Home Before Dark by Jo Hammond

Author:Jo Hammond
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, JUV000000
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2005-05-31T16:00:00+00:00

FOGHORN

WHY now? Erik thought. Why here, in the fog? The sound of a sick motor always filled him with dread. “Out of gas?” he asked. He clambered over to the gas tank, lifted it and with difficulty gave it a shake. “It’s about half full. Try starting the engine.”

Mike swore. The engine refused to catch. He swore again.

“A friend of my dad’s has one of these,” said Erik, jerking his head in the direction of the outboard. “When the water intake gets plugged, the motor overheats and stalls.”

“Then what?” demanded Dave.

“Unplug it and wait for it to cool.”

The ferry’s foghorn sounded again, a little closer.

“How long?” asked Dave.

Erik leaned over the stern. “Can’t remember.”

Mike tilted the motor. Bronya felt the screen in front of the propeller leg. “There’s a bit of weed stuck in there,” she said, pulling it out.

“Erik, take the cover off,” Mike ordered.

After double-checking the screen, Erik did as Mike asked. “Try again.”

But it still wouldn’t start.

“Maybe it’s not cool enough,” suggested Toni. “Wait a couple of minutes.”

Erik shook his head. “We don’t want to drain the battery.” He felt tense, responsible for this boatload of people. If it hadn’t been for him wanting to go to the dump, they wouldn’t be in this dangerous situation. It was up to him to find a solution. But right now, he was panicking and getting nowhere. Keep calm. Don’t let them know how you feel.

Again they heard the ferry’s warning. Mike’s face turned into a mask of terror. “Shut up!” he screamed as the blast faded.

“The ferry can’t hear you,” said Bronya.

“You don’t have a clue,” Mike shouted at her. “This boat’s in the ferry’s path and it WON’T GO!”

“Stop spazzing,” she snapped. “I’m not stupid.”

He left the wheel to look at the now exposed engine.

“Check the gas filter,” said Erik quietly. “See if there’s water in it.”

The first thing that the gas line led to was the filter. Mike examined it. “Looks okay.”

Erik agreed, so did Bronya. “Want a flashlight?” she asked Mike.

“Don’t need it,” he said.

The horn bellowed threateningly. Bronya looked up. “They’ll see us on their radar screen, won’t they?”

Erik shook his head. “No way. To them we’re just a drifting chunk of wood. Even if they did know we were a boat, they wouldn’t be able to react in time.” The ferry’s subsonic rumble sounded to him like an ominous sea monster charging toward them.

“Is the gas line squashed?” suggested Dave.

Toni ran her fingers over it from the tank to the engine. “Nope.”

As the seven-thousand-ton ferry headed toward them, they heard the PA system announcing the ship’s imminent arrival at Langdale, the message that alerted travelers to return to their cars.

Dave’s face paled. “I feel sick.”

Toni pulled an oar out from under the bow and handed it to him, pointing to the bow. “Get out there and paddle like hell!” she ordered.

“There’s another under the port gunwale,” shouted Mike, his head close to the engine.

“Which direction?” asked Dave, grasping the windshield and maneuvering himself onto the bow.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.