Hydrofoil Mystery Read Free Page A

continued.
    â€œWhere do I find the ship?” I asked in alarm as I stumbled down the aisle after the conductor.
    He stopped and held the door to the next car. “She better be in the lake or there’ll be trouble,” he laughed. He saw I wasn’t enjoying his little joke and his expression and tone changed. “Just go down the street to the town wharf. The Blue Hill will be tied …”
    His words were again lost in the blast of its horn. “And you better hurry, son. If you miss her, she won’t be back until tomorrow morning.”
    â€œTomorrow! How do I get to the ship?” I asked in panic.
    He raised his hand and pointed out the window. “Foot of the street. You can’t miss her. She’s the biggest thing at the wharf.”
    I grabbed my bag and flung it on my shoulder. I bumped past the conductor still holding the door and boundeddown the stairs of the carriage two at a time. I hit the ground running, and almost tumbled over. A wide, dirt street ran downhill from the station. It was lined on both sides with stores and plank sidewalks. Horses and carriages were tied up at the hitching posts. At the bottom of the street, no more than two or three blocks away, I could see the shimmer of water. The ship’s horn blared again and I doubled my pace. Ever since hearing that I’d be spending my summer working in Baddeck, I’d thought it was the last place on earth I wanted to be. Now I realized it was the second-last place; the last would be stranded here for the night.
    Hitting the foot of the street I saw the wharf just over to the side. A number of vessels, including a large ship I hoped was the Blue Hill , were still at the dock. There was smoke rising from its stack, and a couple of sailors were by the lines getting ready to cast off.
    â€œWait!” I yelled.
    A woman and a young girl up ahead turned and stared at me, but neither of the sailors even looked up from their work. My voice couldn’t carry over the sounds of the ship’s engine. One of the men threw his line aboard the vessel and jumped on after it. I hit the wharf and the pounding of my feet echoed against the wood. The second man stood up and tossed his line onto the ship, which slowly started into motion, gliding parallel to the dock. It was moving, but I was gaining.
    â€œHold on! Wait!”
    Both sailors, one on the dock and the second on the ship, looked up at me, but they were helpless now to stop the boat. It was picking up speed, and a little slit of wateropened between it and the dock. It was only a few feet away; I was going to miss it by a few crummy feet … or was I?
    â€œ AAAAAHHHH !” I screamed as I reached the edge of the dock and leaped into the air, hitting the deck of the ship and rolling forward, until I crashed into a bulkhead.
    â€œJeeze! Are ya crazy, laddie?”
    I looked up at the sailor who’d cast off the lines. He was old and grizzled. A second sailor, not that much older than me, rushed over, and the two of them pulled me to my feet. I bent down and picked up my bag.
    â€œI … I … had to … catch … the ferry,” I panted, trying to get my breath.
    â€œYou almost caught yourself a dip in the lake. Where are you going that’s so all-fired important you couldn’t wait for tomorrow’s ferry?” the older sailor asked.
    â€œBaddeck. I’m … going to … Baddeck.” A terrible thought flooded my mind. What if this wasn’t the Blue Hill ? What if I’d jumped onto the wrong ferry? In my headlong rush I hadn’t time to even look around to see if this was the right ship.
    â€œThe Blue Hill … this is the Blue Hill ? Right?”
    The sailors exchanged a look and they both started to chuckle.
    â€œBe mighty funny if you went to all this effort and jumped onto the wrong ship, wouldn’t it?” the older sailor asked.
    â€œThe wrong ship … you mean this is the wrong