Part 11 (1/2)

”Must be soh I didn't know anybody was living there now”

”Yes, there's somebody in it,” added John Boll, ”but I never knew they had a boat”

”Look out!” suddenly exclaih thecraft, and it was coh the engine could be heard puffing

”It's running away!” cried Toet out of the way, you mean,” called Bert ”Do you want to be sunk in the deepest part of the lake? Pull on your left oar, Tom!

Pull! Pull!”

The motor boat was now almost upon the other craft

CHAPTER IX

A NARROW ESCAPE

”Give a yell!” suggested Vincent

”What for?” panted Bert, as he struggled with the oars, trying to swing the boat out of danger ”There's nobody aboard to steer the boat out of the way”

But Vincent yelled anyhow, and, to the surprise of the boys, a figure suddenly showed itself in thedown in the craft, adjusting so

His sudden excla Vincent's yell, showed that he was not aware how close he was to a collision He jumped to his feet, leaped forward to the wheel, and with a few quick turns sent his boat to one side

And it was only just in tirazed the extended oars that Tom and Bert had thrust out to dip in the water, in order to further swing their boat around

”I didn't see you!” exclaiine I'm sorry!”

”Whose boat is that?” asked Bert

But the man returned no answer, and in a few seconds he was too far off to enable the boys to repeat the question

”Do any of you fellows know him?” asked Bert of his chue the other day,” replied Toer in town”

”Wonder what he's doing around here?” asked Vincent ”It's a good thing I hollered when I did, or he'd have punched a hole in us”

”You're right,” agreed Bert ”I didn't think there was anybody in the boat But didn't he come out of the Stockton boathouse?”

”He sure did,” replied Tom ”But there hasn't been a boat there in several years We've been in swi around here lots of times, and I never saw one before”

”Me either,” chimed in several lads