“What did he say?” demanded John.
“I didn’t hear,” said George. “He probably said they’d catch us in a few minutes, and I guess they will, too.”
“You’re a pessimist, Pop,” said Fred, but he looked back anxiously at the Spruce plowing along behind them.
“No, I’m not either,” exclaimed George. “I do think we made a mistake in reefing that sail, though.”
“Wait and see,” said Fred, but he himself appeared to be anxious.
“If the wind should die down we’d be in a nice fix,” said George in a discouraged tone of voice.
“It doesn’t seem to be going down now, though,” said Grant. “Just see us go! And look at all the white-caps. I really think we’re doing better than we did before.”
“But we’re not gaining on them any more,” insisted George gloomily.
“We don’t need to,” laughed Grant. “All we have to do is to hold our lead.”
The relative position of the two boats was unchanged at the end of the first leg on the second round. The Balsam still enjoyed her lead of twenty-five yards over her rival. They had covered only a short distance on the second leg when George suddenly remarked that the wind was dying down.