“Well, yes, I did,” answered Captain Harrison, who was on the other motor boat, which was named Sea Foam. “I think I have some news for you.”
“I hope it’s good news,” Captain Crane made reply.
“Yes, I believe it is. Are you going out to rescue a boy from an island quite a way to the south of us?”
“Yes, these friends of mine are going,” answered Captain Crane, pointing to the Bobbseys and to Cousin Jasper, who were sitting on the deck under the shade of an awning. “But how did you know?”
“I just passed Captain Peters in his boat, and he told me about your starting off on a voyage,” went on Captain Harrison. “As soon as I heard what you were going to do, I made up my mind to tell you what I saw. I passed that island, where you are going to look for a lost man—-”
“It’s a lost boy, and not a lost man,” interrupted Captain Crane.
“Well, lost boy, then,” went on Captain Harrison. “Anyhow, I passed that island the other day, and I’m sure I saw some one running up and down on the shore, waving a rag or something.”
“You did!” cried Cousin Jasper, who, with the Bobbseys, was listening to this talk. “Then why in the world didn’t you go on shore and get Jack? Why didn’t you do that, Captain?”
“Because I couldn’t,” answered Captain Harrison. "A big storm was coming up, and I couldn’t get near the place on account of the rocks. But I looked through my telescope, and I’m sure I saw a man—or, as you say, maybe it was a boy—running up and down on the shore of the island, waving something.
"When I found I couldn’t get near the place, on account of the rocks and the big waves, I made up my mind to go back as soon as I could. But the storm kept up, and part of my motor engine broke, so I had to come back here to get it fixed.