The sun had come out strong and hot, and it was not long before all began to feel thirsty once more. A little water remained in the hollow between the lumber and this they drank up, fearful that it would otherwise evaporate. Night came on slowly and now they ate another portion of the fish. It seemed unusually dry and they choked it down with an effort. “It’s queer,” observed Frank. “This fish tastes to me as if it was covered with fine dirt.” “It must be our mouths,” replied Mark. “Mine feels full of grit, as if I had been licking a piece of emery paper.” They looked at Sven Orlaff, and found him rubbing his eyes. He seemed to be trying to get something out of them. “My eye, he got da dust in,” said the sailor. “I no lak dat. Where da dust he come from annahow?” and he rubbed his eyes again. “Why, the air is full of dust!” came from Frank, as he gazed upward. “Who ever heard of such a thing, so far out at sea!” “We must be near land,” said Mark. “Dust couldn’t come from anywhere else. But I can’t see any land.” And he took another look around--this time with difficulty, for the dust appeared to grow thicker. When the sun went down it was in a curious haze, which the Norwegian sailor said was new to him. “Nefer see da sun lak dat,” he said. “He look lak behine big smok.” And the boys agreed with him. “It seems to me it is growing warmer,” came from Mark, as the darkness settled around them. “I feel--what was that, a gun?” A deep booming had reached their ears, coming from a great distance. They listened and presently the sound was repeated, rolling away like distant thunder. “Is that a thunder storm?” questioned Frank of the sailor. “I t’ink no sturm. I t’ink dat be da breakers. But no can see him.” They looked around for the breakers, or for some sign of reefs, but darkness was now settled upon every side. The booming continued at long intervals, but they concluded that it must be miles away. “I never heard of anything like it,” came from Mark. “First the dust and now this noise. It’s certainly strange.” “The raft is moving swifter, too,” returned Frank. “I’ve noticed it for some time. There must be some sort of a current here.” Their attention was now directed to this new discovery, and soon they noticed that the raft was certainly moving in a direction south-east by south, to use the nautical term. And it was going at the rate of twenty or thirty miles an hour! “The whole ocean looks different here,” said Mark, “What do you make of it?” he asked of Sven Orlaff. The Norwegian could not explain. He said the water had an appearance which he had never seen. On the surface was a sort of scum which, on being examined, proved to be, in part, of the dust they had previously noticed. “Put your hand into the water,” cried Frank. “It is surely warmer!”