"The one I left with the ship. On my return, just now, I discovered it was not at its moorings. Someone has stolen it."
They stared at him in amazement.
"Wasn't the deck patrolled?" asked Patsy, the first to recover.
"We don't set a watch till ten-thirty. It wasn't considered necessary. But I had no suspicion of the trick Elbl has played on me to-night," he added with a groan. Their voices had aroused others. Ajo came out of his room, enveloped in a heavy bathrobe, and soon after Maud and Beth joined them.
"What's up?" demanded the boy.
"The German has tricked us and made his escape," quietly answered Dr. Gys. "For my part, I'm glad of it."
"It was a conspiracy," growled the captain. "That rascal, Maurie—"
"Oh, was Maurie in it?"
"Of course. He was the decoy; perhaps he arranged the whole thing."