CHAPTER II
The Rescue
As the Hardy boys sped toward the woman, who appeared above the surface again in a moment and began to struggle wildly, they saw that confusion prevailed on board the yacht.
Great clouds of smoke were pouring from amidship. People were running frantically about the deck. Efforts were being made to lower a lifeboat, but apparently something went wrong, for it sagged perilously and then stuck, with two sailors working hastily to release it.
But the boys' immediate concern was the woman. She disappeared beneath the water again and they were fearful that she had gone under for the last time. Then, as theSleuthsurged forward, they saw her emerge once more. They were close enough now to see her frightened face, and, as theSleuthsped within a few yards of her, Joe poised himself and dived.
He plunged into the water just as the woman was going down for the third time. He kept cool and, remembering the first aid instruction he had received, took care not to come within reach of the wildly clutching hands. He grasped the woman by the hair and then, keeping behind her, managed to get a grip that did not endanger himself. Had she been able to throw her arms about him, he would have been dragged beneath the surface with her.
Joe struggled toward theSleuth. It had sped past when he dived, but Frank had quickly brought the craft around and Joe had to swim but a few strokes. Frank throttled down the engine and he was able to give a hand in assisting the woman on board. She was dragged into the boat, dripping and almost unconscious, and Joe clung to the gunwale until Frank grasped his shoulders and hauled him over the side.
In the meantime, the Hardy boys' chums were speeding toward the yacht. The race was forgotten.
Frank and Joe did their best to revive the half-conscious woman. Her immersion in the water and the shock of being face to face with death had left her weakened, and she was moaning and murmuring as she lay on the cushions. Joe gave what first aid he could, moving her arms back and forth to restore circulation, while Frank set the course of theSleuthin the direction of the yacht.
Biff Hooper had already reached the passenger boat. He drew up alongside, with Tony Prito, in theEnvoy, not far behind. Passengers were crowding to the rail, some shouting and screaming with fright, some pleading to be taken off.
Biff and Tony were ready to offer their boats for this purpose, but they noticed that the cloud of smoke had diminished in volume. A uniformed man was bellowing through a megaphone.
"No danger!" he roared. "The fire is under control!"
But it was plain that many in the crowd were afraid there would be another explosion.
"Take us off!" screeched a wild-eyed woman. "Take us off before the boat blows up!"
She scrambled up on the rail, but the uniformed man seized her and prevented her from trying to leap overboard.
"Need any help?" shouted Biff.
"Stand by for a while," returned the officer. "We're getting this fire under control but we don't know how bad it is."
Biff and Tony, in their motorboats, cruised in the neighborhood of the yacht, as the ship's officer asked. The passengers were milling about on deck, badly frightened, but gradually they became calmer as a steward assured them that there was no danger. The heavy cloud of smoke decreased in volume. The boat's crew was small and the fire-fighting equipment was limited, but in a little while it became evident that the blaze was not as bad as it had seemed and that it had indeed been checked in time.
Soon the smoke cloud ceased rolling up from below.
The uniformed man came on deck again with a megaphone. He raised it to his lips and bellowed:
"Thanks, boys, but we won't need you."
"That's fine!" shouted Tony, in reply. "Fire all out?"
"Tin of gasoline exploded. It didn't spread much. We'll be able to make Bayport under our own power."
"Righto!" called Biff. "We're going in now, anyway. If you need us, give us a hail."
"We'll do that."
The motorboats circled away. In the distance, Biff and Tony could see the Hardy boys in theSleuth, with the woman they had rescued.
"Your passenger is all right!" shouted Biff, to the captain. "Our chums will bring her back with them."
He turned the nose of his craft toward theSleuth.
The Hardy boys were doing their best to revive the woman they had rescued from the waves.
She was not unconscious but she seemed very weak and scarcely appeared to realize where she was.
She was an elderly woman, dressed in black, and although her immersion in the water had undoubtedly been a tremendous shock, the boys could see that she was of an exceedingly nervous temperament and evidently not in the best of health, for she was worn and pale.
"Where am I?" she moaned. "Where am I now?"
"You're quite safe," Frank assured her. "You're in a motorboat."
"You saved me?"
"We got you out of the water just in time."
"I want to go to Bayport," said the woman weakly.
"We'll take you there," promised Joe. "It isn't very far away. We will take you there at once."
"I want to go to Bayport," she repeated. "It's important. I have to see some one there."
"Head the boat around, Frank," said Joe quietly. He had seen their chums returning from the neighborhood of the yacht, so he realized that there was no further danger from the fire.
"I must be in Bayport to-night," gasped the woman. "I must go there to see Fenton Hardy—the detective."
Then she collapsed weakly, her eyes closed, and she was a dead weight in Joe's arms. She had fainted.
The Hardy boys looked at one another in astonishment.
"She wants to see Dad!" exclaimed Frank incredulously.
It was a strange coincidence that they, of all people, should have rescued her when she was on her way to see their father.
Fenton Hardy had many clients, some of whom came long distances to consult him. He was one of the greatest private detectives in the country and his fame was widespread. He had been for many years on the New York force and had finally achieved his ambition of setting up an agency of his own. He had moved to Bayport, on the Atlantic coast, with his family and his success had been immediate. He had successfully handled many difficult cases and his services were much in demand.
Frank and Joe Hardy, his sons, were anxious to follow in their father's footsteps, in spite of his objections and in spite of their mother's desire that they prepare themselves for medicine and law respectively. But the boys had a natural deductive bent and they had taken several local cases on their own initiative, succeeding so well that Fenton Hardy had finally withdrawn his objections and agreed that if, when they were of age, they still desired to become private investigators, he would not stand in their way.
The Hardy boys were introduced in the first volume of this series entitled, "The Hardy Boys: The Tower Treasure," wherein they handled their first case of any consequence. A large quantity of bonds and jewels had been stolen from an old mansion on the outskirts of Bayport and after numerous adventures the lads traced the loot and ran the criminal to earth. Other volumes of the series have recounted their adventures in handling other cases that came their way, all of which they successfully solved.
In the volume immediately preceding the present book, entitled, "The Hardy Boys: The Shore Road Mystery," the lads, as already mentioned, rounded up a gang of automobile thieves who had stolen a number of cars and trucks from points along the Shore Road above Barmet Bay. After that, things had been quiet around Bayport and the boys were beginning to think that mysteries were at a discount.
"We'd better get her back to Bayport right away," said Joe, as he looked down at the unconscious woman. "She may be dying."
"Splash some water on her face. She's just fainted, I think."
Joe rendered impromptu aid, but the woman was in a dead faint and he could not revive her at all.
In the meantime, the motorboat was heading back in the direction of the city. Frank had "let her out" to the utmost and the speedy craft was eating up the distance. He crouched tensely at the wheel, and sheets of spray splashed over the bow.
"I wonder what on earth she wants to see Dad about," he said to himself. Then he chuckled. "Dad will have to thank us for saving one of his clients."