"Why, bless my soul, how very extraordinary!" cried the professor, forgetting his wet clothes and his chill in his excitement.
"What is?" asked Frank.
"Why something seems to be holding the bird down under water," was the answer.
"It's a string!" suddenly cried Ben, standing up in the stern of the boat.
"A string?" echoed the professor.
"Sure enough," was the reply.
And so it proved. The albatross was held down by a bit of string encircling its neck so tightly as to almost choke it, and which had become caked with ice till it was quite heavy.
"I know that bird," shouted the professor, suddenly, as they drew alongside it.
"You know it?" echoed the others, thinking the old man had taken leave of his senses.
"Yes, yes," cried the professor. "It's the one that nearly dragged me overboard. See whether the wire loop is still round its neck."