late he had not made as many gloomy predictions as usual. Perhaps he appreciated what Mr. Ringold said, about there being enough trouble without adding to it by needlessly looking on the dark side.
"Well, their boat may have gone adrift in the rising waters, and they may have been forced to remain on the island," went on the theatrical man. "And there has been, so much confusion and suffering out here, that their appeals for help, in case they could make any, may have gone unheeded.
"So I think we'll head for that island, and see if we can get any clews. It is a sort of forlorn hope, but that is the only starting point I can think of. How is she running, Blake?" he asked, for Blake was attending to the motor, while Joe focused the camera.
"Fine," answered the young engineer. "She's a powerful engine, all right."
"She'll need to be," was the grim comment of the manager. "There is some power to this current," and he looked over the side of the bow, at the onrushing, muddy Mississippi. Though they were in the upper reaches of the big stream, it had so increased in size that it was almost a constant menace to the motor boat.
Not only was the current powerful, but there
