boat, as several ropes hung over the side of the larger craft, by means of which the boys could pull themselves up.
"And we'd better do it while we're together," went on Frank. "If we drift apart we might not be able to get together again."
"First let's yell, and see if there's anybody there," suggested Sammy. "They may all be asleep, and might not like it if we went aboard."
"Not very likely that they're asleep," said Frank. "Someone would be on the lookout, anyhow. And there'd be a man steering, with the sails set as they are."
Two of the sails were indeed set, but the main sheets, or ropes, were loose, and the boom swung back and forth with the motion of the vessel, so that, even had the wind been blowing, she would have made little headway. But it was now a dead calm.
"Come on—yell!" suggested Sammy, and the three boys raised their voices in a shout. They waited a moment to see if they would get an answer, but none came.
"Come on—let's go aboard!" cried Frank, as he made for the rail, to reach a dangling rope.
"Wait!" suggested Bob. "Let's tie this motor boat fast, first. We may want to come back in her again."
"Why?" asked Sammy.
"Because, we don't know anything about that schooner," went on Bob. "Maybe all her crew died from smallpox, or something like that. Maybe she's sinking, and we wouldn't want to stay on board if she was. You can't tell what makes her this way. Tie our boat fast, I say, and then, if we want to, we can come back on the Skip if we don't like it on the Mary Ellen," for that was the name of the drifting schooner, as they could see painted under her stern.
"Good idea," exclaimed Sammy. "We can live on the
