, but you outsmarted me.”
“Why, Jack!” teased Sally. “Imagine admitting a thing like that!”
“Now don’t try to rub it in,” he pleaded. “I know I’ve been an awful heel. You probably won’t believe me, but I’m sorry about the way I acted—”
“For goodness sakes, don’t apologize,” Sally cut him short. “I enjoyed every one of those squabbles we had. I hope we have a lot more of them.”
“We probably will,” Jack warned, “because I expect to be underfoot quite a bit of the time.”
Later in the afternoon, the brass lantern which had been turned over to the club by the police, was formally presented to Sally. She was warned however, that the trophy would have to be returned later for use in court as evidence against Adam Glowershick.
The nicest surprise of all was yet to come. Captain Barker was requested by a committee chairman to kindly step forward into full view of the spectators.
“Now what’s this?” he rumbled, edging away.