“Why don’t you come and take us off?” he cried.

After this there was silence for some time.  At last Captain Corbet shouted out,—­

“The boat’s lost.”

“What!”

“The boat’s adrift.”

Captain Corbet said nothing about Tom, from a desire to spare him for the present.  So Bruce thought that the empty boat had drifted off, and as he had been prepared to hear of some accident, he was not much surprised.

But he was not to remain long in ignorance.  In a few moments he heard Arthur’s voice.

“Bruce!”

“Hallo!”

“The boat’s gone.”

“All right.”

“Tom’s adrift in her!”

“What!” shouted Bruce.

“Tom’s adrift in her.”

At this appalling intelligence Bruce’s heart seemed to stop beating.

“How long?” he dried, after a pause.

“Half an hour,” cried Arthur.

“Why don’t you go after him?” cried Bruce again.

“We’re aground,” cried Arthur.

The whole situation was now explained, and Bruce was filled with his own share of that dismay which prevailed on board of the schooner; for a long time nothing more was said.  At length Arthur’s voice sounded again.

“Bruce!”

“Hallo!”

“Get a boat, and come aboard as soon as you can after the tide turns.”

“All right.  How early will the tide suit?”

“Eight o’clock.”

“Not before?”

“No.”

After this nothing more was said.  Bruce could see for himself that the tide was falling, and that he would have to wait for the returning tide before a boat could be launched.  He waited for some time, full of despair, and hesitating to return to Bart with his mournful intelligence.  At length he turned, and walked slowly back to his friend.

“Well, Bruce?” asked Bart, who by this time was sure that some accident had happened.

“The boat’s adrift.”

“The boat!”

“Yes; and what’s worse, poor Tom!”

“Tom!” cried Bart, in a horror of apprehension.

“Yes, Tom’s adrift in her.”

At this Bart said not a word, but stood for some time staring at Bruce in utter dismay.

A few words served to explain to Bart the situation of the schooner, and the need of getting a boat.

“Well,” said Bart, “we’d better see about it at once.  It’s eleven o’clock, but we’ll find some people up; if not, we’ll knock them up.”

And with these words the two lads walked up from the river bank.

On reaching the houses attached to the shipyard, they found that most of the people were up.  There was a good deal of singing and laughter going on, which the boys interpreted to arise from a desire to celebrate the launching of the ship.  They went first to Mrs. Watson’s house, where they found that good lady up.  She listened to their story with undisguised uneasiness, and afterwards called in a number of men, to whom she told the sad news.  These men listened to it with very serious faces.