Jennifer Jane and the dinghy race 4/4

It was beginning to grow darker and over to her right she could just see a thin plume of smoke and a red light leaving Attersea Island.

‘That must be Barnacle Bill on his way to the giant's pool,’ she thought.

Dad was waiting for her on the beach. "Where have you been?" he asked crossly. "It's ever so late and your mother and I have been getting quite worried."

"I've been to see my friend who’s been able to get the rudder pintles straightened for you," said Jennifer Jane, holding them up for dad to see.

"Well I'm blowed, they look as good as new," said her father. "How ever did you manage to get them done in such a short time?"

Jennifer Jane explained that Mr. Jones had some friends who worked in a boatyard.

"Ah yes, your mysterious friend, C.W. Jones Esquire," laughed dad. "I hope you thanked him properly. Anyway, how did you manage to pay?”

"Mr. Jones is paying," replied Jennifer Jane, "I was able to help him mend his boat once and he said he owed me a favour."

"Well, that's marvellous," said dad, "but I'm afraid I haven't had much luck mending the rudder. Still, at least we'll be able to start in the race tomorrow and we'll just have to hope the rudder holds together."

Jennifer Jane didn't say anything. After all, Barnacle Bill still might not be able to get back in time with the spare rudder.

She needn't have worried. The next morning, as dad took the cover off the dinghy, there laying on the bottom boards by the centre board case, was the spare rudder.

"Well I'll be blowed!" said dad, "how on earth did that get there?"

"Never mind now," laughed Jennifer Jane, "let's rig the boat and win the race, we can talk about the rudder afterwards."

Well, after starting the day like that, dad just couldn't do anything wrong. He and Jennifer Jane made a beautiful start in the race and at the beginning of the last lap of the course they were lying second. The two boats were racing nearly side by side and then Dad began to push at the tiller.

"That's funny," he said, "something must have jammed again. I can't steer properly."

The dinghy was steering out into the middle of the river and the other boat was very soon about twenty yards or so ahead.

"That's torn it," said Dad, "now we'll never win. While he's tide cheating in there, we're stuck out here sailing against the full force of the current."

Just then a very strange thing happened. Near the shore the wind died away completely, while out in the middle of the river it kept on blowing as strongly as ever. Of course, the inshore dinghy stopped sailing for lack of wind, while dad was able to keep moving and won the race.

The tiller on his boat seemed to be working normally again and when he checked it after the race he could find nothing wrong at all.

Later that evening at the prize-giving ceremony, Dad went up for the big silver cup he had won and made a little speech. "My thanks must go, not only to my daughter Jennifer Jane, for her efforts in crewing today, but also to her friend, Mr. C.W.Jones, whose efforts on my behalf have made my entry for this race possible."

Jennifer Jane smiled happily. She knew now what the goblin workman had meant when he'd said that the pintles would be better than new. But after all, she couldn't really explain that to her father could she?