Page:Vance--The trey o hearts.djvu/85

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THE COUNTERFEITER
63

"What's the trouble now?"

"Nothing much, only your playful little friend has been up to another of her light-hearted tricks. … The drain-cocks of both fuel tanks have been opened, and there are upward of a hundred and fifty gallons of gasoline sloshing around in the bilge."

He cast a shrewd eye aloft and astern. "Stop where you are," he said, "and let her come up only when I give the word. I'm going to let out those reefs. We can stand more sail—and there's no telling how much longer the reef will keep going. It looks to me as if we were up against it—'specially if your lady friend isn't satisfied. Which, from the way that fisherman sticks to us, doesn't seem likely."