a cry and leaped up.

"Look out! Look out!" he yelled. "My steering gear has broken! I
can't change my course. Look out!"

The RED STREAK was bearing right down on Tom's boat.

"Shut off your power! Reverse!" shouted Tom.

Andy seemed confused and did not know what to do. Sam Snedecker sprang
to the side of his crony, but he knew even less about a motor-boat. It
looked as if Tom would be run down, and he was in great danger.

But the young inventor did not lose his head. He put his wheel hard
over and then, leaping to his motor, sent it full speed forward. Not a
moment too soon had he acted, for an instant later the other boat shot
past the stern of the ARROW, hitting it a severe but glancing blow.
Tom's boat quivered from end to end and he quickly shut off the power.
By this time Andy had succeeded in slowing down his craft. The young
inventor hastily looked over the side of the ARROW. One of the rudder
fastenings had been torn loose.

"What do you mean by running me down?" shouted Tom angrily.

"I--I didn't do it on purpose," returned Andy contritely. "I was
seeing how near I could come to you when my steering gear broke. I
hope I haven't damaged you."

"My rudder's broken," went on Tom "and I've got to put back to repair
it. I ought to have you arrested for this!"

"I'll pay for the damage," replied Andy, and he was so frightened that
he was white, in spite of his tan and freckles.

"That won't do me any good now," retorted Tom. "It will delay me a
couple of hours. If you try any tricks like that again, I'll complain
to the authorities and you won't be allowed to run a boat on this lake."

Andy knew that his rival was in the right and did not reply. The bully
and his cronies busied themselves over the broken steering gear, and
the young inventor, finding that he could make a shift to get back to
his boathouse, turned his craft around and headed for there, in order
to repair the damage.

CHAPTER XIV

THE ARROW DISAPPEARS

Paying no heed to the occupants of the bully's boat, who, by reason of
their daring, had been responsible for his accident that might have
resulted seriously, Tom was soon at his dock. He had it conveniently
arranged for hoisting craft out of the water to repair them, and in a
few minutes the stern of the ARROW was elevated so that he could get at
the rudder.

"Well, it's not as bad as I thought," he remarked when, with critical
eye, he had noted the damag