“Here we are again!” cried Ned. “Guess you haven’t forgotten us, Old Salt Horse! How’s Father Neptune, anyhow? We had some tussles with you last year when Salt-Water Sam was aboard. If he was here he’d sing this song,” and Ned, hitching his trousers up in true nautical fashion, delivered himself of this classic which the old sailor used to sing:
“It was on the isle of Nankum,
Near the land of Timbuctoo
That poor old Sam fell overboard one night.
There was a great commotion
In the middle of the ocean
Sure he gave the sharks and whales
A terrible fright.”
“Good!” cried Bob. “Give us the second verse.”
“There isn’t any second verse.”
“Oh, well, the third then. I’m not particular,” and Bob began to investigate one of the food lockers.
“Here! Keep out of there until dinner time,” called Jerry.
“It’s dinner time now. Long past noon,” remarked Bob.
“Wait until we make that point of land then, and—”
What Jerry was going to say he never finished, for at that instant the Dartaway hit something with a force that threw Ned, who was standing up, off his feet and into the bottom of the craft.
“What’s that?” cried Bob.