As Nancy and George watched, the tiny figure of Horace Eberhart was tossed by the churning gray green waves. By the time Eberhart jumped overboard the ferry was already nearing its dock on Haine Island. Nancy calculated his chances of swimming to shore before the cold water killed him but didn't think there was much of a hope. Then she noticed a sleek white powerboat pulling alongside the ferry.

The operator of the boat tossed a line with a float at the end towards Eberhart. The wake of the ferry, like a white wall, submerged Eberhart momentarily and sent the motorboat bobbing up and down like a toy. The ferry was leaving him inexorably behind. They watched as Eberhart emerged again and drew closer to the boat. After a struggle, just as he became too far away to see clearly, it appeared his body was on the deck of the boat.

Bess and Ivy had joined them on the sun deck, oblivious to the rain that was pelting down now. Michael was on his cell phone. From what Nancy could gather he was talking to the police boat. He was giving them instructions to try to head off the motorboat that had rescued Eberhart. He was following keenly where the small boat was going as it disappeared into the misty distance. Nancy guessed that it was going to Haine Island but far from Medwell Bay where the ferry dock was.

When Michael was finished his phone discussions he said gruffly, "Let's get out of the rain." The ship's public address system had already announced that theferry would be docking soon and passengers were instructed to return to their vehicles.

"I didn't recognize the guy on the powerboat," said Nancy. "It wasn't anybody I know from Catriola."

"No, I don't know who he is either," said Michael. "They must be really regretting that they couldn't make a connection earlier, before we had such close surveillance on Eberhart."

"Where's the police boat?" Nancy asked, as they descended the stairs to the car deck.

"It was waiting between the two islands. When it became clear that Eberhart really was going on board the ferry it headed this way. It can't match the speed of the powerboat, of course, but in these rough seas it's at less of a disadvantage. It only needs to stay close enough to spot where they try to land."

"Where are we going?" asked Bess.

"I'm going to try to intercept our suspects by road. I'd rather be in the boat but that's not possible. As for you young ladies, you're going to stay out of harm's way."

"You should know by now that you're not going to get rid of us," stated Ivy with gleeful defiance.

They reached Eberhart's truck. Michael said with a weak smile, "We definitely were going to check out the truck, you know. We were intending to wait until he made contact with his associates."

"Sorry I messed up your plans," said Nancy.

Michael gestured that it was all right. "It seems you messed up Eberhart's plans as well. I'm sure that he was intending to hand over the drugs on Haine, one way or another. I'm convinced that jumping overboard was his last option."

They went to their separate cars. The other police officer arrived at Eberhart's truck. While waiting in their car the girls could see him undo the rope and pull off the blue cover.

"The ferry's docked now. Why is this line taking forever to move?" Ivy was in a fit of anguished impatience. "By the time we get moving the boat chase will be over."

"Boat chases onboard a ferry really don't work," George concluded.

Some ferry workers in orange vests took up positions to direct the disembarking cars around Eberhart's truck. As their car passed the truck the girls caught a glimpse of the officer pulling bags of white powder out of the tank of the avocado green toilet.

The girls followed Michael's car as the stream of departing vehicles hit the roads of Haine Island. Michael must have received news because as soon as he was clear of most of the traffic he put a revolving red light on his car roof.

"The chase is on!" shouted George.

Haine was a long, narrow island much larger in area and population than Catriola. A main road went down the spine of the island. Michael and the girls passed through the heavily occupied area around Medwell Bay and joined the steady stream of traffic going along the length of the island. Cars pulled over to let Michael pass. George took the opportunity to follow just behind Michael's car and pass the motorists, even though many of them stared at the carload of teenaged girls.

Michael pulled into the parking lot of a seaside park. There was a patrol car there waiting for him. Michael conferred with two uniformed police officers. Michael was handed a black vest and a clear plastic rain jacket.

"I bet they don't have any of those rain jackets left for us," said George. The rain was still steady. Gusts of wind swept the raindrops into volleys that cracked against the windows of their car.

Finally Michael came over to brief them. "Eberhart's boat ran aground on Metcalfe Point out there. They abandoned the boat and went into the sea caves. The police boat called on them to surrender butwe haven't heard anything from those two."

"What are sea caves?" asked Ivy.

"The wave action has carved hollows and caves out of the sandstone. Some are submerged but there are spaces above the water line." Michael peered into the car with a look of concern. "We're going to take up positions on the shore. I don't suppose I can stop you girls, short of handcuffing you all to a tree, but I'd prefer it if you stayed in the trees out of clear sight."

Nancy nodded solemnly, if only to relieve some of Michael's worries. Michael and the other police walked down a gravel-covered path that led down to the water. The girls followed a respectful distance behind. They noticed that one of the police officers had a rifle with a sight.

At the edge of the woods they could look down on the near shore where the police officers were taking up positions behind rocks. Across a narrow strip of water were the low, rounded sandstone formations of Metcalfe Point. Like a forearm extending through a sleeve, the rock forms were naked to the elements except for a few windswept, twisted trees that clung to survival on top.

At the very end of the point, the white powerboat was caught on the rocks. Waves pounded the shore, sending white plumes of froth shooting up. With each wave the boat was lifted up and it looked as if it would float free but as the water receded the boat lowered and nestled helplessly once again in its cradle. Both Eberhart and his associate had abandoned the craft and were nowhere to be seen. Anchored nearby was the police boat.

The girls sat and waited but nothing seemed to happen. A small inflatable came from the police boat to the shore and Michael had a short discussion with the officers onboard. Nancy recognized one of them as Corporal Robinson.

"I guess they're going to wait out those two," sighed Bess.

"I'm freezing," Ivy hissed between clenched teeth. She was shaking.

"You'd better sit in the car," advised Nancy in a considerate tone.

"Ugh, now I'm not even going to see the end of this."

"Maybe the rest of us aren't going to last that long either," said Bess.

"What if they've already drowned. We could be waiting here a long time."

As if to reward them for their patience, Michael jogged up the path to inform the girls that a police dive team had been sent for. If nothing was seen or heard from the fugitives by then they might have to take the dangerous step of entering the caves under the water.