Guilt of the Brass Thieves Part 2

"They don't see us!" Jack shouted hoa.r.s.ely. "We'll be run down!"

The ferryboat now was very close. Its dark hull loomed up. Expecting a splintering crash, Penny struggled to her feet, preparing to jump overboard. But instead, she heard a series of sharp whistle toots, and the ferryboat swerved, missing them by a scant three yards.

"Wow! Was that close!" Jack muttered, collapsing weakly on the seat. Then he straightened up again into alert attention, for the ferry had reduced speed.

"Maybe we're going to be picked up!" he exclaimed.

The ferryboat indeed had maneuvered so that the current would swing the drifting craft directly toward it.

Five minutes later, wet and bedraggled, the three stranded sailors scrambled up a lowered ladder onto the _River Queen's_ slippery deck. A few curious pa.s.sengers who braved the rain, stared curiously at them as they sought shelter.

"Well, if it isn't Jack Gandiss, and in trouble again!" boomed Captain Barker, owner of the ferry. He was a short, stubby, red-faced man, with twinkling blue eyes. "What happened this time? Engine conk out?"

"We ran out of gas," the boy admitted briefly. "Thanks for picking us up."

"Better thank Sally here," replied the captain, giving orders for the motorboat to be taken in tow. "It was her sharp eyes that picked you up out o' the storm."

Penny turned to see a dark-haired girl of her own age standing in the doorway of the pilot house. In oilskin hat and coat, one easily might have mistaken her for a boy. Impatiently she brushed aside a strand of wet hair which straggled from beneath the ugly headgear, and came out on the rain-swept deck.

"Well, well, if it isn't Jack!" she chortled, enjoying the boy's discomfiture. "Imagine an old tar like you running out of gas!"

"Never mind the cracks!" he retorted grimly. "Just go back to your knitting!"

Turning her back upon Jack, Sally studied Penny with curious interest.

"Do I know you?" she inquired.

"My father and I are to be guests at the Gandiss home," Penny explained, volunteering their names. "We were on our way to Shadow Island when we ran out of gas."

"Let's not go into all the gory details here," Jack broke in. "We're getting wet."

"You mean you _are_ all wet," corrected Sally, grinning.

"Sally, take our guests to the cabin," Captain Barker instructed with high good humor. "I'll handle the wheel. We're late on our run now."

"How about dropping us off at the island?" Jack inquired. "If we had some gasoline--"

"We'll take care of you on the return trip," the captain promised. "No time now. We have a hundred pa.s.sengers to unload at Osage."

Penny followed Sally along the wet deck to a companionway and down the stairs to the private quarters of the captain and his daughter.

"Osage is a town across the river," Sally explained briefly. "Pop and I make the run every hour. This is our last trip today, thank Jupiter!"

The cabin was warm and cozy, though cramped in s.p.a.ce. Sally gave Mr.

Parker one of her father's warm sweaters to put on over his sodden garments, offered Penny a complete change of outer clothing, and deliberately ignored Jack's needs.

"You may return the duds later," she said, leading Penny to an adjoining cabin where she could change her clothes. "How long do you folks expect to stay at Shadow Island?"

"Two weeks probably." Penny wriggled out of the limp dress.

"Then we'll have time to get better acquainted. You'll be here for the trophy race too!" Sally's dark eyes danced and she added in a very loud voice: "You'll be around to see Jack get licked!"

"In a pig's eye!" called Jack through the thin part.i.tion of the cabin.

"Why, that old sailboat of yours is just a mess of wormwood!"

"It was fast enough to win the bra.s.s lantern trophy!" Sally challenged, winking at Penny. In a whisper she explained: "I always get a kick out of tormenting Jack! He's so c.o.c.ky and sure of himself! It does him good to be taken down a peg."

"Tell me about the race," urged Penny. "It sounds interesting--especially your feud with Jack."

"Later," promised Sally carelessly. "Right now I want to get you something warm to drink before we dock at Osage. Here, give me those wet clothes. I'll dry them for you, and send them to Shadow Island tomorrow."

Rejoining Jack and Mr. Parker, the captain's daughter conducted the party to a food bar in the pa.s.senger lounge.

"Hot Java," she instructed the counter man. "And what will you have to go with it? Hamburgers or dogs? This is on the house."

"Make mine a dog with plenty of mustard," laughed Penny, enjoying the girl's breezy slang.

"Nothing for me except coffee," said Jack stiffly. "I'll pay for it too."

Mr. Parker decided upon a hamburger. Food, especially the steaming hot coffee, revived the drooping spirits of the trio. Even Jack thawed slightly in his att.i.tude toward Sally.

Sipping the brew from a thick China mug, Penny's gaze roved curiously about the lounge. The room was poorly furnished, with an ancient red carpet and wicker chairs. Pa.s.sengers were absorbed with newspapers, their fretful children, or the _River Queen's_ supply of ancient magazines.

The lounge however, was scrupulously clean, and every fixture had been polished until it shone like gold. Sam Barker, whose father before him had sailed a river boat, was an able, efficient captain, one of the best and most respected on the waterfront.

Attached to an overhead beam near the food bar, swung an ancient bra.s.s lantern. The body was hexagonal in shape, its panes of gla.s.s protected by bars of metal. A two-part ornamental turret was covered with a hood from which was attached the suspending ring.

"That lantern came from an old whaling boat nearly a century ago," Sally explained. "For many years it was kept in the Country Club as a curio.

Then two seasons ago, it was offered as a trophy in the annual Hat Island sailboat race held here."

"I won the lantern the first year," Jack contributed. He pointed to his name and the date engraved on the trophy's base.

"The second year, I upset the apple cart by winning," Sally added with a grin. "The race next week will decide who keeps the lantern permanently."

"Providing it isn't stolen first!" Jack cut in pointedly. "Sally, why must you be so stubborn about hanging it here on the _River Queen?_ Every Tom, d.i.c.k, and Harry rides this old tub."

"Don't call the _River Queen_ a tub," drawled Sally, her tone warning him he had gone far enough. "And as for our pa.s.sengers--"

"What I mean," Jack corrected hastily, "is that you can't vouch for the honesty of every person who rides this ferry."

"I'm not in the least worried about the lantern being stolen," Sally retorted. "I won it fairly enough, didn't I?"

"Yes."

"Then it's mine to display as I choose. The racing committee agreed to that. The lantern is chained to a beam and is safe enough."

"I hope so," Jack said grimly. "I aim to win it back, and I don't want to see it do a disappearing act before the day of the race."