“Below there! Ahoy the ’tween decks!”
The quintet waited expectantly, but the stillness remained unbroken. Clif repeated the hail, and Joy pounded the deck with the oar from the launch, but with the same result.
“I guess we imagined it,” said Nanny, evidently relieved. “It wasn’t—wow!”
He ended with a cry of dismay. The moan again sounded forward, ending, as before, with the unearthly gurgle.
Trolley darted past the conning tower, and, throwing himself flat upon the sloping deck, leaned out over the bow. He had hardly taken his position when the torpedo boat pitched sullenly into the trough of the sea, and the uncanny noise was repeated.
The Japanese youth returned aft with a grin upon his face.
“We plenty fools,” he said. “That moan no come from man, it caused by waves under bow. The cutwater is bent, and sea slap into it. Hurray!”
“That’s a jolly sell on us,” laughed Clif. “We are a lot of old women, getting scared at the slightest noise. Come on; give me a hand with this door. We can’t wait on deck all day. I want to see if there are any stores on board. Nanny, are you hungry?”
The little cadet hastened to answer in the affirmative.