e."

Marbek and Kelso exchanged glances.

"We can't just let 'em go," Carrots said. His glance at Rick was
vindictive. "This is the smart joker that dove at me in his airplane.
I owe him somethin' for that."

"Be quiet, Jimmy," Red Kelso said. "We've got to think about this."

There was a hail from outside. Marbek started. "Red! Come outside.
Jimmy, watch these two."

Carrots lifted the rifle a little. The two older men went out and
closed the door. Rick, listening carefully, thought he could hear
oars.

Scotty spoke up. "You're a good shot with that thing, Rick says. You
put two shots right together over his head."

"I should have picked him off," Carrots snarled. "I ought to put a
shot in his head right now for makin' me jump off the dock."

"That evened us up," Rick said quietly. "You dumped the fish on us."

Carrots grinned his satisfaction. "You're tootin' I did! And that
ain't all I'm goin' to do to you, either."

"Don't be too sure," Scotty said.

Carrots' thin lips tightened. "You got warned. Twice. What happens to
you is on your own head."

The door banged open and Red Kelso and Brad Marbek came in again. For
some reason they seemed in better spirits. Marbek was grinning.

Kelso stood before the two boys, his seaweed-green eyes surveying them
coldly. "All right. Talk. What did you want in here?"

Rick and Scotty remained quiet.

"Don't make me beat it out of you," Kelso warned.

Rick thought quickly. He jerked his thumb at Carrots. "You can blame
him. First he dumped half a ton of menhaden on us and then he took a
shot at me while I was climbing the old tower."

"Why were you climbin' the tower?" Marbek demanded quickly.

Rick shrugged, nonchalantly, he hoped. "Why does anyone climb a tower?
Just for the fun of it."

Carrots snorted. "Nuts! Then why didn't you go all the way to the
top?"

Red Kelso's eyes swiveled from his son to the boys. "Let's cut the
comedy," he snapped. "Jimmy had nothin' to do with your comin' here.
Now give us a straight story or you'll suffer for it!"

Rick's mind was working at top speed. He couldn't tell them
everything, but he might be able to stall.

"You warned us," he said. "Twice. Anyway, we thought it was you, then
your son just admitted it." He grinned at Kelso. "We had to find out
why you were warning us, didn't we?"

Red looked at Carrots and then at Brad. "I told you it was a mistake
to try to warn 'em off," he grated. "All right. Did you find o