"Unfortunately, Nua Leha's dead to windward," remarked Merridew.
"And Ni Telang's dead to leeward," added Beverley. "Of course he might have found that things were in a bad way with the _Zug_, and in that case he would have landed to offer assistance."
"It's no use kagging and hanging on to the slack," said Harborough briskly. "We'll take the _Titania_ and search for him. Not at once, though. On a night like this it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. If we start an hour before dawn, it will be daylight when we reach the farthest easterly position he's likely to be, after making due allowance for the drift of the sea-plane. Tell off a couple of hands to remain here, Mr. Villiers. The rest will go on board; they may be more than useful."
With this cryptic utterance Harborough led the way to the boats. Fortunately, there were plenty of tinned and preserved provisions on board the _Titania_, and she was practically ready for sea at half an hour's notice. Before midnight the remaining boats were hoisted in, the cable hove short, and the sail covers taken off; while, in case Claverhouse should make for the island during the hours of darkness, the searchlight was run in a vertical direction to serve as an aerial signpost.
All hands with the exception of the look-out then turned in to make up much needed arrears of sleep, for neither ashore nor afloat had they had a wink of sleep during the previous night, and had been working at high pressure during the succeeding day.
At 4 a.m. the duty watch was called, and twenty minutes later the _Titania_ passed through the gap in the reef under power alone. Directly she rounded the north-eastern extremity of the reef all plain sail was made and the heavy oil engines shut down. For the present, speed was neither necessary nor desirable.
The first streaks of dawn found the yacht ten miles from Nua Leha, doing about five knots before a steady following breeze. A merchantman entering the danger-zone during the height of the unrestricted U-boat campaign could not have kept a sharper look-out than did the crew of the _Titania_ for any sign of the overdue _Cormorant_.
It was noon before the peaks of Ni Telang showed above the blue horizon. Only once had the _Titania_ altered her course, and that was to run two miles to the nor'ard to investigate a floating object that turned out to be a large open crate, possibly washed from the deck of a tramp during the hurricane.