CHAPTER 15 UNDER THE SAIL

That Claude Harper was searching for them, the girls did not doubt. But though he knew someone had been peering in the window, they were hopeful he had not actually seen them. Huddling beneath the sail in the bottom of the boat, they nervously waited.

The man came farther out on the pier, the boards creaking beneath his weight. At any instant the girls expected to have the sailcloth jerked from their heads. However, Harper’s attention was diverted as Sweeper Joe came out of the house.

“Find anyone?” the factory worker asked.

“No, but tracks lead to the window. Someone’s been spying.”

“Kids probably.”

“I don’t know about that,” Claude Harper returned gruffly. “I’d feel a lot safer if we didn’t have all that stuff in the basement. What’s our chances of getting rid of it tonight?”

“We can’t do it. Tomorrow or next night maybe. Arrangements have got to be made, and if we try to push things, we’ll end up in a jam.”

The voices faded away, though not entirely. Presently daring to peep from beneath the canvas, Penny saw that the two men had seated themselves on the rear steps of the house at the edge of the river and within plain view of the tied-up boat.

“We’re in a nice position now!” she whispered to Sally. “Suppose they sit there until they decide to leave in this boat?”

“We’ll be caught. We’re the same as trapped now unless they go back into the house.”

The two men showed no inclination to leave. They talked earnestly together, evidently making plans of some sort. Though the girls tried hard to overhear, they could catch only an occasional word. After awhile, Ma Harper, a wiry, ugly woman with stringy black hair, came outdoors to join the men on the steps.

“It’s getting late,” she warned. “If you’re goin’ to tend to that job today, you’ll have to be gettin’ across the river. Ain’t you due to show up for work at four o’clock, Joe?”

“That’s right,” the man yawned, getting up. “I’ll be glad when I can chuck the whole business and live without workin’.”

Though Penny and Sally did not hear much of the conversation, it was evident to them that the men were about ready to make use of the boat.

“We’re sunk,” Sally whispered fearfully. “Maybe we ought to climb out of here and make a dash for it.”

Penny offered a better idea. “Why not untie the rope, and let the boat drift off?” she proposed. “The current is swift and should carry us downstream fairly fast.”

“Any other boat around that they can use to follow us in?”

“I don’t see any.” Penny raised the sail a little higher as she gazed along the pier and nearby beach.

“All right, then do your stuff,” Sally urged.

While she held the sail slightly above Penny’s head so that no movement would be discernible to those on the house steps, the latter reached her hands from beneath the cloth and swiftly untied the rope. The boat began to drift away. Covered by the sail, the girls lay motionless and flat on the craft’s bottom.

At first nothing happened. But as they began to hope that the men would not notice the drifting boat, they heard an explosive shout.

“Look!” Claude Harper exclaimed. “Our boat!”

“Jumpin’ fish hooks!” Sweeper Joe muttered. “How did that happen? I tied ’er secure.”

“It looks like it,” the other retorted sarcastically. “I can’t afford to lose that boat.”

The girls could hear running footsteps on the pier and boardwalk near the dance pavilion. Sally dared to peep from beneath the canvas again.

“They’re after a motorboat!” she reported tensely. “Harper has one he keeps locked in a boathouse.”

“How close are we to the bend in the river?”

“About twenty yards.”

The swift current was doing its best for the girls, swinging their boat toward the bend. Once beyond it, they would be temporarily hidden from the pier. But the current also was tending to carry them farther and farther from shore.

“Do we dare row?” Penny asked nervously.

“Not yet. Harper is having trouble getting the engine of his boat started,” Sally reported. “We’ll be safe for a minute or two. We’re getting closer to the bend.”

To the nervous girls, the boat scarcely seemed to move. Then at last it passed the bend and they were screened by willow trees and bushes.

“Now!” Sally signalled in a tense whisper.

Throwing off the sail, they seized oars and paddled with all their strength.

“Quiet!” Sally warned as Penny’s oar made a splash. “Sounds carry plainly over the water.”

The blast of a motorboat engine told them that Harper and his companion had started in pursuit. Only a minute or two would be required for them to round the bend.

Throwing caution to the winds, Sally and Penny dug in with their oars, shooting their craft toward shore. The boat grated softly on the sand. Instantly, the girls leaped out, splashing through ankle-deep water.

As Sally was about to start across the beach, Penny seized her hand.

“We mustn’t leave a trail of footprints this time!” she warned.

Treading a log at the water’s edge, Penny walked its length to firm ground which took no visible shoe print. Sally followed her to a clump of bushes where they crouched and waited.

Barely had they taken cover when the motorboat came into view, heading for the little cove. There Claude Harper recaptured the runaway rowboat, tying it to the stern of the other craft.

Suddenly Penny was dismayed as she realized that in their flight, a most important detail had been overlooked.

“The oars!” she whispered. “They’re wet!”

“Maybe the men won’t see,” Sally said hopefully. “We left them half covered by the canvas.”

Intent only upon returning to the pier, Claude Harper and his companion failed to notice anything amiss. Apparently assuming the boat had been carelessly tied and had drifted away under its own power, they were not suspicious.

“That was a narrow squeak,” Penny sighed in relief as the motorboat with the other craft in tow finally disappeared around the bend. “The oars will quickly dry in the sun, so I guess we’re safe.”

Now that they were well out of trouble, the adventure seemed fun. Penny glanced at her wristwatch, observing that it was past four o’clock.

“Jack will be waiting for me,” she said to Sally. “I’ll have to hurry.”

“We’ll have plenty of time,” Sally returned carelessly. “You usually can count on Jack being half an hour late for appointments.”

Walking swiftly along the deserted shore, the girls discussed what they had overheard at the Harpers.

“We stirred up a big fuss and didn’t learn too much,” Penny said regretfully. “All the same, it looks as if the Harpers and Sweeper Joe are mixed up in this brass business together.”

“They spoke of having something stored in the basement. That is what interests me. Oh, Penny, if only we could go back there sometime when the Harpers are gone and really investigate!”

“Maybe we can.”

Sally shook her head. “Ma Harper almost never goes away from home. But sometimes she has streams of visitors from Osage—mostly women. I’ve often wondered why.”

“Factory girls?”

“No, they’re housewives and every type of person. I think Mrs. Harper must be selling something to them, but I never could figure it out.”

The River Queen was at the far side of the river, so Sally, for lack of occupation, walked on with Penny to the dock where she was to meet Jack. Greatly to their surprise, he was there ahead of them, and evidently had been waiting for some length of time.

Seeing the girls, he slowly arose to his feet.

“Well, Jack, what did you learn at the factory?” Penny asked eagerly.

“Why, not much of anything.”

“You mean you weren’t able to find out the name of the man who dropped his badge aboard the Queen?” Penny asked incredulously.

“Of course you learned the name if you really tried,” Sally added. “Every single badge used at your factory would be recorded!”

Thus trapped, Jack said lamely: “Oh, I learned his name all right. Take it easy, and I’ll tell you.”