But oh! how they wanted to be back on shore again!
Night came, and still the fog hung down. There was hardly a breath of air, and the Mary Ellen rolled on the oily swell of the sea. The night passed slowly, but with the morning came hope.
Soon after sunrise the wind sprang up, and blew away the fog. Then the breeze increased, and the sails filled out. The schooner went along at a fast rate of speed.
"And see!" cried Frank, "our flag shows well now. I'm sure it will be noticed by someone, and we'll soon be rescued."
But the morning passed, and no rescuing ship came to them. The boys, with hearts that were much discouraged, prepared their dinner. They had seen several vessels, but though they waved pieces of sails to attract attention, the other craft did not change their course. They even shouted and blew the big fog horn, but they knew they were too far off to be heard.
"Oh, well, we'll get picked up sometime," said Frank, as cheerfully as he could, "and we've got enough to eat for over a week."
The boys were at dinner in the cabin and the schooner was going along under the pressure from a wind that was getting more and more strong.
"Pass the beans," asked Sammy, for they had plenty of the canned variety.
"Hark!" exclaimed Frank, pausing midway in reaching the dish over to his chum. "Did you hear anything?"