“Pop!” Sally called sharply. “Is that you?”
She was answered only by complete silence. Then a plank creaked. The prowler was stealing stealthily toward the girls!
“Pop!” shouted Sally at the top of her lungs, groping to find a light switch.
Before she could illuminate the room, a man brushed past the two girls. Penny seized him by the coat. A sharp object pierced her finger. She was thrust back against the wall so hard that it knocked the breath from her. The man twisted, and jerking his coat free, dashed up the stairs.
“Pop!” Sally called again.
Captain Barker, armed with revolver and flashlight, came out of his cabin. By this time, Sally had found and turned on the light switch.
“A prowler!” she cried. “He ran up on deck.”
“Stay below!” ordered the captain. “I’ll get him!”
Penny and Sally had no intention of missing any of the excitement. Close at Captain Barker’s heels, they darted up the companionway to the deck. To the starboard, the trio heard a slight splash, then the sound of steady dipping oars.
“Someone’s getting away in a rowboat!” Sally cried.