Guilt of the Brass Thieves

  CHAPTER 10 _OVERTURNED_

  When Penny reached the dock next morning she found that Sally hadpreceded her by many hours. The varnished wood of the _Cat's Paw_ shonein the sunlight. Below the waterline, the boat was as smooth and slipperyas glass.

  "Isn't she beautiful?" Sally asked proudly, squeezing water from a spongeshe had been using. "The rigging has been overhauled, and Pop camethrough at the last minute with a new jib sail. Every rope has beenchanged too."

  "It looks grand," Penny praised. "You must have worked like a galleyslave getting everything ready for the race."

  "I have, but I want to win. This race means everything to me."

  "Are you sure you want me to sail with you?" Penny asked dubiously."After all, I am not an expert. I might handicap you."

  "Nonsense! There's no one I would rather have--that is, if you still wantto do it. Was Jack angry when you told him?"

  Penny confessed that she had not spoken to any of the Gandiss family ofher intention to take part in the race. "But it will be all right," sheadded. "Jack really isn't such a bad sport when you get to know him. Ionly hope we win!"

  "Oh, we'll come in among the leading five--that's certain," Sally saidcarelessly. "This is only a preliminary race today. The five winningboats will compete next week in the finals."

  "If you lose today must you give up the trophy?"

  "Not until after the final race." Sally laughed goodnaturedly. "But don'tput such ideas in my head. We can't lose! I'm grimly determined that Jackmustn't beat me!"

  "I do believe the race is a personal feud between you two! Why does itmean so much to defeat him?"

  Sally stepped nimbly aboard the scrubbed deck, stowing away the spongeunder one of the seats. "Jack and I always have been rivals," sheadmitted. "We went to grade school together. He used to make fun of mebecause I lived on a ferryboat."

  "Jack was only a kid then."

  "I know. But we always were in each other's hair. We competed ineverything--debates, literary competitions, sports. Jack usually defeatedme too. In sailing, due to Pop's coaching, I may have a slight edge overhim."

  "Do you really dislike Jack?"

  "Why, no." Sally's tone indicated she never had given the matter previousthought. "If he weren't around to fight with, I suppose I'd miss himterribly."

  Penny sat down on the dock to lace up a pair of soft-soled tennis shoes.By the time she had them on, Sally was ready to shove off for the trialrun.

  "Suppose we take about an hour's work-out, and then rest until time forthe race," she suggested. "You'll quickly learn the tricks of this littleboat. She's a sweet sailer."

  The _Cat's Paw_ had been tied to the dock with a stiff wind blowingacross it, and larger boats were berthed on either side. To get awaysmoothly without endangering the other craft would be no easy task. Asthe girls ran up the mainsail, a few loiterers gathered to watch thedeparture.

  "All set, mate?" grinned Sally. "Let's go."

  With a speed that amazed Penny, she trimmed the main and jib sheets flatamidships, placing the tiller a little to starboard.

  "Haul up the centerboard!" she instructed.

  Penny pulled up the board, feeling a trifle awkward and inadept.

  Sally leaped out onto the dock, and casting off, held the boat's headsteady into the eye of the wind. With a tremendous shove which delightedthe spectators, she sent the _Cat's Paw_ straight aft, and made a flyingleap aboard.

  With sails flat amidships, the boat shot straight backwards. As theystarted to clear the stern of the boat that was to starboard, Sally letthe tiller move over to that side. The bow of the _Cat's Paw_ began toswing to starboard.

  Not until then, did Penny observe that the _Spindrift_ was tied up only afew boat-lengths away. Jack, armed with several bottles of pop, camehurriedly from the clubhouse. Noting Sally's spectacular departure, hejoined the throng at the railing.

  "We'll give the crowd a real thrill," Sally muttered, keeping her voicelow so that it would not carry over the water. "If this trick works, itshould be good."

  Even Penny was worried. The bow of the _Cat's Paw_ had swung rapidly tostarboard. But Sally, calm and cool, still hung on to the sheets.

  "Put your tiller the other way!" Jack shouted from the dock. "Let yoursheet run!"

  Enjoying the boy's excitement, Sally pretended to be deaf. Wind hadstruck the sails, but the _Cat's Paw_ continued to sail backwards. Acrash seemed impossible to avert. Then at the last instant, the bow swungclear of the neighboring boats.

  Grinning triumphantly, Sally put the tiller to port and started thesheets. They sailed briskly away.

  "Beautifully done!" praised Penny. "Not one sailor in a hundred couldpull that off. It took nerve!"

  "Pop taught me that trick. It's risky, of course. If the sails shoulddecide to take charge, or the tiller should fail to go to starboard, oneprobably would collide with the other boats."

  "You surprised Jack. He expected you to crash."

  "We'll surprise him this afternoon too," Sally declared confidently,steering out into mid-stream. "If this breeze holds, it's just what thedoctor ordered!"

  For an hour the girls practiced maneuvers until Penny was thoroughlyadept at handling the ropes and carrying out orders. Although the rulesof the race did not allow them to sail the actual course, Sally pointedit out.

