To the diver's questions the old man replied that he had been working on his little plantation on the windward side of the island when he had heard a strange noise and, glancing up, had been amazed to see something like a huge bird flying far overhead. For a time he could not imagine what it was and then he remembered the pictures and accounts of airplanes he had seen in the illustrated papers that arrived at Statia at rare intervals and realized that he was actually gazing upon one of the marvelous things which he had always half believed were impossible. In fact, he added, he had come to town for the sole purpose of relating his story to his friends, but all had scoffed at him and had declared he had been mistaken.
"Not a bit of it!" cried Rawlins. "You saw one all right, my friend. What direction was the plane going?"
The old man was not sure, for his mind had been so fully occupied with the wonder of the sight that he had not noted its course, but after a deal of thinking he decided it had been bound for St. Kitts.
"Well, that knocks out my theory about Aves a bit," declared Rawlins. "But there are plenty of spots around St. Kitts where he could have landed or he might have gone on to Nevis. Now let's get up to the hospital and see that old walrus of a Dutch captain."
As they walked towards the tiny hospital, the boys expressed surprise that there seemed to be no damage from the hurricane.
"Out of its track," explained Rawlins. "Remember, I told you those hurricanes are narrow. Of course, there's got to be an edge to 'em some place, and besides, they follow pretty regular routes. I'll bet St. Kitts got it, and yet over here--only a few miles away--they never felt it."
When they reached the hospital all hopes of securing information from the skipper of the tramp were abandoned, however, for the attendants told the Americans that the Dutch sea captain had been taken away the previous day by some friends who had called for him.
"That's blamed funny!" exclaimed Rawlins. "They told me down in the town that no ship had been in port since the hurricane."
"Hmm," mused Mr. Pauling. "Perhaps they were friends living on the island." Then, turning to the young doctor who was in charge, he asked, "What sort of men were they? Can you describe them? Did they mention how they arrived here?"