“Hurrah for the Grigg’s expedition!” he cried.
“Three cheers!” ordered Nat, and they were given with a will. The echoes were still ringing out, when Nat gave a sharp exclamation, and pointed to the eastward.
“A strange sail!” he cried, as they all turned eager eyes on the distant speck of canvas.
CHAPTER VIII.
TRAPPED BY TWO RASCALS.
“Why! why, that’s the Tropic Bird!” exclaimed the scientist in astonishment, as they drew nearer rapidly to the vessel Nat’s keen eyes had espied.
“It is, indeed,” reiterated Mr. Tubbs, his red hair seeming to bristle. “Oh, the cowardly pack of rascals! I’d just like to run alongside and give them a bit of my mind.”
“They deserve it, certainly,” admitted the professor; “but I think we had better ignore them.”
But as they came close enough to the schooner to perceive her clearly, they saw that she carried her ensign reversed. This is a signal of distress which there is no ignoring at sea, and is the universal sign of imperative need on the part of the craft displaying it.
“We must see what they want,” declared Nat, setting his wheel over and changing the course of the Motor Rangers’ vessel.