"It's a good thing no shark happened to be near," said Tom. "The monster would certainly have had us at his mercy." When they reached the wreck they found the stern well out of the water. The _Golden Wave_ lay partly on her left side and it was a comparatively easy matter to, gain the deck. The masts were gone and there was a big hole in the bow, but otherwise the craft had suffered little damage. Why she had not sunk was a mystery until, later on, old Jerry discovered that some of the cargo, consisting of flat cases, had got wedged into the break, thus cutting off a large portion of the leak. "We can anchor her without trouble," said the old sailor. "And perhaps straighten her up too, so the deck won't be so slanty. Then she'll be a reg'lar hotel for all hands." "Let us go below and see how things are down there," said Dick, and he at once led the way. At that instant a loud sneeze reached their ears, causing Dick to pause on the companion way. Looking into the cabin he saw a man standing there, partly dressed. "Captain Blossom!" he ejaculated. "Is it really you or your ghost?" "Dick Rover!" cried the master of the schooner. "Then you weren't drowned, after all?" "No, captain. But--but how did you escape?" "Is it really Captain Blossom?" came from Tom, and he rushed down into the cabin, followed by old Jerry. All shook hands, and the face of the captain showed his pleasure over the meeting. "So you all escaped and are here," he said. "I am downright glad to know it. What of the others?" "We don't know what became of the other boats," answered Dick. "Saw nothing at all?" "Not a thing." The captain shook his head sorrowfully. "But how did you escape?" asked Dick again. "That is a short story, lad. When I went overboard from the rowboat, I caught hold of some of the wreckage from the schooner. This was still fast to the deck, and by hauling myself in I soon got on board again. As I had no boat, I remained on board, for I soon saw that the schooner would not go down immediately. At daylight the ship left the rocks and drifted around on the ocean until the wind came up last night, when we struck this island and got beached, as you see. I was worn out with watching, and as soon as I found the boat was safe from sinking I went to bed, and slept soundly until I heard you three tramping around the deck." "We are stopping over on yonder island," said Tom, when all went on deck, and he pointed in the direction. "See, Sam and the girls are waving to us. Let us wave in return, and stand apart, so they can see that there are four of us." They did as the youngest Rover advised and soon saw that they were seen. Then Captain Blossom held up his spyglass. "I reckon they will know who I am by that," he said, and he was right, for Sam told the girls that the fourth man was Captain Blossom beyond a doubt.