The _Venture_
must have been wrecked and gone to pieces during the storm of that
first night, and Winn must have escaped to the island.
Even with this explanation the mystery of Winn's second disappearance
remained as great as ever, and by the time Billy Brackett hailed the
_Whatnot_, as has already been noted, he was as thoroughly bewildered
as ever in his life. Nor could he decide on any plan of action that
seemed in the least satisfactory. He knew there was a town a mile or
so below where the _Whatnot_ lay, and there he had determined to spend
the night. But for his desire to reach this place before darkness
should wholly shut in, he would have boarded the _Whatnot_ merely to
gratify the curiosity excited by her strange appearance. As it was, he
felt that he had no time to spare, and so hastened on.
It was quite dark as he approached the lights marking the town he was
seeking; but as he drew near he discovered what appeared like a part of
the levee slowly moving out from shore. Above it rose dimly a white
object that he had taken for a house, and still above this shown a
lantern. In a moment he saw that it was a raft resuming its voyage
down the river, and he determined to make an inquiry from its crew
before landing.
Pulling his skiff alongside, the young man sprang aboard.
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