f Spindrift. There was no sign of the
rowboat yet.

The plane traveled in a straight line right across North Cove. The
houseboat was at anchor a few hundred yards offshore, and the pram was
tied up to the rear rail. There was no sign of life.

The boys reached the Whiteside pier without seeing the girls or the
boat. Scotty put the plane into a tight circle and looked at Rick
helplessly. "Now what?"

"They can't have gone far," Rick mused. "Not in the rowboat."

"They had the aqualungs," Scotty pointed out. "They must have expected
to use them."

"Right. But how? If they planned to get aboard the houseboat, they
wouldn't be using the aqualungs. Or would they?"

"Search me."

"Wouldn't they just row up to the houseboat on some excuse or other? I
wish I'd looked. Barby might have taken those clothes Dad wore home
last night."

"We can't just float around and talk," Scotty said urgently. "Let's do
something."

Rick felt the same way. "Okay. Throttle down and go slow. We'll scan
the whole coastline from here to Spindrift."

Scotty did so, holding the little plane barely above stalling speed.
Rick leaned out and traced the shore with anxious eyes.

The plane turned and twisted as Scotty followed the coastline as
accurately as he could. They reached the upper tip of North Cove and
swung into the cove itself.

Scotty tapped Rick on the shoulder and pointed. A man and a woman had
come out of the houseboat and were watching the plane.

"Wonder where the other pair is?" Rick asked. There was nothing they
could do about the people on the houseboat now. Let them wonder what
the plane was doing. Rick turned his attention back to the shore
below.

The plane traveled the length of the cove's shoreline and rounded the
southern tip. They passed over a section where the woods came right
down to the water. Birches leaned far over. Rick caught a glimpse of
what might have been the rowboat, then the plane swung and he lost it.

"Circle," he said quickly. "I think I saw something!"

Scotty gunned the Sky Wagon and threw it into a tight turn. Rick
watched carefully as the clump of birches came into view. There was a
boat under them, all right. He wished for the binoculars, but they
were probably at the attic lookout where Barby and Jan had spied on
the houseboat.

He had no real doubt. He was sure the boat was the Spindrift rowboat.

"Circle over the island," he called to Scotty, then reached over and
took the hand mic