Moving quickly, Sandy grasped the jib halyard and hoisted it aloft while Jerry was fastening the main halyard to its cleat. The sloop began to make headway in the light breeze. Then, as Sandy joined his friend in the cockpit, the sloop sailed clear of the shadows that lay below the stern of the freighter, and into the circle of light that surrounded the afterdeck. At almost the same instant, a shout rang out from above them.
“Look! It’s the kids!” It was Turk, who, seeing the sail like a luminous flag in the water, had sounded the alarm.
“Get down!” Sandy said, pulling Jerry to the deck of the cockpit. His action came not a minute too soon for a pistol shot rang out. It was followed by a volley of shots, as more of the freighter’s crew got into the action, but the boys were unharmed, although two bullets had hit the cabin roof and one had plowed a furrow in the deck.
The shooting stopped after a few more stray shots were fired, the sloop having by now moved out of effective pistol range. Making the best headway they could in the light breeze, Sandy and Jerry looked back with satisfaction to see the freighter’s crew working feverishly at the davits to get the ship’s power gig into the water.
“If we can just get enough lead time,” Jerry said fervently, “we’ll make it to shore well ahead of them!”
“What if Jones follows in his boat?” Sandy asked.
“We’ll worry about that if he does,” Jerry answered. “He’s a good sailor, but we have a lead on him. It’ll be our first race, if it happens, and I sure hope we win!”
By now the power gig was hanging over the side, its davits having been swung into launching position. The canvas cover had been removed, and several sailors clambered in, waiting for the boat to be lowered. With a creak of blocks and tackle, the lifeboat was swiftly dropped to the water. The boys could see someone bending over the engine compartment, trying to get the boat started.
“Jones’ll have a long wait, if he wants to go after us in that!” Sandy chuckled. “That ship is so sloppy, I’ll bet it will take them an hour just to find the parts they need, once they discover what’s wrong!”
But apparently Jones wasn’t going to wait. He had sized up the situation quickly—too quickly—and was going over the side and down the rope ladder to the other sloop!