  Three days later, the case ended where it had really begun—back in the Cliffport Boat Yard. Only this time, Sandy and Jerry picked their way over the timbers and rails with Lieutenant Ames instead of with Sandy’s Uncle Russ. “I guess you boys are glad this is all over,” he said. “I suppose you’re all set for your trip home now?” “We sure are,” Jerry said. “We just need to buy a few things, and we’re ready.” “It was sure nice of the FBI to let us have Jones’s sloop as part of the reward,” Sandy added. “I felt pretty bad when I saw my boat on fire. I was sure that if we ever got back to shore, we’d be taking the train home!” “There was no sense in keeping it,” Ames said. “Not even for evidence. We had all the evidence we needed with that bundle of counterfeit money—and even more than that, with the printing press and the plates we found at Jones’s little resort. And everyone agreed that you ought to have it.” They walked along the sea wall until they reached the corner of the shed, where Lieutenant Ames suddenly stopped. “As long as you’re thanking the FBI for the boat,” he said, “I think you might as well thank the Coast Guard too!” “Well, of course,” Sandy said, puzzled. “I only meant that it was the FBI who really had title to it, and they were the ones who decided.... I mean, we’re grateful to you all.” Ames laughed. “I don’t want to keep you in the dark,” he said. “The FBI gave you the boat, all right, but we decided to pitch in a little, too. Look!” They turned the corner of the boat-yard shed. In front of them, resting in a high cradle, was the sloop, freshly painted and gleaming in the sun, her sides as smooth as glass. After both boys had thanked Lieutenant Ames profusely, Jerry asked, “How did you ever get so much done in just three days?” “Oh, that’s the Coast Guard way with boats,” Ames said and he laughed. “A whole gang of the boys decided to go to work on her, and we did in three days what would take most boat yards a week or two. It started when we decided to fix up the bullet scars, and it just didn’t stop until we had finished the whole thing!” Climbing to the deck, they inspected the newly painted cabin and cockpit, the freshly varnished coamings and mast, the almost invisible repairs on the decks. “We’ll have her launched within the next hour,” Lieutenant Ames said. “Why don’t you go into town to buy whatever you need in the meanwhile? It shouldn’t take you too long to get stores for a short trip.” “That’s a good idea,” Sandy said. “But we’re going to need more than the regular stores. I’m going to spend some of that reward money right away on a new spinnaker. That’s one thing I’ve decided never to be without again!” “Not only that,” Jerry added, “but we want to get some more shells for the flare pistol. I don’t think I’ll ever feel comfortable without that on board!” “There’s something else, too,” Sandy said. “I think we ought to think up a name for this boat right away, and pick up some brass letters for the stern. I don’t want to keep on making mistakes!” Ames joined in the laughter, then said, “That’s one thing I think you don’t have to do. That is, unless you don’t like the name the Coast Guard picked out for you!” Rushing to the stern, Sandy and Jerry leaned over to see the shiny brass letters screwed to the counter of their sloop. Looked at upside down, they spelled: REWARD SANDY STEELE ADVENTURES1. BLACK TREASURE Sandy Steele and Quiz spend an action-filled summer in the oil fields of the Southwest. In their search for oil and uranium, they unmask a dangerous masquerader. 2. DANGER AT MORMON CROSSING On a hunting trip in the Lost River section of Idaho, Sandy and Mike ride the rapids, bag a mountain lion, and stumble onto the answer to a hundred-year-old mystery. 3. STORMY VOYAGE Sandy and Jerry James ship as deck hands on one of the “long boats” of the Great Lakes. They are plunged into a series of adventures and find themselves involved in a treacherous plot. 4. FIRE AT RED LAKE Sandy and his friends pitch in to fight a forest fire in Minnesota. Only they and Sandy’s uncle know that there is an unexploded A-bomb in the area to add to the danger. 5. SECRET MISSION TO ALASKA A pleasant Christmas trip turns into a startling adventure. Sandy and Jerry participate in a perilous dog-sled race, encounter a wounded bear, and are taken as hostages by a ruthless enemy. 6. TROUBLED WATERS When Sandy and Jerry mistakenly sail off in a stranger’s sloop instead of their own, they land in a sea of trouble. Their attempts to outmaneuver a desperate crew are intertwined with fascinating sailing lore. PUBLISHED BY SIMON AND SCHUSTER |
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