"Have all the river towns been telegraphed?" asked a bystander, of the mayor. A nod of the head was his only answer.
"We may as well go home," was the final reluctant verdict. "We can come back in the morning." Mr. Fulton alone refused to abandon the search, and Mr. Aikens kindly offered to bear him company till daybreak brought others to take his place. When all had gone save these two and the three boys, Jerry approached and tried to draw Mr. Aikens aside.
"Do you suppose," he began with a kind of despairing eagerness, "that he could have stayed in the boat?"
Aikens shook his head. "Not a chance in the world," he declared.
"But I thought——" began Jerry, to be interrupted by Mr. Aikens, who finally contented himself with merely repeating:
"Not a chance in the world." They were silent until at last Mr. Aikens, moved by some impulse of kindliness, for he could hardly help guessing how miserable the boy's thoughts must be, added:
"You thought what, lad?"
"The boat was full of water, of course, but when she popped up, it looked like there was something black in the bottom——"
"You saw the boat go over, didn't you! It must have turned over and over a dozen times down there in that whirlpool, even if he had stayed in till she lit. But he couldn't have. And even if——"
"Yes" urged Jerry, but without enthusiasm.