Nothing was in sight; only an uninterrupted stretch of blue sea. Hour after hour passed. At noon the run was two hundred and twenty miles and the aëroplane had not been sighted. Steve turned and faced those assembled.
"It's no use going farther in this direction," he said, the words trembling on his lips. "I'm very sure they couldn't have made this distance."
"Evidently their course has been altered by the wind," added Mr. Cumberford.
"Gusty, at times, last night," asserted Chesty.
Steve nodded.
"A strong wind might do what the girls couldn't," said he. "That is, it might alter the direction of their flight. How did it blow?"
"At four o'clock, from the north; at five fifteen, from the west; at six, due south," said Chesty.
There was silence for a few minutes. The engines had been shut down and the boat lay drifting upon the water.
"I think it will be well to examine the charts," suggested Mr. Todd, "and find out where we are."