"How do you do it?" asked Bob.
"The United States flag, upside down, will do," said Sammy, promptly. He had read of that in his books.
"Yes, that will do," agreed Frank. "Come on, let's hunt for a flag."
It did not take them long to find one in the locker where several signal flags were kept, and soon they discovered the right rope by which it could be hoisted to the masthead. It was sent up, with the stars down, and then the boys could only wait and hope.
They made sure that the Skip was well fastened to the stern of the schooner, and the rest of the day they spent going about the ship. They found a telescope, and with this they searched the horizon for a sight of other vessels.
They saw several, even without the aid of the glass, but they could not signal to them, any more than they had already done, and the vessels were either too far away, or else paid no attention to the reversed flag on the mast. There was no wind to flutter it, and, naturally, it could not very well be seen from any other ship. The boys would have to trust to chance.
The day passed, night came, and the boys prepared to spend another period of darkness away from the cottage at Lighthouse Cove. True, they were better off than the night before, and there was no storm, but they very much wished to be safe with their folks again.
Slowly drifting before a gentle breeze, the Mary Ellen made her way over the water. The boys found lanterns and lighted them, for they knew the danger of being run down in the night if they displayed no signals. They sat up rather late, and watched for the lights of some passing craft, but saw none.
"I know what we can do in the morning, if we're not picked up," said Frank.
