As the steersman was about to change his course, a sudden and unexpected lurch tore the tiller from his grasp and sent him crashing against the gunwale. The sail began to thrash and bang violently in the wind, and cries of alarm instantly arose.
"Drop the sail!" yelled Bob, struggling to Sam's assistance.
The "Speedy" careened far over; before Dave Brandon and Dick Travers could master the flapping canvas, the boom swung swiftly across. Tommy Clifton tried to duck, but too late. His horrified chums saw him swept backward into the choppy water.
It had happened so quickly that not a move could be made to aid him.
But Tommy's yell of terror had scarcely ceased, when Dick Travers threw off his coat and shoes, and, without an instant's hesitation, dived overboard.
As he rose to the surface, bravely battling against wind and foam-crested waves, he clearly felt the grip of the treacherous current.
Tommy Clifton's head bobbed up close by, and, swimming hand over hand, Dick made straight for him.
"Keep up, Tommy, old boy," he managed to gasp.
But the terror-stricken lad did not seem to hear. He grasped wildly at his rescuer, who, however, knew enough to keep clear.
At a favorable moment he seized Tommy by the hair and by a quick move turned him on his back. So far, he had been buoyed up by the hope that the "Speedy" would immediately tack to their assistance, and, hampered by his clothes, he strove merely to keep afloat.