No one answered.
“Ahoy, the Snark!” he shouted again.
Still receiving no answer, he ordered his men aboard. Single file, they crawled cautiously up a ladder to the dark deck.
“Anyone aboard?” the captain called once more.
Salt, Mr. Parker and Penny, eager for first hand information, followed the policemen up the ladder.
“My men will search the vessel,” Captain Bricker told them, “but no one appears to be aboard. Everything seems in order.”
Spreading out over the ship, the policemen returned one by one to report they could find nothing amiss. Not even a watchman was aboard.
“This seems to be a wild-goose chase, Captain,” Mr. Parker apologized. “Sorry to have bothered you. We considered our information reliable.”
The policemen began to leave. Penny, lingering on deck until the last, was being helped onto the ladder by Captain Bricker, when they both heard a sound below decks.
“What was that?” the officer muttered, listening alertly.