Latest from the Janitors, Asps, and Other Books - Dog Pound (Janitors Series) - Dog Pound found...on its side in a cove.

Today’s excerpt is from Dog Pound, Book #3 of the nine-book Janitors Series.  Against all odds, Steve and Billie Jo—aboard the raft—spot Dog Pound on its side in a cove of a small island.  Enjoy and have a great day.

m.j.

 

As the sun started to rise, Steve picked up his binoculars and scanned the sea in front of them.  He saw something other than the sea, more than just a speck in the distance.  He took the binoculars down from his eyes, rubbed them, then looked again.  Noticing that Billie Jo was awake, he decided to have some fun, and shouted, “Land ho!”

Billie Jo sat up excitedly, then saw the smile on Steve’s face and asked, “What kind of land?”

“Damned if I know.  It’ll be several hours before we get there.  I’d say about noon.”

Billie Jo groaned, “You’re some sort of wise guy.  I was thinking we had found Hawaii or something.”

Steve reached out and ruffled her hair.  “Guess that was a bit mean.  Sorry.”

“No you’re not.  You think it was funny.”  She added, “And so do I.  The joke’s on me, but you just wait.”

After they ate and heeded the demands of nature, Steve and Billie Jo took turns at the tiller.  As the day wore on, the land mass in front of them grew.  At one point Steve looked through the binoculars again, saw that their target was a smallish island, and was sure he saw the beginnings of the outline of a boat.

By the time they were close enough to see there was indeed a boat on the island, Steve also noted that it seemed to be lying on its side—or nearly so.  After that observation, he muttered, “Looks like someone else had trouble with the storm.  We better proceed with a bit of caution, just in case that boat belongs to the kidnappers.  It’s not chiseled in stone that the boat I saw blow up was them.”

Deciding to steer in a circle around the island, he handed the binoculars to Billie Jo and started a slow-sweeping arc while still moving in closer to the island.  His hope was that if they spotted trouble before trouble spotted them, they could just bypass the island and go on.  He almost decided to simply bypass the island without closer inspection, fearing that any small boat the potential enemies might have would surely be much quicker than the raft.  Later, he was very glad he hadn’t taken that route because, within minutes, Billie Jo quietly asked, “What did you say the name of your boat was?”

“Why?”

“Was it, perchance, the ‘Dog Pound’?”

“Yes,” Steve answered in a suspicious manner.

Billie Jo grinned.  “Could there be two of them?  That is, two boats with the same name?”

“It’s possible, but not likely.  Why are you being so cute?”

“Because, Captain, the name on the rear of that boat clearly says ‘Dog Pound’.”

Steve snatched the binoculars away from Billie Jo.  “You’re more than even, if you’re being funny,” then looked at the rear of his boat.

“Oh, my God,” he yelled, “oh, my God!  This isn’t possible!”

The sea had just rendered up the last of Steve’s three miracles for this trip.  Shortly after he had zipped up the cover of the raft, a giant wave had nearly capsized the Dog Pound.  In the process, the vast amount of water that had been taken in through the puncture in the hull had sloshed to the low side of the boat, causing the boat to ride at a forty-degree list, thus keeping the hole above water and the boat had stopped taking on water.  Due to the weight of the water already inside, the boat had stayed at that angle without sinking as it was pushed along by the storm.

Sponsored by:  www.mikejacksonbooks.com