“Oh, they must stop! They must stop and come back for us!” exclaimed Mrs. Brown. “We can’t stay here alone! Can they have forgotten us?”
“They can’t have forgotten us!” said Mr. Brown. “Captain Ward and his mate knew we were coming ashore!”
“They wouldn’t deliberately go away and leave us, would they, Walter?” asked his wife. Bunny and Sue wondered what all this would lead to.
“Oh, no, Captain Ward would never do a thing like that!” said Will Gand. “He isn’t that kind of a sailor. But he certainly is leaving us behind.”
“Something’s wrong on board, you can depend on that,” stated Sam Trend, and he, too, ceased rowing.
“Something wrong, what do you mean?” asked Mr. Brown.
“I mean with the ship,” answered Sam. “Maybe they can’t turn around and come back after us. The steering gear might have broken when she went aground.”
“Yes, that could have happened,” said Mr. Brown. “But that wouldn’t prevent them from stopping, would it? They could shut off the engines, anchor, and wait for us, couldn’t they?”
“Surely they could!” cried Mrs. Brown. “Something dreadful must have happened.”
“It does look queer,” admitted Will Gand. “I don’t see why they don’t stop. Something sure is wrong on board.”