When Clay was taken up the cabin stairs and into the stateroom by the captain, Jule got out his field glass and scrutinized the windows of the boat. Directly he saw the captain come to a window facing the Rambler and look out. Clay was nowhere in sight.
Lying thus, almost flat on the deck, watching the Hawk intently, the boy could not see what was going on on the starboard side of the boat. Indeed, so closely was he watching the Hawk that he did not notice a little shiver which ran through the craft as two husky men crept over the gunwale and stood looking down upon him.
“Hello, kid!” one of the men said roughly in a moment.
Jule turned around to see two revolvers pointing at his head. He laid down his automatic and rose to his feet. The two men on the deck before him were signaling to the men on the Hawk, while the latter were shouting words of congratulation.
“Oh, Gid and I got her all right!” one of the men said.
“You bet we did,” the man referred to as Gid went on.
“What shall we do with the boy?” was the next question.
“We’ll send after him,” was the reply from the Hawk.
Jule walked over to a chair and sat down. There was nothing whatever he could do. He knew that Clay was in the hands of the river pirates, and that resistance would be useless.
“If you don’t mind,” he said finally, “I’d rather stay on board the Rambler. It seems like home here.”