CHAPTER
7
MAN OVERBOARD!
Penny and Ben ran to the edge of the dock, peering into the dark, oily waters. On the deck of the Snark there was a murmur of voices, then silence.
Casting a quick glance upward, Penny was angered to see that the men who had been standing there had vanished into a cabin or companionway. Obviously, they had no intention of trying to aid the unfortunate man.
“There he is!” Ben exclaimed, suddenly catching another glimpse of the bobbing head. “About done in too!”
Kicking off his shoes and stripping off his coat, the reporter dived from the dock. He struck the water with an awkward splash, but Penny was relieved to see that he really could swim well. He struck out for the drowning man, but before he could reach him, the fellow slipped quietly beneath the surface.
Close by were two barges lashed together, and the current would take a body in that direction. Ben jack-knifed and went down into the inky waters in a surface dive. Unable to find the man, he came up, filled his lungs in a noisy gulp, and went down again. He was under such a long time that Penny became frantic with anxiety.
She decided to turn in an alarm for the city rescue squad. But before she could act, Ben surfaced again, and this time she saw that he held the other man by the hair.
As Ben slowly towed the fellow toward the dock, Penny realized that she must find some way to get them both out of the river. She could expect no help from anyone aboard the Snark. Gazing upward again, she thought she saw a man watching her from the vessel’s bow, but as her gaze focused upon him, he retreated into deeper shadow, beyond view.
No guards were anywhere near, and the entire waterfront seemed deserted. Penny’s eyes fastened upon a rope which hung loosely over a dock post. It was long enough to serve her purpose, and finding it unattached, she hurled one end toward Ben.
He caught it on the second try and made a loop fast about the body of the man he towed. Penny then pulled them both to the dock.