CHAPTER XXIV—THE MISSING BOX
“What’s the matter with the engine?” cried Ned.
“We must get it started again!” exclaimed his brother, as he sprang to the motor. But revolve the fly-wheel as he did the craft remained still, save for the motion imparted to it by wind and wave, which was not much, as it was a still, calm day.
Meanwhile the other boat was getting farther and farther away, and it was soon seen that, even if the stalled motor could be started without delay, there would be little chance of catching the rascals.
“Something is wrong, somewhere,” declared Ned.
“Never mind, I guess it’s all up, boys,” said the coffee man. “They’ve gotten away, and the evidence, if it was in the tin box, is at the bottom of the sea. It couldn’t be helped.”
“Maybe not,” agreed Frank, with a sigh, in which his brother joined. “But I would like to find out what made the motor stop so suddenly, and just when we were about to overhaul them, too.”
He continued to work over the machinery, adjusting and readjusting the carburetor and the spark-timer, but without result. The Portuguese owner looked on interestedly and finally said something in his own language, which sounded much like Spanish.
“What is he saying?” asked Ned of Mr. Kennedy.
“He says perhaps there is no gasoline. He did not have much when we started.”