"029 (B012) - The Quest of Qui (1935-07) - Lester Dent" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robeson Kenneth)

The yachtsmen now heard sounds which were later the source of much newspaper conjecture - they heard some kind of a cargo being moved from one craft to the other. They never were able to decide what the cargo was, but some of them voiced the impression that it was something alive.



When the yachtsmen were finally released, it was because the bearded freebooters could not get the yacht Sea Scream going. The whiskered ones made faces and bawled, and finally collared the engineer of the yacht - he wore greasy coveralls which indicated his profession - and hauled him onto the yacht. The frightened engineer put the engines in full speed ahead, and the yacht pulled away, leaving the former occupants on the dragon ship.



The bearded pirates now threw the engineer overboard, and he swam to the dragon ship.



The Sea Scream made several wild circles, while the hairy thieves danced and howled on deck, and apparently experimented with the modern steering apparatus.



It was during this that the golden-haired girl was glimpsed.





DESCRIPTIONS OF the fair companion of the bearded freebooters, as later given, varied greatly. The lady off the yacht declared she was a she-tigress with the devil written all over her, and as homely as sin. But most of the men turned in a favorable report on her charms. in fact, they agreed generally that she was very personable, entirely too sweet a thing for such company as she was keeping.



The engineer, who had been taken aboard to start the yacht, made a startling revelation. He had seen the girl at close range. She was a knock-out.



Furthermore, the young woman was an unwilling guest of the whiskered men. They were leading her about by a long thong tied to one of her ankles.



At any rate, the Sea Scream was soon lost to sight of her frightened owner, who with his guests had been left aboard the dragon ship. The yacht, all noted, was headed toward New York City.



About noon, a breeze came up. The yachtsmen sailed the dragon ship into a harbor near the tip of Long Island, finding in doing so that the ship was extremely seaworthy.



The yachting victims of this twentieth century Viking raid promptly found themselves, once they convinced their listeners they were not crazy or lying, objects of feverish interest, both to the Coast Guard, and the newspapers. A swarm of photographers and reporters arrived. A news reel cameraman came in a plane. He got shots of the dragon ship, and his plane flew them back to New York, where that very night they were shown in the movie theaters.



The news reel shots of the Viking dragon ship got William Harper Littlejohn interested. William Harper Littlejohn was a very erudite gentleman, but he occasionally attended the cinema for relaxation.