With that he threw out his arm, and instantly there was a flash and a report.
“Oh!” exclaimed George, startled in spite of the warning.
Jack’s heart was fluttering with excitement. He also felt something like regret that Clarence was there in line with the fire. Though the agent might be only seeking to frighten the boy at the wheel of the _Flash_, still something serious was apt to happen. Jack wished in his soul that it was all over and nobody injured.
The _Flash_ began to wabble badly, showing that Clarence was trying to shield himself from the battery in the rear, something which he would find it hard to do.
Jack stood ready to lend a hand in case of an emergency that George might seem unable to manage alone.
And it was right at that critical moment, just when light was needed most of all, that the fickle moon shot out from behind the bank of clouds, illuminating the surface of the broad St. Lawrence, dotted still with islands, upon which in many cases cottages could be seen.
Jack thought that was a good omen; but there was no time to spend in reflection. Another sharp report close to his ear told that the revenue man believed in following up a good thing. He knew that Clarence was on the point of surrender, and intended to strike while the iron was hot.
Jack shouted this warning in the ear of his chum, for the leading motor boat had suddenly slackened her speed, the quick pulsation of her engine having ceased to beat upon the air.
Instantly the motor of the _Wireless_ followed suit; and driven forward by the impetus of her “push,” she shot alongside the other craft, not three feet away.
Jack breathed easier, for he saw now that a collision was not to follow. The nerve of Clarence had possibly failed him at the climax; and his last move had been to stop his engine, before dropping flat in the bottom of his boat.
“Over into her, John! We must make prisoners here!” shouted the agent, as he balanced on the rail of the _Wireless_, and in so doing almost brought that side of the narrow-beam boat awash.
A big splash followed, as a figure sprang from the opposite side of the other boat. Evidently the desperate smuggler, as a last resort, had taken to the water, in the hope that he might yet baffle his pursuers, and escape to the Canada shore.