As she came nearer the Rover boys saw that she contained two
occupants, a boy and a somewhat elderly man.

"Sheer off there!" cried Dick, at the top of his lungs. "Do you
want to run us down?"

"Get out of the way yourself!" came back the answer from the boy
in the other boat.

"We can't get out -- we are almost on the rocks now!" yelled Tom.
Then he gave a start of surprise. "Why, it's Mumps!"

"By jinks, it is John Fenwick!" muttered Dick. "I remember now
that he came from the Hudson River and that his folks owned a
boat." He raised his voice, "Are you going to sheer off or not?"

By this time the two boats were nearly bowsprit to bowsprit, and
Sam Rover's heart almost stopped beating. But now Mumps spoke to
the man with him, and his craft, called the Falcon, sheered to
port, scraping the Spray's side as she did so.

"Mumps, what do you mean by such work?" demanded Dick, when the
immediate danger was past.

"Ha! ha! I thought I would give you a scare," laughed the former
sneak of Putnam Hall.

"You needn't be afraid but what I and old Bill Goss here know how
to keep the Falcon out of danger."