“And some sort of basket or bag!” added Professor Snodgrass. “I don’t want to lose my seaweed. There are yet several valuable specimens of marine life in it that I haven’t had a chance to examine.”
He was as calm and collected as though he had just been out in a small boat on some specimen-hunting expedition and was now returning. Instead he had been saved from death only by a narrow margin, and even now he was far from a dignified figure in his undergarments, a condition of attire in which Bob shared. Judd, having been more simply clothed at the start, had kept on his own soaked garments, which were of light texture.
“Is it really you?” cried Jerry in delight. “Are you all right? Where’s Ned?”
“Isn’t he with you?” inquired Bob, with a sinking heart.
“No, I’m all alone on board. Oh, but I’m glad to see you! But where is Ned?”
“He must still be on the Sherman,” Bob answered, after a moment of hesitation. “We were thrown into the sea.”
“So was I,” said Jerry. “And I floated around until I found this ship. She seems sound. Did you see anything more of the transport? Did she sink, or what?”
“We don’t know,” Bob answered, while the professor busied himself in making a compact mass of the bunch of seaweed and Judd held the raft as close as possible to the derelict by using one oar as a scull.
“Come on up!” called Jerry. “Wait! I’ll throw you a line. There’s one on the other side that I climbed up by, but I can toss you another. There are plenty of loose ends here. This ship was deserted in a hurry.”
Bob and the sailor soon scrambled up on deck by means of the cable Jerry dropped down to them. And, after a warm hand clasp between the two Motor Boys, and a look that meant much, they turned their attention to getting Professor Snodgrass on board.