"Ye'd better strip him, Doc."
It took the latter only a few minutes to get the soaked clothes off the
unconscious boy. He then wrapped him up securely in the two blankets,
and laid him in a sheltered place in the cock-pit.
"Good Lord, what will the Royals say!" the captain groaned. "Here we
are adrift and can't lift a hand to help ourselves. I wonder what
struck us, anyway."
"It was something big," the doctor replied. "I heard the water
striking against it as we drifted off. It is over in that direction,"
and he pointed to the right. "Listen, you can hear it now. It's
adrift, and following us."
"I wonder what it kin be," the captain mused. "I can't imagine what
would rip away the mast before strikin' the yacht. It is certainly
very queer."
"Is there any chance of our drifting ashore, do you think?" the doctor
asked. "It will be hard on that boy if we are forced to stay here all
night."
"There's a strong current runnin'," the captain returned, "and it's
likely to hold us in its clutch fer some time. The tide won't change
fer over an hour, and it's hard to tell where we'll be by that time.
Hello, what light's that up yonder?"
As the doctor looked he saw a bright glare in the distance, which was
becoming brighter every minute.
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