"No, that"s the end," said Bob, who had heard his father tell of whaling voyages. "The whale is dead, and he"s gone to the bottom."
"Then we can"t get it," came regretfully from Andy.
"Oh, yes we can," declared Bob.
"How?" Frank wanted to know.
"Why, after a whale dies, and sinks, gases very soon begin to form inside it. This swells it up like a balloon, and it comes to the top again. Then we can get it."
"How long will it take?" asked Andy, with an anxious look at the sun, for it was getting late.
"Oh, maybe an hour, perhaps longer," replied Bob. "We will just have to hang around here until it comes up."
"I hope our folks don"t get worried about us," remarked Frank, who was a little uneasy about having gone off as they had so suddenly. "We left Paul at the clubhouse all alone, too."
"Oh, well, he won"t mind. There"s lots going on, and we"ll soon be back--if we have luck," commented Andy.
"Queer about that Paul," spoke Bob. "You haven"t seen anything more of that strange man; have you?"
"No, and I"m afraid we won"t, either," declared the elder Racer boy.
"It seems to be a mystery we"ll never solve. If we could only find that missing motor boat it might help some. But I guess that"s sunk, though it was floating when we took Paul aboard our craft."
The boys rowed slowly about the spot where the whale had gone down, casting eager glances from time to time at the rolling billows. They were careful to keep far enough away so that the rising monster would not come up beneath them, and capsize the boat.
It was a little short of an hour when Frank, who had stood up to stretch his cramped legs, suddenly uttered an exclamation:
"Look!" he cried, and pointed dead ahead.
Something rose from the sea, rolled over several times, and then swayed gently with the motion of the waves.
"Our whale!" cried Andy.
"Dead as a door nail!" added Frank.
"Don"t be too sure," cautioned Bob. "Wait a minute."
They waited, but there was no motion to the monster save that caused by the heaving ocean, and they ventured closer.
"Gee whizz! He"s big all right!" exclaimed Andy.
"That"s right," agreed Bob. "Now let"s make this line fast to the harpoon handle, and we"ll tow him ash.o.r.e."
"Why, there are two harpoons in him!" cried Frank, as a second shaft was visible.
"There was only one when he tackled us," declared Andy. "Someone else must have had a try at killing him since he smashed my boat."
The other lads agreed that this was very probable, but there was no time to speculate on it. The anchor line was quickly made fast, and being attached to the stern of the boat the work of towing the whale to the beach was begun.
It was hard work, and it might seem that three boys could not accomplish it. But it is well known that once a large and heavy body is started in motion in water, a slight force will keep it going. It was so in this case.
At first the three lads tugged and strained on the oars to little advantage. The whale did not move. But finally persistance told, and the inert body began to slide through the waves. After that it was but a matter of keeping at it.
"Oh, we"ll get home before dark I guess," remarked Andy, when they had rowed in silence for half an hour.
"If we don"t we"ll be in for it when we do arrive," prophesied Frank half dubiously. "Let"s see if we can"t get up a little more steam."
They quickened their strokes, and soon the coast line came into view, having been hidden by mist. Then they headed for the stretch of sand of their home town.
"Where shall we land it?" asked Frank, nodding at the whale, floating astern.
"Oh, a little way up from the big pier will be a good place, I guess,"
decided Bob. "It"s deep water close in to sh.o.r.e there, and we"ll have to get the body stranded where the tide won"t carry it off. Besides, if we sell it to the fertilizer factory that"s the best place for them to come after it."
To this the Racer boys agreed, and by hard work they managed to reach the beach before dark, towing the whale in as close to sh.o.r.e as possible.
Their arrival was soon noticed by the people of Harbor View and as word of what they had captured spread, a large throng soon gathered on the beach.
"A whale! Good land, what will them Racer boys do next?" one woman wanted to know. No one took the trouble to answer her.
"It"s a fair-sized one, too," observed old Captain Obed Harkness. "I mind the time I was up in the Arctic after them critters. We didn"t often git "em bigger"n that."
"What you fellows going to do with it?" asked Harry Dunn, who sometimes went clamming with Bob. "Gee, I wish I"d been along."
"We"re going to sell it to the fertilizer factory," said Andy. Then he added to his brother, in a low voice: "Hadn"t we better telephone to mother that we"re here? She may get wind of this and worry."
"Yes, I"ll call her up," volunteered Frank. "Then we"ll see if we can talk to someone at the fertilizer factory. You stay here. I"ll be right back."
"Say, why don"t you put a tent over the whale, and charge admission to see it?" asked Bert Ramsey. "You could make a lot of money. Summer visitors from Seabright and other places would like to see a real whale."
"Couldn"t get a tent big enough without a lot of trouble," replied Andy, as his brother hurried away. Meanwhile the crowd on the beach became larger, and there were new arrivals every second, as the news spread.
"There"s a big motor boat coming in here," suddenly remarked Bob to Andy, as they stood near the head of the whale.
The Racer lad glanced across the darkening sea. He had a momentary idea that it might be the craft from which he and his brother had rescued Paul Gale. But a glance showed him that it was a fishing vessel, that had been fitted up with a "kicker" or small gasolene engine, the noise of which came across the bay as the craft was headed toward the spot where the whale was stranded.
"Wonder what they want?" mused Andy.
"Out of gasolene, perhaps, and need a supply," suggested Bob.
Few paid any attention to the oncoming craft, as they were too interested in looking at the whale. Frank came hurrying back, and said to his brother:
"It"s all right. Mother was just beginning to get worried. But I fixed it all right, and said we had the whale, and hadn"t been in a bit of danger."
"What about the fertilizer factory?"
"Couldn"t get "em on the wire. To-morrow will do for that. Now let"s get home. The whale will be safe here, I guess."
"Let"s see that the line is good and tight," suggested Bob, for the ketch anchor cable had been carried up on sh.o.r.e and made fast to an old bulkhead.