Captain Akers lost no time, after the first stunning shock of amazement had passed, in getting some restoratives from the medicine chest in the cabin. In the meantime, Sam Hinckley had recollected his duty and, diving swiftly below to his engines, had checked their retrograde movement. Therefore, till new sailing orders came, the "Nomad" lay motionless on the long swells, while they all clustered about Nat on the bridge.
As for Captain Nelsen, his rugged constitution speedily rallied from the ordeal through which he and the lad had passed, and thanks to the influence of Captain Akers' remedies it was not long before Nat, too, was sitting up alert and in full possession of his faculties.
Then came his story. With what enrapt attention it was heard may be better imagined by each reader than set down in cold type. The extraordinary tale thrilled them as had few happenings in their adventurous lives.
At length, after such numerous interruptions as you may imagine, Nat concluded his strange tale. Then came the question of what to do. Clearly the schooner was bound for some island in the Marquesas Group—but just what spot of land was a question.
The only clew lay in Hicks's reference to the island of "Oh-dear-me." It was Captain Nelsen who solved the difficulty.
"Dot 'oh dear me' can be no odder island dan Odahmi," he said. "I know the place veil."
"What sort of a place is it?" asked Nat.
"Vell idt iss vun off der more remote islands of der group, undt ven I vos dere many years ago in a valer der vos nobody liffing on idt budt some natives."
"Then it is just the sort of place that Morello and his band would seek out," declared Joe. "They could lie snugly hid there for as long as they liked and emerge into the world at some distant date in comparative safety."
"Yes, if it wasn't for one thing," put in Captain Akers. "And that is that we happen to know their destination and can inform the authorities of it."