Page:Dick Sands the Boy Captain.djvu/40

26 DÎCK SANDS. THE BOY CAPTAIN. " Oh, how I hope the poor crew hâve been saved ! " ex- claimed Mrs. Weldon. " Most probably," replîed the captaîn, " they would ail hâve taken to the boats. It is as likely as not that the ship which did the mischief would continue its course quite unconcerned." " Surely, you cannot mean," crîed Mrs. Weldon, " that any one could be capable of such înhumanity ? " " Only too probable," answered Captain Hull ; ** un- fortunately, such instances are very far from rare." He scanned the drifting ship carefully and continued, — " No ; I cannot see any sign of boats hère ; I should guess that the crew hâve made an attempt .to get to land ; at such a*distance as thîs, however, from America or from the islands of the Pacific I should be afraid that it must be hopeless." " Is it not possible," asked Mrs. Weldon, " that some poor créature may still survive on board, who can tell what has happened ? " " Hardly likely, madam ; otherwise thcrc would hâve been some sort of a signal in sight. But it is a matter about which we will make sure." The captain wavcd his hand a littlc in the direction in which he wished to go, and said quietly, — " Luff, Bolton, luff a bit ! " The " Pilgrim " by this time was not much more than three cables* lengths from the ship ; there was still no token of her being otherwise than utterly dcserted, when Dick Sands suddenly exclaimed, — " Hark ! if I am not much mistaken, that is a dog barking ! " Every one listencd attentively ; it was no fancy on Dick*s part ; sure enough a stifled barking could be heard, as if some unfortunate dog had been imprisoned*beneath the hatchways ; but as the deck was not yet visible, it was impossible at présent to détermine the précise truth. Mrs. Weldon pleaded, — " If it is only a dog, captaîn, let it be saved ! " " Oh, yes, yes, mamma, the dog must be saved ! ** crîed