"What's up?" asked Harry, coming to his side.

"There are Si Peters and Wash Crosby on the deck of that yacht. I can see them as plain as day."

"Our old enemies!" murmured Harry.

"Da didn't lose no time in gittin' togedder after da got out of de 'formatory, did da," laughed Blumpo. "Da say de bad ones allers do stick like glue."

"Oh, maybe they'll be first-cla.s.s chaps now," said Jerry, who was willing to let the past be forgotten.

"Don't you be too sure on that p'int, lads," put in Jack Broxton. "It's mighty hard to make anything out of a bad egg, and Si Peters and Wash Crosby are bad eggs if ever there were any."

"Dat's so, fo' suah," murmured Blumpo.

"Well, we won't have any words with them," said Jerry. "We'll let bygones be bygones."

"I would like to know where they got that yacht," said Harry. "It can't be possible Mr. Peters bought it for Si. When Si went to the reformatory he told father he intended to send his son to a military school and cut off his allowance."

"Maybe Si has promised to reform. Hullo! they are coming this way!"

Jerry sprang up in alarm, for the big yacht had suddenly veered around several points and was now coming head on toward them.

"We'll be run down!" shrieked Blumpo, in terror.

"The young fools!" muttered Jack Broxton. "Don't they know anything about steering?"

"The big yacht is evidently one too many for them. See, there is no one aboard but Si and Wash. Two hands are not enough for such a craft."

Nearer and nearer the two yachts came to each other.

Jack Broxton did his best to steer clear of the Arrow, but he was at a disadvantage. Soon the big yacht took away all the wind of the Whistler and she lay helpless.

"Keep off!" yelled Jerry, but the cry was unheeded.

Bang! Crash! The Arrow struck the Whistler on the bow, the long bowsprit ripping a hole in the main-sail.

Then came a smashing of woodwork and the Whistler began to sink.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE ROBBERY OF THE ROCKPOINT HOTEL.

"We are lost!"

"Heaben sabe us!"

"Cling fast for your lives!"

A dozen other cries rang out, for the force of the collision was terrible.

But all clung fast and no one was thrown into the water, to be struck and perhaps instantly killed.

"What do you mean, Si Peters?" yelled Jerry. "You ran into us on purpose!"

There was no time to reply nor to say more. After the crash the two yachts drifted apart, and with a somewhat damaged bowsprit the Arrow went on her way.

As she slid by, Harry caught a glimpse of Wash Crosby holding fast to a big red valise, which had come near bounding overboard. He thought no more of it at the time, but had good reason to remember it later.

"What shall we do?" asked Jack Broxton.

"We've got a neat little hole in the side."

"Can we beach her on the island?" asked Harry. "I don't want the Whistler to go to the bottom of the lake."

"I reckon I can manage it. Just hold that bit of canvas over the hole."

Harry and our hero jumped to do as bidden, while Jack Broxton and Blumpo undertook to steer the yacht toward sh.o.r.e. The craft was becoming so water-logged that she acted clumsily, and they had their hands full.

"We is gwine down, suah!" groaned Blumpo, but as he spoke the keel grated on the sand, and a moment later she swung around hard and fast, and the danger of sinking was past.

While Jack and Blumpo lowered the sails, Harry and Jerry carried several lines ash.o.r.e and tied them to the trees in such a fashion that the yacht could not pound herself, even if the wind came up.

After the sails were lowered old Jack inspected the damage done.

"I can patch the main-sail in an hour," he said. "But that hole at the bow will take three, and I ought to have more tools than I've got aboard."

"Can't we patch things up sufficiently to take her back into Lakeview?"

asked Harry.

"Maybe we can. But it would be better on account of the wind to steer for Rockpoint. She couldn't stand the chop sea on the other course."

"All right; we'll steer for Rockpoint, and take her over to Dan Mason's boatyard."

Blumpo ran down the sh.o.r.e of the island to tell his father of what had happened. While he was gone the others patched up the break at the bow with some thin wood and a square of canvas, tacked on, and gave all a coating of pitch.

Half an hour later found the Whistler bound for Rockpoint. They had to sail along with great care, for fear of breaking open the patched place.

Had this occurred they would all have gone to the bottom.

It was growing dusk when the harbor at Rockpoint was reached. At the dock they saw that something unusual had happened. A crowd of men were gathered about talking earnestly, and pointing up the lake.

"Whoever they were, they took a boat, I'm sure of that," said one man.

"That's so," said another.

"But who were they, and where did they go?" asked a third.