"That's so!" exclaimed Tom. "They might do that."
"Well, if they went up the river, we ought to be able to catch them sooner or later," put in Dick.
"Let us hope so," returned the officer.
Soon they had passed up the river to a point opposite the Twenty-third Street ferries. Here a number of boats were moving up and down the stream, and from the Hoboken shore a big trans-Atlantic steamer was coming out, to start on its trip across the ocean.
"That looks like her!" cried Sam, pointing to a craft behind the trans-Atlantic steamer
"So it does!" returned Tom.
They made a semi-circle, other boats giving way to the police tug. But when they got closer to the schooner in question, all the Rover boys uttered a cry of dismay. It was a craft similar to the Ellen Rodney, but that was all.
"Either we missed her or else the schooner went up the river," said Dick, at last.
"Looks that way," returned Tom, with a sigh. They continued to move up the stream, scanning each shore closely. They passed numerous boats, but not one that looked like the craft they were after.
"Well, here we are, at the spot where Crab-