  "We start near the clubhouse," she explained. "Then, taking a triangularroute we sail past Hat Island to the first marker. After rounding it, wekeep on to the marker near the eastern river shore, and sail back to ourstarting point."

  Sally was in high spirits, for she declared that if the breeze held,_Cat's Paw_ would perform at her best. Though no one knew exactly whatJack's new boat, _Spindrift_ could do, observation had convinced mostsailing enthusiasts that it would be favored in a light breeze.

  "I hope it blows a gale this afternoon!" Sally chuckled as they moored atthe dock. "Get some rest now, Penny, and meet me at the clubhouse aboutone o'clock. The race starts sharp at two."

  Penny did not see Jack when she returned to Shadow Island, so had nochance to tell him of her plan to sail with Sally in the competition. Herfather, whom she took into her confidence, was not entirely in favor ofthe decision.

  "We are guests of Mr. and Mrs. Gandiss," he reproved mildly. "To sailagainst Jack is a tactless thing to do. Though actually you may do him afavor, for you'll likely be more of a handicap than a help in the race."

  "That's what I figured," laughed Penny.

  By chance, Mr. Gandiss overheard the conversation. Entering the livingroom, he declared that Penny must not hesitate to enter the competition.

  "After all, the race is supposed to be for fun," he said emphatically."Lately Jack and Sally have made it into a feud. I really think it woulddo the boy good to be defeated soundly."

  Long before the hour of the race, Penny was at the yacht club docks,dressed in blue slacks, white polo shirt, and an added jacket forprotection from wind and blistering sun rays.

  Rowboats, canoes and small sailing craft plied lazily up and down theriver, while motor yachts with flags flying, cruised past the clubhouse.Out in the main channel where the race was to be held, the judges' boathad been anchored. The shores were thronged with spectators, many of whomhad enjoyed picnic lunches on the grassy banks.

  Penny walked along the dock searching for the _Cat's Paw_. She came firstto the _Spindrift_ which was just preparing to get underway. Jack and ayouth Penny did not know, were busy coiling ropes.

  "Hi, Penny!" Jack greeted her, glancing up from his work. "You're goingto see a real race today! Will I take Sally Barker for a breeze!"

  Just at that moment, Sally herself appeared from inside the clubhouse.Seeing Penny, she waved and called: "Come on, mate, it's time we shoveoff!"

  Jack's jaw dropped and he gazed at the two girls accusingly.

  "What is this?" he demanded. "Penny, you're not racing in Sally's boat?"

&nb
sp; "Yes, I am."

  "Well, if that isn't something!" Jack said no more, but his tone had madeit clear he considered Penny nothing short of a traitor.

  The two boats presently sailed out from the protecting shores to join theother fifteen-footers which had entered the race. With the breeze blowingstrong, the contestants tacked rapidly back and forth, jockeying for thebest positions at the start of the contest.

  Tensely Sally glanced at her wristwatch. "Five minutes until two," sheobserved. "The gun will go off any minute now."

  Nineteen boats comprised the racing fleet, but in comparison to Jack andSally, many of the youthful captains were mere novices. Experts weredivided in opinion as to the winner, but nearly everyone agreed it wouldbe either Jack or Sally, with the odds slightly in favor of the latter.

  "There goes the signal!" cried Sally.

  The boats made a bunched start with _Cat's Paw_ and _Spindrift_ in thebest positions. In the sharp breeze, one of the craft carried away astay, and with a broken mast, dropped out of the race. The others headedfor the first marker.

  At first Sally and Jack raced almost bow to bow, then gradually the_Cat's Paw_ forged steadily ahead. Except for three or four boats, theothers began to fall farther and farther behind.

  "We'll win!" Penny cried jubilantly.

  "It's too soon to crow yet," Sally warned. "While it looks as if thisbreeze will hold for the entire race, no one can tell. Anything mighthappen."

  Penny glanced back at Jack's boat a good six to eight lengths behind. Theboy deliberately turned his head, acting as if he did not see her.

  The _Cat's Paw_ hugged the marker as it made the turn at Hat Island.Rounding the body of land, the girls were annoyed to see a canoe withthree children paddling directly across their course.

  "Now how did they get out here?" Sally murmured with a worried frown."They should know better!"

  At first the children did not seem to realize that they were directly inthe path of the racing boats. But as they saw the fleet rounding HatIsland in the wake of the _Cat's Paw_ and the _Spindrift_, they suddenlybecame panic-stricken.

  With frantic haste, they tried to get out of the way. In her confusion,one of the girls dropped a paddle, and as it floated away, she made adesperate lunge to recover it. Another of the occupants, heavy-set andawkward, leaned far over the same side in an attempt to help her.

  "They'll upset if they aren't careful!" Penny groaned. "Yes, there theygo!"

  Even as she spoke, the canoe flipped over, tossing the three girls intothe water. Two of them grasped the overturned craft and held on. Thethird, unable to swim, was too far away to reach the extended hand of herterrified companions.

  Making inarticulate, strangled sounds in her throat, she franticallythrashed the water, trying desperately to save herself.