“Something has gone to your head, String,” teased George. “You’re seeing things.”
John, however, was so angry by this time that he would not pay the slightest attention to such remarks. His face was flushed and he still stared sullenly out across the water in the direction of the rising sun. Suddenly his jaw dropped, and a look of amazement spread itself over his features. His eyes were round with surprise.
“It’s gone,” he exclaimed in consternation.
“Ha, ha,” laughed George, derisively. “I told you it was a mirage.”
“Perhaps, the wind blew it away,” suggested Fred.
“You all think you’re pretty smart,” said John, a half-foolish grin on his face. “I swear I thought I saw land over there.”
“Well, I tell you what we do,” suggested Grant. “String thought he saw land over in that direction, but it’s gone now. Just the same I say we row that way and see what we can see.”
“What’s the point in that?” demanded Fred. “You don’t really think he saw anything, do you?”
“No, I don’t. At the same time we can’t be any worse off than we are now, and String’s seeing the mirage may have been an omen. Perhaps there is land somewhere over there after all.”
“I’m willing,” agreed George. “What do you say?”