Part 31 (2/2)
”Outside,” one agent co on us,” the man in the striped shi+rt protested
”We were only protecting ourselves against this wildyourselves against the two girls?” Scotty asked
”We were holding them for the police,” striped shi+rt stated ”They sneaked aboard, probably intending to steal anything they could find
You're going to get yourselves into a peck of trouble,firearive the Boy Scouts!”
The agent with the pistol said mildly, ”You talk toothem to Spindrift We'll send the speedboat back for you”
The four young people stood at the rail and watched as the crowded praed off to the island
Barby pulled off her bathing cap, and Rick saw that she wore the Megabuck unit underneath He pointed to it ”I tried to call you Why didn't you answer?”
Barby replied with an embarrassed blush that started at the shoulders and swept up until her face was bright red ”I forgot to turn it on,”
she ad her up They hadn't got toit at me Jan sort of looked up and said, 'We need an outside power to help us now But we must be sure the power is turned on'
Then I remembered I pretended my head hurt, and pushed the switch”
Rick looked at Jan ”That was clever I'd been trying to reach Barby, with no success Then, suddenly, I heard her talking”
”We knew you were close, because we could hear the plane” Jan shuddered ”The ht after they tied us up and put that thing on uarded us, and one of theht at us We saw it, through the open door, and we thought you were going to crash!+”
Rick grinned at Scotty ”That was our fast-acting pal If he hadn't done that, I'd never have had a chance to get aboard”
”Good thing you figured out what I was doing,” Scotty ad fast toward the boat, I kneas okay, and that I didn't have to crash”
Rick stared ”Do you mean you'd have actually crashed?”
”Not head on, because that would have hurt the girls I was planning to swing at the last ”
Rick could only irls ”And here's the pair that made it necessary What in the na to do?”
Barby lifted her chin defiantly ”We had a good plan Can we help it if it didn't work?”
”Can't answer that until we know the plan,” Scotty said reasonably
”Suppose you tell us”
”Well, we needed evidence that the houseboaters were in the plot against our fathers, didn't we? I knee could get it, if we could plant a radio So we ood a turned-off radio would have done,” Rick o swiht next to the houseboat, and we'd be so surprised! Of course the people would come out to see us, then we'd say I had a cramp, and could we please come up and rest”