“How do the crew take it?� asked Jack, recollecting what the man Andrews had said in the night.
“Dey is very quiedt.�
“Nobody saying anything?�
“Nodt a vurd. Budt dey visper among demselves. Dot badt sign. Vunce pefore I vos on a ship vere der crew visper. Dere vos murder done pefore vee made port.�
“Oh, well, there’s nothing like that here,� said Jack with a breezy confidence he was far from feeling. “It’s true our crew is a mixed lot, but I don’t think there’ll be any serious trouble.�
He returned to the wireless room and spent the rest of the forenoon talking to various ships. The ice-patrol reports showed that the bergs had been left behind. The young operator carried his reports to Mr. Mulliner. Captain Briggs did not appear on the bridge till the next day. Then he carried his arm in a sling. From his friend, the steward, Jack learned that the wound was only a flesh one, the bullet having passed right through without lodging.
The remainder of the voyage to Rotterdam was without incident. The crew went about their tasks dutifully but without a word. A sullen silence was over them. Jack felt that, despite the apparent air of peace, a volcano was smoldering under their feet that was ready to break at any moment. He was glad when they tied up at Rotterdam and he was free for a run ashore. But the sight of the country saddened him. It reminded him of the time he and Raynor had spent such a happy time sight-seeing when on his first voyage the Ajax had docked at Antwerp.
Where was Raynor now? Curiously enough Jack could not bring himself to the belief that his shipmate and chum was dead. But he thought of him almost constantly. He bought lots of postcards and mailed them home and received some mail, too. Among the latter, which had come by fast mail steamer and reached port three days ahead of the Cambodian, was a letter from Uncle Toby that puzzled Jack considerably.
“Deer buoyâ€�—it read,—“here’s hopping yew will sune be hoam. Strainge things have been hapning. Capun Walters has gone to glory but—lef me die-and-gram and much infumachun erbout sum berried trezer. Leastwayz itz not berried but hidun. If I kan find it we will be rich, so hurry back, your affeckshonite unkil Toby.â€�
“Now, what wonderful scheme is this?� said Jack to himself, with a half smile, and speedily forgot the matter, for Uncle Toby was prolific of fortune making plans and usually had a fresh one to broach to Jack after every voyage. Jack would have liked to go to Antwerp to visit the good friends that he and Raynor had made there as a sequel to a surprising night adventure, the details of which were related in the first volume of this series. But he felt that he could not face them with the story of the young engineer’s loss; for even Jack was beginning to lose hope by this time.