At the first command the oarsmen poised their blades at right angles with the gunwale; at the second they dropped them into the water, holding them in this position with a firm grasp. The effect was to check the progress of the boat. But this did not stop the boat, as the coxswain desired to do.
"Stern all!" he added; and the crew began to pull backwards.
A couple of strokes were all that were necessary to overcome the remaining headway of the barge, and she rested in the position Dory had chosen for her. Wash Barker was evidently very nervous, though he saw that the Winooski had come to a standstill. The stem of the latter was pointed at her at an angle of forty-five degrees, but she was not directly in the course of the Dasher. Wash thought he had space enough to pass to the eastward of her, and perhaps he concluded that his threat had been effective in stopping his rival.
"Clap on that head bunter, Thad!" called Dory to the bowman.
The article indicated was a kind of cushion covered with a network of small rope. It was used when the boat was in danger of striking her stem against any hard substance, as in boarding the steamer, or making a landing at a wharf. Thad Glovering put the bunter in position; and the call for it indicated to the crew that there was danger of a collision.
The bunter had no significance to Wash, who believed he had won a victory in bringing his opponent to a standstill. He kept his course, and fully expected to pass clear of the Winooski. Dory watched the Dasher with the utmost care, and it was plain enough that he intended to do something.
"You are doing first rate, fellows," said the coxswain, with his gaze fixed upon the Dasher. "Now is the time to remember what you have promised, and I want you to keep up the discipline clear to the handle."
"We won't slip up the hundredth part of an inch, Dory," replied Phil Gawner. "Propel!"
"Ready! Give way!" called Dory, after a pause of a moment. "But only two or three strokes!"
The crew gave a few vigorous strokes in perfect time, and doubtless Wash wondered what was coming next.