“Herc, Strong and Taylor, come below here.”
“Ay, ay, sir,” cried Ned with alacrity. Followed by Herc, he bounded up the few steps to the raised deck above the cabin, and dived down the companionway.
They found the officer standing at the cabin table, which a shaft of sunlight, falling through the broken skylight, illuminated brightly. He was examining the contents of a stout wooden box, brass bound and about a foot square, which had evidently once contained the ship’s papers. The documents lay littered about the table, opened, as the officer had been examining them.
The boys waited for Ensign Conkling to speak.
“You had better put those papers back in the box, and I’ll take it aboard with me,” he said.
“Yes, sir——,” began Ned. He was just about to hand over the papers he found in the forward deck-house when there came a sudden sharp hail from outside.
“Aboard the Donna Mercedes!”
“Ay, ay!” shouted the ensign, who had recognized Stanley’s voice, “what is it?”
“A squall coming up from the southeast, sir!” came the reply.