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“Whenitcomestothat，“commentedBurgess，“whyshouldtheyanchoroffhere，’steadoftakin’herinbytheinlet？Ifthere’sanybodyaboardtheyain’tshowedthemselvesyet。Shemighthavebeenleakin’，butshedon’tlookit。Setsupoutofwaterprettywell。
Well，we’llknowinafewminutes。Hitherup，boys！“
Therowers“hitherup“andthedorymovedfaster。ThenBurgess，puttinghishandtohismouth，hailed。
“Shipahoy！“heroared。“Ahoy！“
Noreply。
“Ahoythebrig！“bellowedBurgess。“What’sthematteraboardthere？Allhandsasleep？“
Stillnoanswer。ThophandBillpulledmoreslowlynow。Burgessnoddedtothem。
“Standby！“heordered。“Easy！Wayenough！Letherrun。“
Thedoryslackenedspeed，turnedinobediencetothesteeringoar，andslidundertheforequarteroftheanchoredvessel。Ellery，lookingup，sawhernameinbatteredgiltlettersabovehishead——
theSanJose。
“Standby，Thoph！“shoutedCharlie。“S’poseyoucanjumpandgrabherforechains？Holdhersteady，Bill。Now，Thoph！That’sthetime！“
Thophhadjumped，seizedthechains，andwasscramblingaboard。A
momentlaterheappearedattherailamidships，aropeinhishand。
Thedorywasbroughtalongsideandmadefast；thenoneaftertheotherthemenintheboatclimbedtothebrig’sdeck。
“Ahoy！“yelledBurgess。“Allhandsondeck！tumbleup，youlubbers！Humph！Sheisabandoned，sureandsartin。“
“Yup，“assentedBill。“Herboatsaregone。See？Guessthatexplainsthelongboatonthebeach，Charlie。“
“Cal’lateitdoes；butitdon’texplainwhytheylefther。Sheain’tleakin’nonetospeakof，that’ssure。Rides’slight’safeather。Christmas！lookatthemdecks；dirtyhogs，whoevertheywas。“
Thedecksweredirty，andthesails，sloppilyfurled，weredirtylikewise。Thebrig，assherolledandjerkedatheranchorrope，wasdirty——andunkemptfromstemtostern。ToEllery’smindshemadealonesomepicture，evenundertheclear，winterskyandbrightsunshine。
Thophledthewayaft。Thecabincompaniondoorwasopenandtheypeereddown。
“Phew！“sniffedBurgess。“Sheain’tnocolognebottle，isshe？
Well，comeonbelowandlet’sseewhat’llwesee。“
Thecabinwasa“mess，“asBillexpressedit。Thefloorwascoveredwithscatteredheapsofriff-raff，oilskins，coats，emptybottles，andpapers。Onthetableaboxstood，itshingedlidthrownback。
“Medicinechest，“saidBurgess，examiningit。“Andrumbottlesaplenty。Somebody’sbeensick，Ishouldn’twonder。“
Theministeropenedthedoorofoneofthelittlestaterooms。Thelightwhichshonethroughthedirtyandtightlyclosed“bull’s-eye“
windowshowedatumbledbunk，theblanketssoiledandstreaked。
Thesmellwasstifling。
“Say，fellers，“whisperedThoph，“Idon’tlikethismuchmyself。
I’mforgettin’ondeckwheretheair’sbetter。Somethin’shappenedaboardthiscraft，somethin’serious。“
CharlieandBillnoddedanemphaticaffirmative。
“Hadn’twebetterlookaboutalittlemore？“askedEllery。
“There’sanotherstateroomthere。“
Heopenedthedoorofitashespoke。Itwas，ifpossible，inaworseconditionthanthefirst。Andtheodorwasevenmoreoverpowering。
“Skipper’sroom，“observedBurgess，peepingin。“Andthatbunkain’tbeensleptinforweeks。Seethemildewonthemclothes。
Phew！I’mfairsicktomystomach。Comeoutofthis。“
Ondeck，inthesunlight，theyheldanotherconsultation。
“QueerestbusinesseverIsee，“observedCharlie。“Inever——“
“Iseesomethin’likeitonce，“interruptedBill。“DownintheGulf’twas。IwasontheoldFishhawk。EbenSalters’sdadfromovertoBayportskipperedher。WepickedupaWestInjyschooner，derelict，abandonedsameasthisone，butnotanchored，ofcourse。
Yellerjackwasthetroubleaboardherand——Whereyoubound，Thoph？“
“Goin’totakeasquintatthefo’castle，“repliedTheophilus，movingforward。Theministerfollowedhim。
Thefo’castlehatchwaywasblackandgrim。Ellerykneltandpeereddown。Heretherewaspracticallynolightatallandtheairwasfoulerthanthatinthecabin。
“Seeanything，Mr。Ellery？“askedThoph，lookingoverhisshoulder。
“No，Idon’tseeanything。ButIthought——“
Heseemedtobelistening。
“Whatdidyouthink？“
“Nothing。I——“
“Holdon！youain’tgoin’downthere，beyou？Iwouldn’t。Notellin’whatyoumightfind。Well，allright。Iain’tcurious。
I’llstayuphereandyoucanreport。“
Hesteppedoverandleanedagainsttherail。Billcameacro
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