“Hurray, lad! You’ve done the trick!” shouted Captain Andrews.
“But how—what—where”—stammered Tom. “How?—by taking a swim over to the Tarpon. Where?—in a secret locker under the cabin floor,” laughed Jack. “You see,” he went on, “I had a hunch that it might pay to investigate the Tarpon, for I concluded that it was likely that Melville’s outfit would leave the model there till they found a safe place to take it ashore, and so—I got ’em.”
“And I guess that posse is getting our friends,” cried Captain Andrews. “Hark!”
From the direction of the Point came the sound of several shots and then silence.
“I have an idea that that is the finish of Mr. Melville and his outfit,” said Jack. But Tom interrupted him.
“The Sea Gull is afloat,” he cried.
Sure enough, the tide had been rising during the last hour, and now they could feel a quiver of life in the Sea Gull. The engine was started, and after a short time the craft was backed off into deep water and anchored. Not long after the three friends rowed ashore and made their way into Rumson. They found that village in a state of turmoil. The five marauders had all been captured after a bloodless battle, in which, however, a few shots had been fired by Rook and Melville.
But Rumson was not to have the honor of their presence long. After a brief examination before a local magistrate, they were consigned to the Boston authorities. They were tried for their crimes in that city, and received various jail sentences. Captain Flinders alone escaped on the plea that he did not know what kind of men he had taken as passengers. This was palpably false, but as he aided the State’s case by his testimony, he was released with a stern warning.
After the hearing at Rumson the boys telegraphed the glad news of the recovery of the model and papers to Mr. Peregrine, and notified their parents of the termination of their adventurous quest. The next day they started back for Boston on the Sea Gull, towing the Tarpon behind. Captain Flinders had asked Captain Andrews to look after the latter craft while his case was pending, and the boys’ good-hearted friend could not refuse. The bulldog, now completely subdued, went as a passenger on the Sea Gull, and Jack ultimately bought the animal from Flinders.
At Boston, the inventor, both the boys’ fathers, and Ralph and Jupe in a state of wild excitement, all met the boys, and many and hearty were the greetings and congratulations. After a few days in the city Jack found all the appliances he needed, and in a very short time afterward the Peregrine Vanishing Motor Gun was accepted by the government as a weapon for use against aëroplanes.