“Positive! There! You can see for yourself!”
Jerry looked, as the vessel rolled again, and he, too, saw the name in gold letters on the black paint of the stern. The wreck was indeed that of the Hassen.
“Well, we’ve found her,” said Jerry in a low voice. “Now to see if anyone’s aboard. It doesn’t look so. Here we go, Ned! Down with that lever!”
“Down she is!”
A moment later Jerry shut off the power from the big propellers, and the Comet swept gently to the surface of the sea, where she floated close to the wrecked steamer.
“Well, she didn’t sink after all,” said Bob. “I wonder what became of the passengers and crew? For there doesn’t appear to be a soul aboard.”
“That’s right,” agreed Ned, “and she doesn’t seem to be sinking, even. There’s a sort of mystery about her.”
“Perhaps not so much,” put in Jerry, as he watched to note the drift of the wreck and the airship. He did not want a collision which might damage the frailer craft. “Possibly in the storm some water came in, or the engines may have stopped. That would cause a panic, and the boats may have been lowered, and have taken everyone off, although, all the while, the steamer was in good condition. I’ve read of such cases.”
“That is very true,” said Professor Snodgrass. “In time of storm and peril one loses control of one’s self, and does things one would not otherwise do. Probably the poor souls who deserted this ship would have done better to stay aboard.”
“Too bad!” exclaimed Bob, mournfully. “If my uncle and cousin had stayed here they might be alive now.”