Phil gave up the glasses to the others, who had clustered to the bridge, while the _Follow Me_ altered her course in obedience to the signal, her company probably wondering why Steve had suddenly chosen to stand out to sea. At the end of ten minutes it was plainly to be determined with the aid of the binoculars that the object which had attracted their attention and curiosity was without any doubt a wreck, and as the _Adventurer_ drew momentarily closer her plight was seen to be extreme. Whether anyone remained aboard was still a question when the cruiser was a mile distant, but everything pointed against it. The craft, which proved to be a small coasting schooner, had evidently seen a lot of trouble. Both masts were broken off, the foremast close to the deck and the mainmast some dozen feet above it. She lay low in the water, with her decks piled high with lumber. A tangle of spars and ropes hung astern, but save for her cargo the decks had been swept clean. She was a sad sight even at that distance, and more than one aboard the _Adventurer_ felt the pathos of her. "No sign of life," said Steve. "If anyone was aboard there'd be a signal flying. And the boats are all gone, too, although that wouldn't mean much in itself because they might have been swept away. I guess, though, it got a bit too strenuous and the crew remembered the 'Safety First' slogan. There's nothing we can do, anyway." He started to swing the cruiser about again, but Perry intervened. "She's a whatyoucallit!" he exclaimed excitedly. "She's--" "No, little one," Joe corrected gently, "she's a wreck." "She's a derelict," persisted Perry eagerly, "and no one belongs to her! If we got her she'd belong to us, Steve! Wouldn't she?" "I suppose she would," replied Steve dubiously, his hand hesitating on the wheel, "but finding her and getting her are two mighty different things, Perry. If we _could_ get her she'd be a nice prize, I guess, for lumber's worth real money these days, and although she isn't very big it's safe to say she's got quite a bunch of it on her, below deck and above. I guess that lumber is what kept her afloat, from the looks of the hull." "Let's see what we can do," said Han. "Someone will find her and--" "It might as well be us," added Perry enthusiastically. "Couldn't we tow her, Steve!" "Tow her! Gee, she'd follow about as easily as a brick house!" "But if we both pulled--" "Well"--Steve cast an appraising eye at the weather--"I'm game to try it if the rest of you say so. Full steam ahead, Mr. Chapman!" CHAPTER XXI ON BOARD THE _CATSPAW_ Steve communicated the project to those aboard the _Follow Me_ which had now drawn up as near as she dared, and there followed a moment of blank amazement aboard the smaller boat. But discussion there was brief, and almost at once Harry Corwin raised his megaphone again and bellowed across: "Go to it! What do you want us to do, Steve?"