De Vere?
We are under your orders you know."
"There are to be no special orders given on this cruise," was the
answer. "I regard you boys as my partners in this enterprise. We will
all do our best to find the brig, and if any of you have any
suggestions, I hope you will not hesitate to offer them. To be frank
with you I do not know where to look for the Rockhaven. She is
somewhere in this vicinity, floating around, but at the mercy of wind,
wave and cross currents. All we can do is to cruise about, hoping to
get a sight of her."
"I thought when you searched for anything on the ocean you had to have
the longitude and latitude," said Rob.
"So you do usually," replied Mr. De Vere, but, in this case it is
impossible to get those figures. If it were it would be an easy matter
to pick up the brig. But, in the case of a derelict, that is floating
about, going in no particular direction, and making only such speed as
the wind or the currents give it, there is no telling where it will
drift to. It might be at one spot at night, and many miles off the
next morning."
"We are prepared for a long cruise," spoke Ned, "and it doesn't matter
which way we go. How would it do to go about in big circles, taking a
new one every day?"
"That's a good plan," said the owner of the Rockhaven. "We might try
it, at any rate."
So this was done. With chart and compass Mr. De Vere, who understood
the science of navigation, worked out a plan of traveling about in big
sweeps, that took in a goodly portion of that part of the Pacific.
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