This time we were in for it. The rattling exhaust of our engine had told its story; or, at least, it had told enough to excite sufficient curiosity for a look at us.
The light oscillated once or twice in search; then it steadied, and our eyes blinked in its glare. Everything about us sprang into daylight, and the brass cylinder heads before me fairly glittered.
I imagined I could hear the wielder of the light chuckle at his find; but I didn’t have to imagine the imprecation that Pawlinson hissed venomously. I have seldom heard such fervor; but I seconded it heartily.[Pg 42]
“All up!” I groaned; for it took no clairvoyant to fathom that the alarm had been sounded.
Even above the sound of our engine we heard a sharp command given, and the lines were cast from the lighter alongside. Then came some quick blows on metal.
“Make that out?” queried Pawlinson shortly.
“Cutting the cable,” I muttered. “They know the game. Her engine’s going already. Where’s the police boat?”
“The fools in her smell something up; but, being fools, they’ve stopped to see what it is.”
Sure enough, off there about a quarter mile, the lights of the patrol stood fixed, showing that either her engine had been shut off or was running free from load.
“At any rate,” I growled, “she’s too far off to help, anyway. That schooner’s certainly fast under power. Once started, she’s a good match for the launch, and besides——”