“Good night!” almost shrieked Frank. “That’s uncanny! Whoever heard of a man walking about at the bottom of the ocean?”
“Where did he come from, Jack?” asked Ned.
“I saw that figure come out of the companionway,” stated Jack. “I thought I was mistaken at first, because of the dim light. I looked again as you boys were talking. Then I saw that it was the figure of a man, apparently. He seems to be carrying something in his arms!”
“There he goes over the side of the vessel!” whispered Harry in an awestruck voice. “What sort of deal is this, anyway?”
“Did you notice the knapsack thing he was wearing on his back?” asked Frank. “If I was superstitious, I’d say it was the ghost of a soldier who had been drowned and was seeking his way back home!”
“We don’t take any stock in that ghost business!” declared Ned stoutly. “Some things may look supernatural because we don’t understand them, but there’s always an explanation if we seek it!”
“What is your explanation of this thing, Ned?” questioned Jack.
“Probably some mass of seaweed or some other substance got caught in a current and lodged against the cabin on the Wanderer. When we circled about the wreck we set up counter currents that may have released this mass. It then floated along in the current to finally sink on the other side of this submerged hull. That’s all there is to it!”
“I wonder what sort of a current is bringing the bloomin’ thing back again!” announced Jack as Ned concluded his explanation. “It’s moving its lower edges most remarkably like a man walking!”
Ned’s look of bewilderment increased. Clearly the boy was puzzled. Even he, himself, was not quite satisfied with the explanation of the strange sight which had greeted the boys.