put his thumb to his nose,
twiddled his fingers, and then moved slowly over the rattling planks
toward Westport.

"I suggist that ye turn about, Captain, and scoot for home," was the
ironical advice of the Irish youth.

"For what reason?"

"I'm afeard that man is real mad and he might take it into his head to
git down off his wagon and saize aich of us by the nape of the neck as
the boat goes through, and slam us down so hard he'd jar us."

"Better wait, Captain, till he's a little farther off," advised Calvert;
"there may be something in what Michael says."

As for Mike, feeling he could not do justice to the subject, he held his
peace for the moment.

Gliding through the draw and entering Montsweag Bay, the occupants of the
_Deerfoot_ were surprised to see nothing of the other launch. She was as
invisible as if she had been scuttled and sunk in fifty feet of water.

The right shore above the structure, belonging to Westport, slopes to the
right, and something like a half mile above, this course is at right
angles to the stream. It is really a peninsula, there being an inlet more
than a mile long which divides it from the rest of Westport. This little
bay is spanned by a bridge which forms a part of the highway that passes
over the longer structure already referred to.

When Mike found the _Water Witch_ had vanished, he pretended to be vastly
relieved. He had dropped into his chair and now straightened up.

"But ain't we lucky?"

"Why so?" asked Calvert.

"If we hadn't been stopped at the bridge the ither boat might have broke
down and we'd come up wid the same, and those chaps would have give us
all a good spanking."

"I am glad you are becoming so prudent," said Calvert, with an approving
nod. "We must take Michael with us whenever we are likely to run into
danger. Captain, if you don't mind, you might tune up your boat a bit."

"Better wait," suggested Mike, "fur ye might gain on t'other one."

Alvin now put on the highest speed of which the _Deerfoot_ was capable.
The bow rose, the stern settled down in the water, and the spray was
flung high and splashed against the wind-shield. The exhaust deepened to
a steady roar, and the broadening wake was churned into a mass of
tumbling soapy foam. The whole boat shivered with the vibration of the
powerful engine. She was going more than twenty miles an hour--in fact,
must have approached her limit, which was four miles faster. Alvin had
attained such a trem