"There he is!" cried Jack.
But a careful search failed to reveal Washington. Still he could be heard to groan at intervals. Bill and Tom came and aided in the search, while Mrs. Johnson, who was worried at the unusual activity, asked what the trouble was.
Captain Henderson did not tell her, for, as he said afterward, he did not want any women fainting away on his ship. At his request Mrs. Johnson went back to her cabin, and the hunt for Washington continued.
"Here he is!" cried Jack at last.
The boy had climbed up on a small ladder that led to the big storage battery tanks. He had looked down, and there, in the large metal box had spied the colored man on the bottom. Washington was unconscious and breathing heavily.
"He has been overcome by the fumes of the sulphuric acid!" exclaimed the professor. "We must get him out quickly or he will die!"
"I'll get him!" cried Andy.
The old hunter grabbed a small step ladder that stood against the wall of the engine room. With this on his shoulder he climbed up the steps which led to the top of the storage battery tank. Then, by means of his ladder, he descended inside.
He had to work quickly as the fumes were very strong, but he managed to hoist Washington up so that Bill and Tom, from outside, could take hold of him. Then the colored man was carried out on the deck, where the fresh air and some restoratives the professor used soon revived him.
"Is I dead," were Washington's first words, as he sat up and looked about him.