“We couldn’t help it,” wailed Ned wretchedly. “Wait till I tell you about it.” Jack’s head swam. Behind the vague words he sensed a tragedy of some sort in that mysterious country which had already, so it was thought, claimed the life of Tom’s father, Mr. Jesson. “How did the _Sea King_ come to be off Yucatan?” inquired Jack, “her course, as laid out, was far to the east of that country.” “I know that,” replied Ned; “but a gale blew us off our reckonings, and into as strange and terrible a series of adventures as you ever heard of in the wildest fiction.” “Tell us about it,” demanded Tom crisply, cutting short Ned’s rather hysterical outburst. “Come below, into the cabin. It is important that we should know everything as soon as possible.” “This way,” said Ned, stepping toward the stern. But Jack paused. “An attempt was made to ram the _Vagrant_ to-night,” he said, “by a queer, but extremely speedy craft. Do you know anything about her, Ned?” “Do I know anything about her?” A quaver of indignation injected itself into Ned’s voice. “Well, I should say so,” he went on; “that’s the vessel of that scoundrel Herrera, the cousin of the governor of Yucatan, which, as you know, is at present a province of Mexico, but, so far as civilization is concerned, parts of it might as well be in the wilds of Africa.” Tom had been fidgeting excitedly. The name of Yucatan had called up a swarming crowd of memories of his father, the long missing explorer. “Had my uncle’s visit to Yucatan anything to do with my father’s disappearance?” he asked. “Everything,” was the rejoinder, in steadier tones than Ned Bangs had yet assumed. The presence of the self-possessed cousins, and their infectious manner of quiet ability, had braced the unstrung lad up wonderfully. “It was to rescue your father from——” “Then he is alive?” burst in Tom, aglow at the wonderful news. “So there is every reason to suppose,” was Ned’s reply. Without giving him time to say more, the cousins, having ordered the crew to keep a keen lookout for the speedy “ram” craft and notify them instantly of its appearance, half dragged Ned below, and shoved him into a chair in the comfortably furnished main cabin of the _Sea King_. “Now then,” said Jack, “tell us everything, Ned, from the beginning. But first you are reasonably certain that both my father and my uncle are alive?” “There is practically no doubt of that,” was Ned’s response. “Then fire away,” ordered Tom, seating himself beside Jack, opposite the still badly shaken Ned Bangs. “We left New York at the time you know,” commenced Ned, “and cruised for some time in the West Indies, your father. Jack, making stacks of observations and records. We met many interesting adventures, but I’m not going to detail all those now. But, although your father seemed to be immersed in his scientific observations, there were several things unexplained about the _Sea King’s_ equipment.