"Well, as far as the crew are concerned, it might have been superstition, fear of ghosts perhaps. This unreasoning fear has driven more than one crew bodily from their ship."
"If that was the cause," ventured Bert, "is it not possible that their panic may leave them, and that they may return?"
"It is possible," agreed Captain Manning, smiling, "and we will cruise about as soon as I can make preparation. We may be able to overtake them or perhaps meet them returning."
"Was her cargo a valuable one?" asked one of Captain Grant's passengers.
"Yes, quite," was the response, "but not so valuable as it would have been if she had been homeward instead of outward bound. The log shows her to be of Canadian construction and bound from Vancouver to China with a cargo of dried fish, skins, and lumber. If she had been returning she would have been freighted, as you know, with rich silks and tea and rice, of more value than the cargo she carried from British Columbia."
"Shall you attempt to return her to her owners?" asked Mr. Collins. "A schooner like the _Aurora_ would mean a large salvage."
"It certainly would," replied the captain, "and, if we had found her earlier in the voyage, I should have towed her back. But now I cannot afford the time, and I hardly know what to do. She ought not to be left drifting; she is right in the track of steamships, and so is a menace. Wilson," he said, turning to Bert, "try to raise a United States vessel and give her the location of the derelict."
It took two hours before Bert succeeded, but at last he reached the cruiser _Cormorant_ and received thanks for the information and assurance that the matter would be attended to at once.
By this time all was ready and the _Fearless_ began to cruise in ever-widening circles around the _Aurora_. With and without glasses all scanned the sea in every direction for signs of a boat. Once the call of the lookout drew all eyes to a dark object which, at that distance, looked as if it might be a yawl, and every heart beat faster with the hope that at last the mystery of the _Aurora_ might be solved. But, alas, it was found to be only a piece of broken mast, discarded from some ship.
For several hours they cruised about, filled with eager hope which gradually faded as the hours went by. At last, Captain Manning gave the order, and the _Fearless_ again came about to her course.