How far off the shore was they did not know. They had located the voice of Crosby and now steered in the direction.
Jerry at the bow continued to keep his ears on the alert.
“A little to the right, now,” he said. “That’s it. If you don’t make too much noise we’ll surprise them completely.”
“I think the best thing we can do is to follow them after they land, until they reach some place where we can have them locked up, Jerry.”
“That is certainly a good plan. It will save us the trouble of dragging them off to jail, if we are fortunate enough to capture them.”
Harry’s plan was accepted, and on they went.
“Look!” cried Jerry, presently, and pointed down the shore.
“Don’t you see the lights coming toward us?”
“My gracious, we’ll have to get out of the way or we’ll be run down!”
“She is close in shore,” went on Jerry. “I believe she’ll pass between the other row-boat and ours.”
“Let us hold up a minute and see what she intends to do,” said Harry.
He rested on his oars. Soon the craft came closer. It was the excursion boat on her return.
“She is not coming near us,” said Jerry. “Pull on.”
Harry had just taken to the oars again, when a wild cry rang out. It came from the row-boat which held Peters and Crosby.
“The steamboat is onto them!” ejaculated Jerry.
Scarcely had he spoken when there came another cry, followed by a crash.
“Pull ahead!” cried Jerry. “Like as not they have either been killed or are drowning!”
He sprang to Harry’s side, and with an oar each they sped on to the assistance of the unfortunate ones.
No answer was vouchsafed, and a moment later the steamboat went on.
“Like as not, Si Peters and Wash Crosby are dead,” observed Harry, as he bent to his oar.
“We’ll soon know the truth,” replied the young oarsman.
Both boys pulled a swift stroke, and were soon on the spot where the catastrophe had occurred.
In the meanwhile the steamboat was fast disappearing in the distance. Soon the last light faded from sight.
In the darkness of the night Jerry and Harry could see but little.
“There is an oar,” cried Harry, pointing it out.
“And there is part of the row-boat’s bottom,” said Jerry. “It looks as if the row-boat was actually ground to pieces.”
“Then it isn’t likely that Si Peters and Wash Crosby escaped.”