“Yes, come on,” muttered Joe, a somber look in his eyes.
They climbed up on deck and rejoined Mr. Strong, to whom they related what they had discovered. When they had finished he said nothing, but looked with eager, straining eyes to the north.
“Oh, for the lights of a vessel!” he muttered finally.
CHAPTER X
SNATCHED FROM THE SEA
It would be foolish to think that the Radio Boys did not share in the general alarm. They knew that the vessel was badly damaged, and with almost every minute that passed they could detect that it was listing more heavily to port. They could hear the monotonous chug-chugging of the pumps as they worked desperately, and the sound was not reassuring.
The darkness added to the sense of imminent danger. By the time the boys reached the deck after leaving the engine room the electric lights were out, and although a few lanterns had been hastily lighted and strung about here and there, their beams were obstructed by the heavy fog and hardly did more than make the darkness visible. The figures that flitted in and out the feeble zone of light seemed like so many phantoms.
Then there was the fog, the dank, slimy, dripping fog, that hung around them like a winding sheet and soon had them drenched to the skin, lightly and insufficiently clothed as they were. The situation was one that might have struck with apprehension, not to say terror, the most dauntless heart.
But after the boys had had time to get a grip on themselves they braced, and, without minimizing the danger which they knew existed, they kept their thoughts in their own hearts and put on a brave front.
“This is an adventure we didn’t look for when we started on this trip,” said Joe, trying to throw a touch of buoyancy into his tone.
“That’s the way most of our adventures have come to us,” remarked Jimmy. “Don’t think I’m scared, fellows, because my teeth are chattering. That’s mostly from the chill, though I’m willing to admit I’m scared a bit, too.”