The diver grinned. “Not quite,” he replied. “But if we get on his trail and it looks like Aves I’m for it.”
“Well, we’ll soon know if he passed Statia,” remarked Tom. “We’re almost there.”
CHAPTER II—A CRY FOR HELP
As the destroyer drew into the little port of Orange Town, it seemed as if every inhabitant of the quaint Dutch island had come to the waterfront to welcome her, for the arrival of any ship, let alone a destroyer, was a remarkable event in Statia. Since the little warship was now visiting the island for the second time within a fortnight, the people felt as if their island must be becoming famous.
No sooner had the party landed from the cutter than Rawlins began questioning the natives in regard to the seaplane, but for some time no one could be found who had seen it. The diver was just about to give up and had declared his belief that the plane had not passed the island, when a gray-headed, broad-faced old man, whose yellow skin and kinky hair betokened negro blood and whose features and blue eyes were thoroughly Dutch, pushed through the crowd and told Rawlins he had seen the machine passing over.
To the diver’s questions the old man replied that he had been working on his little plantation on the windward side of the island when he had heard a strange noise and, glancing up, had been amazed to see something like a huge bird flying far overhead. For a time he could not imagine what it was and then he remembered the pictures and accounts of airplanes he had seen in the illustrated papers that arrived at Statia at rare intervals and realized that he was actually gazing upon one of the marvelous things which he had always half believed were impossible. In fact, he added, he had come to town for the sole purpose of relating his story to his friends, but all had scoffed at him and had declared he had been mistaken.
“Not a bit of it!” cried Rawlins. “You saw one all right, my friend. What direction was the plane going?”
The old man was not sure, for his mind had been so fully occupied with the wonder of the sight that he had not noted its course, but after a deal of thinking he decided it had been bound for St. Kitts.
“Well, that knocks out my theory about Aves a bit,” declared Rawlins. “But there are plenty of spots around St. Kitts where he could have landed or he might have gone on to Nevis. Now let’s get up to the hospital and see that old walrus of a Dutch captain.”
As they walked towards the tiny hospital, the boys expressed surprise that there seemed to be no damage from the hurricane.