“Much obliged, you fellows! Can you make Cutchogue Harbor?”
“No,” called Toby. “We’ll tow you to Johnstown, over there, or into Greenhaven. Which do you say?”
“That won’t do, thanks. We’ve got to get to Cutchogue. This boat’ll tow easily,” insisted the man. “Name your own price, like a good fellow. It’s mighty important that we get to Cutchogue. Come on now! Can’t you do it for us? Any figure you say and we’ll pay you the minute we get there!”
Toby, keeping the _Urnove’s_ bows to the sea, reflected a moment. Then he turned questioningly to Arnold.
“Let’s try it!” said Arnold eagerly. “It’ll be a lark!”
“If we don’t founder doing it,” replied Toby grimly. “All right. I’m game.” He shouted across to the cruiser then. “Glad to take you to Greenhaven or anywhere down here for nothing,” he called. “But if you want to go to Cutchogue I’ll have to charge you something. I won’t promise to get you there, either, but I’ll do my best.”
“Good boy!” was the response. “What’s your figure?”
Toby turned quickly to Arnold. “What’s twenty-five from seventy?” he demanded.
But Toby had solved the problem himself. “Forty-five dollars,” he shouted.
“Go to it, feller!” The man waved his hand gayly. “You’re a sportsman!”
“All right,” answered Toby. “Give me plenty of cable. Here goes!”
Toby speeded up the engine, the cable tightened, the _Urnove’s_ propeller thrashed and churned as the weight of the bigger boat was felt, and for a moment, while the stout rope strained and dripped water, the outcome appeared in doubt. Then, however, the _Sinbad’s_ bow swung slowly around, the line slackened a little, tautened again and the _Urnove_, with her engine chugging madly and the waves tossing her about, moved ahead.
Once under way, Toby slowed the engine down and headed straight into the seas. With that load astern the little launch shipped water at every plunge and Toby knew that his safest course was to make dead into the weather until he had reached the lee of Robins Island. There he could run northwest and, once around the end of the island, find smoother seas off New Suffolk where Nassau Point would break the force of wind and tide. But it was a good five miles to the southernmost end of the island and his course took him down the very middle of the bay. There was no longer any question of keeping dry, for the spray flew over the bows at every dip and now and then a full-sized wave rushed in, cascading over the seat and running astern to where Arnold was busy, bailer in hand. Toby steered with the starboard wheel, where he had the engine within arm’s reach, but steering the _Urnove_ with tons of weight holding her stern down was a different matter from steering her under ordinary conditions, and Toby had his hands full. Behind them, at the end of the dipping line, came the _Sinbad_, swaying and plunging about, and looking, in the fast-gathering dusk, like some wounded and helpless sea-monster. Arnold, abandoning his bailer for a moment, crept forward to Toby’s side.