“The same,” Herb replied promptly. “She flashed by us while we were trolling, though at some little distance. And, fellows, as sure as you live, Clarence was at the wheel, though neither of us could see a thing of Bully Joe. I thought Clarence looked scared, for he was awful white; but George declared he was only in one of his mad fits. We know what they stand for, don’t we?”
“Did you call out to him?” asked Jack, quickly.
“I did,” replied George, “and dared him to accept a challenge to race the _Wireless_. I thought he was going to answer me; but he only turned his head and stared. But it was Clarence, all right. I give you my word on that.”
“Now, what d’ye know about that?” observed Nick; “dodging around like that, and declining to even speak! Generally Clarence is always ready enough to get into a hot argument. And you’d just think he’d be wild to take you up on that challenge business, George. It beats me all hollow, now.”
“What! more adventures?” cried the chagrined Nick. “I tell you it ain’t fair for everybody to get in the lime light, and leave poor me in the lurch. What have I done to deserve this? Say, I hope you fellows ain’t holding that silly thing up against me yet, about betraying our secrets to the enemy, and all that rot, you know? That would be mean.”
“Oh! shucks, cut it out, Buster,” said Josh; “and let George tell us what else happened. This mystery is getting on my nerves, I tell you, boys. Go on, proceed, George, old chum. Give us the harrowing details.”
“You won’t find much to alarm you in this,” laughed the other. “Only, while we were fishing a boat came along, and it had two men in it. They rowed up close, and we could see they had a fishing rod in action. The one who held it kept watching us as sharp as the mischief. He spoke to us pleasant like, and asked a few questions about our luck, how we happened to be so far over toward the Canada side, if we expected to move away soon to new grounds, and such things.”
“Did you recognize the boat, or the men, George?” asked Jack, quietly.
“Herb and myself talked that over afterwards; until his tumble overboard knocked it all out of our heads. And we thought that perhaps those men were one of those couples we saw yesterday, passing here and staring in at us.”