“Well, we’ll see,” replied Jack. “I’ve got no complaints at present. Never heard of such luck!”
“Five hundred dollars seems an awful lot of money for doing a little bit of a thing like this, though, doesn’t it?” asked Rodney.
“Yes, it sounds a lot to us, but you must remember that the Grace and Ella is worth thousands of dollars and has a full catch of ground-fish under her hatches. It isn’t exactly the idea of losing the salvage money that makes me hope the tug will miss us somehow, though,” he added with a grim smile.
“It’s quite enough reason,” observed Rod.
“Yes, but I want to keep this tow till we get right into the harbor,” said Jack. “I can’t very well be in two places at the same time, but I’d give a month’s earnings at the ferry to be standing near Mr. Simon Barker and watch his face when he sees this schooner of his being towed in by the Sea-Lark. It won’t take him more than about a minute to realize that I’m getting a very nice revenge for something he said to me only a couple of days ago. Slip up for’ard there, Rod, will you? I believe I spotted the Point then, and I want to make sure of my bearings. The haze seems to be clearing off a bit—”
Then something happened which he had been dreading. Across the water, from the direction of Four Fathom bell-buoy, which the Sea-Lark had now left full three miles astern, came the sharp, piping call of the tug.
Four short squeaks, a long one, and finally a short one.
“No mistaking her,” was Rod’s only comment. Much to Jack’s delight, the captain of the Grace and Ella did not attempt to signal back. Such a proceeding would, however, have been difficult anyway, against the wind.
“There’s the Point!” suddenly cried Rod from the bow and a minute later Jack altered his course a shade, for the weather was clearing up rapidly and he saw it was necessary to make a little more southing. At the same time he glanced back over his shoulder. The squawk of the tug was now insistent.