"Prisoner escaped!" exclaimed the policeman. "Can you see him?" he asked of Nat, who stood beside him, in the early dawn.
The boy shook his head in disappointment.
"He's got away, I guess," he said.
"Get me a boat!" cried the officer. "I'll find him if it takes all day. Come on!"
CHAPTER XXIV
IN A COLLISION
With the increase of daylight, objects on and about the freighter became clearer. But looking over the side Nat and the policeman could see nothing of the mate. Members of the crew who had hastily leaped from their bunks began asking what the matter was. Soon the captain came from his cabin.
"They've killed my uncle!" exclaimed Sam Shaw. "That's what they did! I heard them throw him overboard. That mean Nat Morton did it! I'll have him arrested for murder!"
"Oh, dry up!" exclaimed Nat, quite put out with the unexpected turn of events.
"I'll lick you; that's what I'll do!" cried Sam, advancing on Nat with outstretched fists.