And then, as if ashamed even of this display of emotion, he bawled out in his roughest voice:
"Give way there, bullies! Don't sit dreaming! Bend your backs!"
As the boats flew back toward where the great bulk of the Columbia, her rails lined with eager passengers, rested immobile on the surface of the ocean, the castaway captain turned a glance backward to the stern of his ship, which was still floating but settling and sinking fast. It was easy to guess what his thoughts were.
"That's one of the tragedies of the sea," thought Jack.
CHAPTER XXIX.
CAPTURED BY RADIO.
It was two days later and they were nearing Southampton, but the stop they had made to aid the Oriana's crew had given the Britisher a big lead on them. The passengers eagerly clustered to read Jack's wireless bulletin from the other ship which was posted every day. Excitement ran high.
Jack had seen no more of Professor Dusenberry, but he had spent a good deal of leisure time pondering over the code message the queer little dried up man had sent. Raynor, who had quite a genius for such things, and spent much time solving the puzzles in magazines and periodicals, helped him. But they did not make much progress.
Suddenly, however, the night before they were due to reach Southampton, Jack was sitting staring at the message when, without warning, as such things sometimes will, the real sense of the message leaped at him from the page.