The Mystery on Cobbett's Island

Star race. “They’re the biggest and fastest class we have, and if they didn’t go first, they’d run right through the rest of us,” he explained.
    “Jeepers! What a sight!” Trixie cried as the eight Stars, their sky-raking masts carrying a huge cloud of sail, went careening up the bay.
    “Lightnings next,” Peter warned. “I set my stopwatch when the gun for the Stars went off. Five minutes to go!”
    There were nine Lightnings besides Star Fire in the race. Back and forth they went behind the line, jockeying for the most advantageous position.
    Trixie, her eyes shining with excitement, noticed Blitzen sailing nearby. “Good luck, Cap,” she called out with a wave of her hand.
    “You, too,” he yelled back good-naturedly.
    Peter was now counting down for the start. “One minute to go,” he intoned. “Fifty seconds, forty, thirty, twenty, ten, five....”
    Can I do it again? I just can’t goof this time! Trixie thought, her heart pounding as the boats raced for the line.
    Then Peter’s voice broke in on her thoughts, “Four seconds to go, three, two, one—gun!”
    They were off! The boats beat up the bay, well bunched, but Star Fire and Blitzen gradually drew ahead of the rest of the fleet, and Peter, looking behind him, said, “It looks like Cap’s the one we’ll have to beat. As soon as we round the harbor buoy, get set to fly the spinnaker, Trix, for the long run down to the next mark. Cap’s really moving. Our only chance may be to outsmart him.”
    “Okay, Pete, I’ll do my best,” Trixie said fervently as she got ready to go up on the foredeck.
    Star Fire and Blitzen were neck and neck as they approached the harbor buoy, which they had to round before heading out into the bay.
    “Ail right, Trix, get ready to let her fly,” Peter said, and, with a little prayer, Trixie climbed out of the cockpit, being careful not to upset the balance of the boat. The lines, which at first glance looked completely tangled, fell almost magically into place when she fixed the guy lines to the spinnaker and started hoisting the big blue sail. It filled beautifully, and Star Fire leaped ahead as the balloon began to exert its terrifice power. This time Trixie remembered to take down the jib before she dropped back into the boat.
    “Good girl, Trix,” Peter called out to her. “Cap’s spinny went up at least thirty seconds after yours.” Trixie hardly dared look around at first, but when she finally stole a glance, she saw that Star Fire was stealing away from Blitzen at an ever increasing rate.
    “Hey, isn’t Cap in trouble?” Jim suddenly cried. “I don’t think his spinnaker’s filling, after all.”
    Peter, darting a look over his shoulder, said, “You’re right, Jim. His gear must have got fouled up somehow. That’s tough on Cap, but you know what they say: All’s fair in love and war—and boat racing!”
    By this time, Star Fire had a commanding lead, and she held it all the way to the black buoy, where they had to come about before heading back to the finish line. Cap finally got his boat moving again and, after a few minutes, once more began to threaten Star Fire’s lead. Trixie noticed that Peter’s calm was giving way to tension.
    “Get ready to hoist the jib and take the spinny down,” he ordered sharply, “and, Jim, trim the mains’l a bit as we round the mark. Cap’s coming up like greased lightning, and we can’t afford to miss a trick!”
    As Star Fire boiled up to the mark, Trixie raised the jib and clawed the spinnaker down. At the same moment, Jim trimmed the mainsail and Peter put the tiller hard over. They squeezed around the mark with only inches to spare and were off for the finish line.
    “By Jove, that was perfect timing,” Peter exulted. “You two are real pros!”
    Trixie was tingling all over with the excitement of it ail. She knew that one day she would have to have a boat of her own. There was nothing quite like sailing.
    As Peter and Cap raced home, they met the rest of the fleet still making for the last mark, all of them seeming very slow compared to the two lead boats. Blitzen had cut down on Star Fire ’s lead until now no more than fifty feet separated them. The tension was almost unbearable. Peter, crouched over the tiller, glaneed up at the sails every few seconds to be sure they were filled, but not once did he look back.
    Suddenly Trixie said, “Pete, I do believe the wind is getting fluky again, like it was earlier this