CHAPTERFIVE
“Mr. Featherstone!” May yelled, sprinting across the campsite. Now there were concerned shouts and cries. Side by side, she and Owen raced toward the yurt. The crackling and roar of the fire grew louder.
Alerted by the smoke, people were racing toward the yurt from all directions. Apart from one person, May suddenly noticed. A tall man in a black baseball cap was racing away, heading down the hill.
May grabbed Owen’s arm.
“Is that him? Is that Freddy?” she asked.
Owen nodded.
“That’s him!”
Too late, May realized what the ulterior motive for the fire had been.
The fire had been designed to draw all the attention, while Freddy himself fled the campground.
“Don’t let him get away!” she shouted.
She and Owen turned, now running away from the blazing yurt, and sprinted in Freddy’s direction. The tall, blond man in the baseball cap turned and saw them coming.
Quickly he began to run, weaving through the tents and trees, setting a fast pace as he fled downhill.
“Stop!” Owen yelled.
Owen took off after the man, with May right behind him.
“Stop!” she cried at the top of her voice. But she didn’t think he was listening at all.
They were heading toward the road. A small group of people had gathered there to watch the fire. They gasped and pointed as they saw the burning yurt, and the chase.
Freddy glanced over his shoulder. He clearly saw May and Owen in pursuit.
“Stop!” May yelled again, but instead, Freddy ran faster. He sprinted up to the edge of the camping ground.
Then he jumped the fence.
In front of her, Owen placed his hands on the top and vaulted nimbly over.
May grabbed it, determined not to let this barrier slow her down. She lifted herself as high as she could and then jumped over, staggering as she landed but then charging ahead.
Freddy was heading for the lake, she saw. He raced to the water’s edge, where he speedily untied a small rowboat.
With a powerful and practiced technique, the blond man began rowing away from the shore.
Drawing the oars back, he took long and powerful strokes. The boat was quickly slipping away.
Why was he running away? Where was he going?
“We need to swim after him!” Owen said, breathing hard as he gazed at the departing rowboat.
“Wait! Let’s think this through,” May gasped. “If we think intelligently, we can outmaneuver him.”
She looked around.
Fifty yards away, by the pier, a small speedboat had just arrived back from a sail. The owner was climbing out and preparing to moor it.
“Let’s borrow that!” May decided. “It’s our only chance to catch up. Swimming isn’t going to cut it.”
They raced for the speedboat. May felt a sense of urgency as they pounded up to it. Freddy was rowing hard, and had a big head start. There were several treed islands in this area of the lake that would provide cover if he could get past them. They had only a minute or two before he rowed out of sight and vanished into the vastness of the lake.
“Do you mind if we use your boat for a minute?” she asked, breathlessly.
He stared at her in surprise. “Why don’t you go and rent your own?” he asked.
“I’m the police,” she added, showing him her badge. “We need to catch up with a suspect.”
“The police?” He looked astonished and apologetic. “Er—sure. Sure.”
Quickly, he climbed out of the boat, and May and Owen jumped in.
The figure in the rowboat was rowing faster than before, desperate to get away.
Owen grabbed the tiller. “Let’s go catch him,” he said.
The motor roared as Owen turned the throttle. The boat sped away, bouncing over the waves. The rowboat was growing ever smaller in the distance. But now the speedboat was gaining. May stared at it, willing the speedboat to go faster.
Freddy knew how to row, May realized. And he was rowing for his life.
As they neared him, the rowboat veered off to the left.
“Where’s he going?” May asked. “Is he trying to lose us?”
“No,” Owen said. “He’s trying to reach land. That’s what he’s doing, and it’s not going to be good for us.”
The rowboat was heading for a strip of beach. Freddy Featherstone was going to try and escape into the woods. If he got to shore, she feared they would lose him.
“Go, Owen! Faster!” May implored. This was going to be touch and go.
They caught up just before the shore. Owen steered the speedboat expertly up next to the rowboat.
“Go away!” Freddy yelled at them. He was still rowing frantically, but as May leaned over she managed to grab one of the flying oars. It almost slipped out of her hand, and then she nearly fell out of the motorboat. Owen grasped her other arm just in time.