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Austin sipped his drink, set it in a glass holder, then moved the tiller so that the catboat ca men in the other boat's cockpit, jerked his thumb like a hitchhiker, then veered off into a broad reach with the wind on his side

The sloop's crew took up the goodnatured challenge for a race

Austin pointed the bow closer to the wind, and the sloop followed

suit They were parallel now,for a start

Austin tightened sail, putting the rail into the water

The men in the sloop did the same with theirfrothy wakes across the bay The sloop was sleek and fast, and the creere good sailors, but before long Austin began to pass the other boat He lay back against the rail, the picture of relaxation, sipping his juice until he left the sloop far behind

"What did you just do?" Nina said with a smile

"I taught a couplelooks like a bathtub doesn't mean it sails like one"

"I think it's a great boat Big deck It's ahteen feet long"

"I've overnighted quite often, and as you can see by the cooking and sleeping facilities, I like coinally built as a workboat One person can handle the single sail, and it's big enough to catch a light wind at the end of the day She's weatherly, too, in conditions that would sink another boat Best of all, she's fast and doesn't look it So I can sneak up on unsuspecting chaps like that sloop crew, and show them my dust Here we are"

They had sailed off the point of a s into the picnic basket, enjoying lunch while the boat rocked slightly in the gentle swell After lunch Nina sat close to Austin and leaned against his shoulder

"Thank you for inviting me for a sail"

"I thought we both could use a pleasant diversion after the last feeeks"

She stared thoughtfully into the distance "I can't stop thinking about those terrible h What a way to meet the end"

"Don't feel sorry for them Guzman had murdered hundreds of people in his lifeti the Andrea Doria In a way, drowning was a fitting death for hiht have died Guzman was lucky Halcon would have had time to contemplate the error of his ways The air in the burial chamber kept the water out for a while, but it was only a ave out Best of all, the Brotherhood died with hih to see what happened to his precious treasure"