than ever, and they looked forward without a ray
of hope.

On Friday evening they landed at Scott's Bay, and, as old Bennie
Griggs's house was nearest, they went there. They found both the old
people at home, and were received with an outburst of welcome. Captain
Corbet was an old acquaintance, and made himself at home at once. Soon
his errand was announced.

Bennie had the usual answer, and that was, that nothing whatever had
been heard of any drifting boat. But he listened with intense interest
to Captain Corbet's story, and made him tell it over and over again,
down to the smallest particular. He also questioned all the boys very
closely.

After the questioning was over, he sat in silence for a long time. At
last he looked keenly at Captain Corbet.

"He's not ben heard tell of for about twelve days?"

"No."

"An it's ben ony moderate weather?"

"Ony moderate, but foggy."

"O, of course. Wal, in my 'pinion, fust an foremust, he ain't likely
to hev gone down."

"That thar's jest what I say."

"An he had them biscuit?"

"Yes--a hull box."

"An the sail for shelter?"

"Yes."

"Wal; it's queer. He can't hev got down by the State o' Maine; for, ef
he'd got thar, he'd hev sent word home before this."

"Course he would."

Old Bennie thought over this for a long time again, and the boys
watched him closely, as though some result of vital importance hung
upon his final decision.

"Wal," said Bennie at last, "s'posin that he's alive,--an it's very
likely,--thar's ony two ways to account for his onnat'ral silence. Them
air these:--

"Fust, he may hev got picked up by a timber ship, outward bound to the
old country. In that case he may be carried the hull way acrost. I've
knowed one or two sech cases, an hev heerd of severial more.

"Second. He may hev drifted onto a oninhabited island."

"An oninhabited island?" repeated Captain Corbet.

"Yea."

"Wal," said Captain Corbet; after a pause, "I've knowed things stranger
than that."

"So hev I."

"Air thar any isle of the ocean in particular that you happen to hev in
your mind's eye now?"

"Thar air."

"Which?"

"Ile Haute."

"Wal, now, railly, I declar--ef I wan't thinkin o' that very spot
myself. An I war thinkin, as I war a comin up the bay, that that thar
isle of the ocean was about the only spot belongin to this here bay
that hadn't been heerd from. An it ain't onlikely that them shores
could a tale onfold that mought astoni