“Grab those oars out of the boat, and shove her off!� shouted Nick, as he got on the square wooden grating at the foot of the ladder, and saw that Lord Vinton was already by his side. “Throw them into the sea or bring them along, Drago!�
Harvey L. Drago was a man after Nick Carter’s own heart, for he seemed to fit into a scrap as if it were his regular occupation. In a jiffy, he had the four oars in his arms and piled them up on the ladder, just as he gave the boat a tremendous shove with one foot.
Away went the boat, with the two wounded sailors and the other three who were more or less disabled. The fifth sailor, together with Kennedy, the mate, had disappeared in the dark waters of the bay.
Nick was obliged to make a quick grab for Drago, or that energetic young man would have gone into the sea, too, as he kicked the boat away.
He recovered his balance with the help of the detective, however, and rushed up the ladder at Nick’s heels.
It was fortunate for the three victors that only a small watch was on deck. The taking away of six men from the crew, with the first mate, had weakened the yacht so far as men were concerned.
There were two men on deck, and neither of them was wide awake. They had been sitting talking in the shadows of the smokestack until one of them had fallen fast asleep, while the other nodded.
Until the fight actually began on the boat at the foot of the sea ladder, there had been hardly a sound.
The men were rowing with muffled oars, and there had been no talking except the whispered exchanges between the three prisoners.
When the battle did begin, it was over before the two men on deck realized what was happening.