Classicly

Larry Dugan, Foxey, and Pet all understood this, and they had taken instant advantage of the odds in their favor. Pulling the two prisoners from one boat to the other, they had allowed them to lie down in the bottom, while Dugan, with a skill equal to Nick Carter’s own, had sent his launch full speed toward the wharves and tangle of shipping that one always sees on the water front of Yonkers. It was the multitude of craft of all kinds hiding the wharves that gave the three thugs their advantage.