mashed the barrel across his face. He went down.

Then one of the pirates on shore made a try. He stood upright, rifle
poised. Rick fired with the heavy automatic. He missed. The pirate
looked at the silvery spatter of lead on a rock two inches from his
right knee and dove for cover.

Chahda flashed by, and the bow wave lifted Rick and Scotty high into the
air. They grabbed at the vinta with their free hands and had to grip
tightly to keep from being thrown as it rolled wildly. Rick snapped the
safety on and lowered the hammer to half cock, then tucked the pistol
securely in his belt. For a moment he hung on with both hands, then
called to Scotty.

"Let's hit the drink!"

Scotty was trying to sling his rifle on his back while holding on with
one hand. He gave it up and went over the side. Once in the sea, he rose
to the surface and got the rifle sling into position. Rick waited until
the vinta was on the downward slope of the backwash from the shore, then
went in headfirst. The cool water engulfed him and he twisted upward and
broke the surface.

Scotty was waiting. The two of them swam outward, to where the other
four were treading water, waiting for Chahda.

Rick heard the MTB's horn let go with a long blast, and he rose high out
of the water to look. For a moment he thought Chahda was out of control,
because the big boat was spinning in a tight circle. That could only be
done by putting one engine in full reverse and the other in full
forward!

Then the boy saw what Chahda had done. The centrifugal force of the
whirling MTB sent a fifty-gallon drum dancing across the water to the
full length of a long rope. As the barrel swung wide, Chahda
straightened out and put on speed.

"Come on!" Rick yelled at Scotty. He stretched out in the water for a
fast sprint. Leave it to Chahda! Had he tried to swing the barrel out
while traveling in a straight line, it would merely have fallen astern.
Circling the MTB at a fast speed was the only way to get the rope out
far enough from the boat to give them all a chance of grabbing it.

Rick looked up and saw that both he and Scotty were just inside the path
that the barrel was traveling. It was falling astern now that Chahda was
on a straight course, but it would still be far enough away from the
side to catch them all.

He stopped and looked at his friends, and saw that Zircon had locked his
legs around Shannon's chest and was ready. Tony and Torres were facing
the oncom