Matt promptly obeyed, and the sails of the schooner shook in the wind.
"What did you do that for, Dory?" demanded Oscar Chester, utterly disgusted at the backing down of the skipper.
But there was no time to answer the question. Instead of striking the Racer, the Goldwing was struck by the barge on her broadside. But the blow came at an angle of about forty-five degrees, and the stem slid off by the stern. Still it was a hard rap, and the yacht shook under its force. Doubtless her side was dented and scraped, but she sustained no injury of any consequence.
"Keep your places, fellows!" yelled Jeff Monroe, as the rowers began to stand up and think how they should save themselves, for they thought the barge was smashed in the collision. "We are all right! Keep your places!"
The Racer was not injured, but she was thrown from her course, and brought up with her stern alongside the schooner. Two of her spoon oars were broken, and two more of them lost overboard, for all the starboard oars had been swept from the rowlocks by the contact with the yacht. The crew were in utter confusion, for their discipline was not proof against such a scene as that which had just transpired.
"Do you mean to drown us all?" demanded Jeff. "You have made a pretty mess of it."
"You act as though you intended to drown yourself and your crew," replied Dory, as he directed Matt to fill away again.
"We shall get even with you yet!" retorted Jeff angrily.
The barge had come about, so that she was now in the trough of the sea, though the waves were not heavy; but the motion served to increase the confusion on board of her. The crew obeyed the order of the coxswain to keep their seats for the simple reason that they could not stand up in the rolling craft. In a few minutes Jeff had brought something like order out of the snarl.