The Deserted Yacht Part 6

Madge quietly opened the door and moved stealthily toward Mr. Burnett's cabin. Enid, terrified at the thought of remaining behind, followed.

They stole softly along the deck, every muscle tensed for the unexpected.

Madge stepped over a coil of rope in her path and too late turned to warn her chum. Enid failed to see it. She stumbled and fell flat on the deck, letting out a sharp exclamation.

Before she could regain her feet, a figure darted from Mr. Burnett's cabin. He went over the railing like a flash and was lost to view.

"Oh, we mustn't let him get away!" Madge cried.

She jerked Enid to her feet and they reached the railing just in time to see a motor boat speed away from the yacht.

"Enid, can you run your father's motor boat?" she demanded.

"Yes, but--"

"Then come on! Our only chance of tracing your father is to follow this man!"

Rex had filled the tank of the motor boat that afternoon, but it required several minutes before Enid had the engine going. Madge cast off and they moved away from the yacht.

"To the right!" she directed. "I saw him head that way."

Enid swung the wheel and they made for the open water. The boat rapidly gathered speed until the sea split from under her prow in huge waves.

"Can you see him, Madge?"

"Dead ahead. He has the engine m.u.f.fled."

"Then we'll lose him if we're not careful."

"Can't you go faster?"

Enid shook her head.

For a few minutes longer they kept the boat in sight but it was increasingly apparent that they were running a losing race. The man they were following knew the channels and his boat was fast. Soon he was swallowed by the night.

After it was evident that they had lost him, Enid stopped the engine.

They listened for a few minutes but there was no sound of a motor boat.

"I guess we may as well turn back!" Madge said in disgust.

"It was all my fault," Enid grieved. "Of course, I had to stumble over that old rope!"

"It wasn't your fault, honey," Madge comforted. "It was just a bad break of luck."

Enid was silent as they slowly steered back toward The Flora. Madge too, was occupied with her own thoughts. She wondered what could be the meaning of the midnight visit. Had the prowler come for the purpose of ransacking the cabin or was it possible that he had brought some message?

The girls were thoroughly chilled by the night air before they reached the yacht. Yet, the adventure had made them far too nervous to even consider going back to bed. After lighting nearly all of the lamps, they screwed up their courage and entered Mr. Burnett's cabin. A hasty glance about a.s.sured them that nothing had been touched.

"I guess he didn't have time to do any damage," Enid declared. "What do you suppose brought him here tonight?"

"I wish I knew."

"Well, I think Rex was right about staying here alone. It was a terribly foolish thing to do. I'll not spend another night here without a guard."

After a time they settled themselves in deck chairs, and there, snuggled down under steamer rugs, they spent the remainder of the night. For some reason they felt safer out in the open where they could see any boat that might approach. Occasionally, they dozed off, but for the most part they maintained a vigilant watch.

At dawn they stretched their cramped limbs and went to Enid's cabin to freshen up. Hot coffee revived their spirits and strengthened their morale. As the sun beat down upon the deck it was difficult for them to believe that they had spent such a harrowing night.

"We must report to the police immediately," Madge advised. "They may attach special significance to what happened during the night."

Soon after breakfast, Mr. Burnett's cook and three sailors appeared upon the scene, and after she had given them orders for the day, Enid was ready to leave.

"It's a relief to know someone will be at the yacht while we're gone,"

she said to Madge as they drove away in the motor boat. "Jose the cook was quite broken up to hear about Father. And the sailors too have always liked him."

At the police station, the girls related the happenings of the night.

While the authorities offered no comment other than to ask a few questions, it was plain that the incident puzzled them. Enid had hoped the police would have good news to report, but seemingly, the case was at a standstill.

"There's very little we can do until some communication is received from the kidnappers," Mr. Randall told her. "Rest a.s.sured a demand for ransom will be made soon."

"But more than twenty-four hours has elapsed already," Enid protested.

"If those men were after money I should have thought they would have left a note behind at the time of the kidnapping."

The girls spent over an hour at the station and left more discouraged than ever. Although Enid was trying desperately to maintain her courage, she was beginning to fear that she might never see her father again.

Before returning to their motor boat they stopped at a street corner to purchase newspapers. The story of the kidnapping had been spread out on the front page in bold print and their own photographs stared them in the face.

"Oh, dear," Enid lamented, "it's dreadful to get you mixed up in this. I invited you here for a pleasant vacation and instead, plunged you into all this publicity."

"I'm here to help," Madge a.s.sured her. "If only we had something to work on!"

They walked on to the water front and were just boarding the motor boat when Madge clutched her friend by the arm.

"See that man over there! He's the one I told you about-the boatman who ran away and left me aboard the yacht."

Enid turned to look.

"Oh, I think I've seen him before. I don't know his name but I'm sure he's all right. He probably didn't understand that you wanted him to wait."

"Just the same, I'd like to talk with him again," Madge said quietly.

They started toward the man but without seeming to observe their approach, he moved swiftly away to lose himself in an alley.

"See that, Enid! He knew we intended to question him!"

"Why, he didn't even see us coming."

"I think he did," Madge insisted. "He pretended not to be looking our way, but all the while he was watching out the corner of his eye. One of these times I'll catch him unaware!"