Half an hour later a breeze sprang up, the fog lifted almost as suddenly as it had closed in and the Sound once more shone in the sparkling rays of the afternoon sun.
The boys uttered a shout as they perceived not a mile from them the raft bobbing about on the waves as buoyant as a cork. It had, then, evidently survived the collision, but in the same glance they saw that it had no occupant.
Billy Barnes had vanished.
They spent the rest of the day till sunset circling about in the vain hope of coming across some trace of the missing lad; but in vain.
If the sea had indeed, as the boys now feared with sinking hearts, swallowed their young companion, he could not have vanished more completely.
CHAPTER XII.
BILLY HEARS AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION.
When Billy Barnes opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a white and gold stateroom that seemed luxurious enough in its furnishings to be the cabin on some millionaire's yacht. Where he was, he had not the slightest idea. All that he recollected of the events preceding his awakening was his shout to the boys to be taken aboard after the fog closed down. Then came the sudden appearance above his head of what seemed a mountainous black steamer bow, a terrific crash, that hurled him from the pontoon raft into the water, and then a frenzied grip for a trailing rope.
As he reflected on these events and wondered where on earth he could be, the door opened and a white-coated steward stepped in. He seemed surprised to see Billy's eyes opened.
"You came to pretty quick after your ducking," he remarked. "I'll go call the doctor."