Soon after this something happened that must have made those aboard the
Rhinds boat feel uneasy. The "Benson" began to crawl up on the "Zelda."
"What are you doing now, Jack?" called Jacob Farnum sharply, as he and
Pollard moved forward to stand by the young captain.
"I'll tell you, in a few minutes, if our move seems to be any good, sir,"
Jack answered.
By four o'clock half the space between the Rhinds boat and the Pollard
craft had been covered. By this time two men were observed aft on the
"Zelda," their gaze turned steadily on the "Benson."
"Take the wheel for two or three minutes, Eph," begged the young captain,
on whom the strain was beginning to tell.
Then, turning to his employers, Jack went on:
"The way Hal and I figured it out, sir, the 'Benson' is really the
faster boat. But the Rhinds people may have been overheating their
engines--slightly, systematically, and using a lot of water to cool
the metal. Now, if that is the case, they may be doing their best at
forced speed. Hal and I determined, if we didn't lose more than a
quarter of a mile an hour, we'd rather let the 'Zelda' keep the lead,
and go on slowly overheating her engines.
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