CHAPTER
17
A STOLEN BOAT
The mists were lifting as Penny and Louise sailed slowly past the Ottman Dock toward their own snug berth. Sara, in blue slacks, a red bandana handkerchief over her head, was trying to start a stubborn outboard motor. Glancing up, she called a greeting, and then asked abruptly:
“Say, what’s that barge doing out on the river? It looks to me as if it’s adrift, but I can’t see well enough to tell.”
Penny and Louise, eager to impart information, brought the dinghy to a mooring at the floating platform. Sara listened with interest as they revealed how they had boarded the barge, released Carl Oaks, and then notified the Coast Guard.
“Neat work!” she praised. “That Carl Oaks! He’s one of the most shiftless men I ever knew. He doesn’t deserve to hold a job.”
Penny glanced about the dock, searching for Burt Ottman.
“Your brother isn’t here?” she remarked absently.
“No, he isn’t,” Sara replied, rather defiantly. “If you think he had anything to do with that barge—”
“Why, it never entered my mind!” Penny exclaimed.
“I’m sorry,” the older girl apologized. “I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know why I’m so jumpy lately.”