The Secret of Skeleton Reef by Franklin W. Dixon Page B

from the bow.
    â€œI think so,” Joe said, looking worried.
    â€œAhoy there!” Rob called, waving his arms.
    â€œKeep going,” Frank said. “We can’t outrun them, but we can ignore them.”
    â€œAhoy!” Rob shouted again as the powerboat closed in fast on the Hardy’s skiff.
    Davy picked up a brown bottle. The next moment he seemed to be holding something to the bottle’s neck. “What is he . . . ” Joe began.
    Davy heaved the bottle through the air. Several yards away from the Hardys, the bottle exploded, spraying glass in all directions.
    Rob and Davy howled with crazy laughter.
    â€œThat was a bomb!” Joe exclaimed.
    â€œI know, and it looks like they’ve got more,” Frank said, seeing the scavengers each pick up a new bottle.
    Still guffawing, Rob and Davy were lighting their bottle bombs. “What are we going to do?” Joe cried out. “If one of those bombs hits us, it could sink our boat!”
    Rob and Davy heaved their bombs at the Hardys’ skiff. Horrified, Frank knew he and his brother were running out of luck.

8 Blood in the Water
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    â€œSwing!” Frank called.
    Joe jerked the outboard handle, and the boat veered to starboard. The bombs exploded to port, showering Frank and Joe with glass fragments.
    â€œAre you okay?” Frank called to his brother.
    â€œFine,” Joe shouted back.
    The powerboat pulled up alongside the skiff, and Rob cut back the engine to keep pace with the Hardys. Frank glimpsed a basket filled with the brown bottle bombs inside the boat. He also noticed Rob had a pistol tucked into his pants.
    â€œWhere are you boys running off to?” Rob called. “The party is just starting!”
    â€œYeah, right,” Joe said sarcastically. “Why don’t you crash somebody else’s party.”
    Frank wished they could speed away, but he knew they didn’t have enough horsepower to outrace Rob and Davy’s boat. He scanned the sea, hoping there was a vessel nearby to help out in case of trouble. There was nothing around but miles of water.
    â€œHow do you like serving on Captain Kidd’s crew?” Rob asked, keeping the powerboat abreast of the skiff. “Oh, I mean, Captain Flask.”
    â€œWe’re not members of the crew,” Frank replied. “We were just visiting for the day. What’s it to you?”
    â€œAre you sure you’re not members of the crew?” Davy asked. “You looked like crew members.”
    â€œBecause if you were members of the crew,” Rob said with a wicked leer, “we might want to make you go away. That way we’d get to be members of the crew.”
    â€œDream on,” Joe muttered.
    â€œLook, we don’t work for Flask,” Frank added.
    â€œYou know what I think, Davy?” Rob said, lifting a bomb from the basket.
    â€œWhat’s that, Robby boy?” Davy asked, also grabbing a bomb.
    â€œI think they’re lying,” Rob said with a sneer.
    â€œSo do I,” Davy said with a chuckle.
    â€œWhy don’t we teach them a lesson?”
    â€œIndeed, I think they need it!”
    Frank watched in horror as Rob and Davy flicked lighters, then lit the rope fuses sticking out fromthe bottles. Joe turned the skiff away, but Frank knew there was nowhere to run. Rob and Davy held their lit bombs a few seconds so they would explode almost immediately after being thrown.
    â€œSwing!” Frank yelled as Rob and Davy tossed the bombs. Joe swung the skiff to port, but both bombs landed inside the skiff, right by his feet. Joe reached for the bombs, but Frank could see the flames on the fuses were almost at the glass.
    â€œGet away from them!” Frank shouted.
    Joe scurried toward the front of the skiff just as the bombs exploded. The noise made his ears ring.
    â€œFare thee well!” Rob shouted.
    â€œHappy Fourth of July!” Davy bellowed.
    Cackling with crazy