“Why, if it was sent from the sub or the plane, it would be a weak message and wouldn’t go far and it may have been sent from within half a mile of the island. Yes, by glory!--Come to think of it, they might have been right there alongside and just sent that message from underwater!”
“Jove, I hadn’t thought of that!” admitted Mr. Pauling. “I wonder--”
Before he could complete his sentence, the deep-throated cry of the lookout rang through the little ship, and at his words all crowded to the rails and peered ahead.
“Small boat two points off the starboard bow!” was the sailor’s shout.
CHAPTER III—THE CASTAWAYS
Very small and pitiful appeared the tiny speck bobbing up and down upon that wide expanse of restless sea in the faint morning light. But rapidly it took on form as the destroyer slid hissing through the sparkling water toward it. Through their glasses the boys could see that it was a ship’s lifeboat filled with men and that one of the occupants was standing up and wildly waving a bit of cloth fastened to an oar.
“I’ll say they’re mighty glad to see us!” exclaimed Rawlins. “By gravy, it makes me think of war times again! Confound those sneaking Bolsheviks, they’re as bad as the Huns.”
“Worse,” declared Mr. Pauling tersely. “The Germans had the excuse of war and these rascals are merely cutthroats. I wonder if this boat’s the only one that escaped.”
“We’ll know in a moment,” said Mr. Henderson. “Lucky we found them--there wasn’t one chance in a million. Things like this make the most skeptical believe in the Almighty.”
“And the fact that that bunch on the sub get away with it makes a fellow believe in Satan as well,” supplemented the diver.