Andy looked—and sure enough there was the well-known mark that all British machines wear! And then such a change came over the boys. Instead of sitting there sullen and angry, they went completely mad. They stood up and danced on that rocking raft I They yelled, they waved, they stamped! And, as you can imagine, Tom lost his balance and fell right into the water.
Andy pulled him in, gasping and spluttering. "Oh, Andy, it's a British seaplane—not the enemy. Golly! Suppose it had flown off and not come down to examine the raft!" And then Tom went mad again and shouted for joy.
The boat from the seaplane came nearer. It had two men in it, and they hailed the boys.
"Ahoy there! Where are you from?"
"Ahoy there!" yelled back Andy. "Ahoy there!" He was too excited to shout anything else. The boat came alongside the raft and the men pulled the two boys into it.
"Why, it's only a couple of boys," said one man. "We reckoned you might be men from a sunk ship or aeroplane. How did you get here?"
"It's a long tale to tell," said Andy. "I think I'd better tell it to the chief, if you don't mind."
"All right. The commander's in the plane," said the first man. They rowed off to the seaplane, and left the little raft bobbing about on the sea alone. Tom was quite sorry to see it go. He had got fond of it. He was sorry to think of the wasted food, too!
The boat reached the enormous seaplane. The boys were pushed up into it, and a grave-faced man turned to receive them.
And then Andy got a second shock, for Tom once more let out a yell that really scared him!