All this consumed much precious time, and when at last they had the engine apparently in good working order again, it was dark; so they decided to defer the examination of the bodies of the shipwreck victims until morning. After supper they arranged watches and prepared to pass the night as comfortably as might be under the circumstances.
Although the boy skipper instructed his companions to call him for the last watch, they did not obey his command. After he had turned in, they altered the program, dividing the night into two watches, one for each. They knew that Walter was in need of mental and physical rest and determined that he should have it in spite of himself. And so the latter was much surprised, though refreshed, when he was awakened at daybreak with the announcement that breakfast was ready.
After breakfast it was discovered that more work was needed on the engine. Several of the spark plugs were dirty, and the oil had thickened in the commutator, resulting in poor contact between the roller and the points. Hence, the sun was several hours high before they got back to the area of floating bodies.
The examination of these bodies consumed more than an hour, and the relief of all may be realized as a look into the face of the last established the fact that Guy was not among them.
“I might have known we wouldn’t find him here,” Walter declared. “Guy’s not the boy to die without making a mighty big effort to save himself, and I bet we’ll find him yet—alive.”
“There’s one thing I’ve been wondering about,” Tony remarked; “and that is why there isn’t a regular regiment of sharks here devouring these bodies.”
But he had hardly spoken when he wished he had not given utterance to the thought. A pained expression on Walter’s face indicated plainly the suggestion that was moving in his mind. Perhaps a number of sharks already had been there and departed and Guy’s body was one of those that had been devoured, or possibly he had been eaten alive!
Det offered no expert explanation of Tony’s “wonder.” He felt that the subject had better be dropped; so he said:
“Well, now that we’ve finished, let’s go and find Guy floating on a raft or in a boat.”
This was a cheerful suggestion, and Walter, with an effort, drove the shark theory out of his mind. The yacht was turned to the southwest, and the journey in search of a live brother was begun. They had not proceeded many boat-lengths, however, when Det stopped again at the side of the raft on which lay the body which had appeared so much like that of Guy on the day before.