Three Go Searching by Patricia St. John

Author:Patricia St. John [John, Patricia St.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Published: 2021-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

7

Silver Track on the Sea

The boys did not know how long they sat in that boat. It might have been minutes or hours, for they had lost all sense of time. They only knew that the night was growing darker and darker, and they were growing colder and colder. David’s foot went to sleep, but he dared not rub it. Nor did he dare to think of the kitchen light shining out onto the cliff behind him, nor of Dad, who was probably out looking for him by this time; nor of Mother with her warm arms, who would now be thinking that he was late and naughty. The tears brimmed over silently and ran down his cheeks, but he dared not lift his hand to wipe them away.

He thought it must be nearly morning, but actually they had only been there about half an hour when they heard the sound of quick footsteps on the pebbles and a little splash of water as the men waded out toward the ledge in the rock. There was the sound of a sharp, frightened question; an answer, the words of which they could not hear, and then the sound of scuffling and, although they still dared not look up or move, they knew that three faces were watching them.

“Well,” said the first voice very quietly, “what are you going to do with them?”

“Take them out to where the water is deep,” said the second voice. “If they have seen what there is to see, they must not go home again. You can’t trust children. The coast guard would be waiting for us at the other side, and it would be prison for all of us.”

“Be careful,” said the deep voice of the man who had caught them. “One of them is a European child.”

“All the worse!” said the second. “He’s probably French, and they will be down to look for him in no time. We’d better get moving. Guard those children with your gun. They might try to escape where it is shallow.”

The little craft lurched against the creekbank as its owner let himself down into it, followed immediately by the second man. A moment later David felt his arms secured firmly with a rope, and he was lifted up, helpless, and then tied to the back seat. The other man stepped swiftly across and did the same to Waffi, and two rags were tied firmly around their mouths. It was all a matter of seconds, so quickly and purposefully did the men move, and when David came to his senses again the boat was out of the creek, and the two men were rowing swiftly and silently, their oars making practically no sound as they struck the water.

They rowed for about ten minutes and then leaned toward the control panel in the prow. A quiet chug-chug started up, and the boat began to move fast, kicking a little at the throbbing of the engines. The first man got up and stepped over to the boys in the back of the boat and cut the rags from their mouths.

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