. "He did it to delay the _Rainbow_."

"Yes, and that was done so the _Josephine_ could get ahead of us," added
Dick.

"In that case he must be in league with Sid Merrick," came from Sam.

"Perhaps he met Merrick at Nassau and was hired for this work," said
Dick.

"That is possible, Dick. I'll have the truth out of him, if I have to
put him in irons and on bread and water to do it," added Captain
Barforth.

He at once sent for Walt Wingate. The deck hand who went after the man
came back five minutes later to report that the fellow could not be
located.

"He must be found!" cried Captain Barforth. "He can't skulk out of
this!"

A search was instituted, in which all of the boys, Mr. Rover and Aleck
joined. But though the steam yacht was searched from stem to stern,
the missing deck hand was not located. Some of the men even went down
into the hold, but with no success.

"Do you think he jumped overboard?" asked Fred.

"He might, but it would be a foolish thing to do," answered the
captain. "We are at least ten miles from any island."

"He may have had a small boat," said Songbird.

"No, the small boats are all here. He is on this vessel, but where is
the question."

To stimulate them in their search, the captain offered a reward of ten
dollars to any one of his crew who should bring Wingate to light. But
this brought no success, and for a very good reason as we shall learn
later.

How much the drags had hampered the progress of the _Rainbow_ there was
no telling, but freed of them, the steam yacht made good time. All of
the machinery was carefully inspected, including the propeller, to
which some wire was found twisted. But this had thus far done no
damage and was easily pulled out.

"He is certainly in league with Merrick and his crowd," said Anderson
Rover, "and that being so, we must be on constant guard against him."

The ladies and the girls were much alarmed to think that such a
character as Wingate might be roaming around the vessel in secret, and
at night they locked every stateroom door with care. The boys and Mr.
Rover were also on the alert, and some of them slept with loaded
pistols near at hand. Had Wingate shown himself unexpectedly he might
have met with a warm reception.

"That feller's disappearance puts me in mind o' something that
happened aboard the _Nancy Belden_, bound from the Congo to New York,
jest eight years ago this summer," said Bahama Bill, who had searched
as hard as a