Part 34 (1/2)

”Anderson Rover is his name. If you find him, and the boys make a charge, place all hands under arrest.”

”I will.”

The steam tug was fully manned, carrying a crew and several police officers. The Rover boys were told to get aboard, and the tug was headed out into the Hudson, or, as here called, the North, River.

”You don't suppose they have pa.s.sed here, do you?” questioned the captain of the tug.

”I don't think so--unless that towing tug was an extra fast one,”

answered d.i.c.k.

”They wouldn't dare to run too fast, with so many ferryboats crossing the river. It would be too dangerous.”

The police tug swept out into the bay and then started slowly up the river, moving from one sh.o.r.e to the other. The police officer in charge had a pair of gla.s.ses and he used these on the various craft that came into view, and also allowed the boys to use them.

”Ought to be along soon,” said Tom, after a quarter of an hour had pa.s.sed. ”It took us quite some time to get down here, you know.”

”Maybe they didn't come down the river,” suggested the officer.

”Didn't come down?” cried Sam. ”What do you mean?”

”Maybe they thought you would come down here and wait for them and so changed their plans and went up the river instead.”

”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 d.i.c.k.

”Let us hope so,” returned the officer.

Soon they had pa.s.sed 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 sh.o.r.e 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 d.i.c.k, at last.

”Looks that way,” returned Tom, with a sigh.

They continued to move up the stream, scanning each sh.o.r.e closely.

They pa.s.sed numerous boats, but not one that looked like the craft they were after.

”Well, here we are, at the spot where Crabtree and Pelter got aboard,”

said d.i.c.k, a while later. ”So, either we have missed them, or else the Ellen Rodney went up the river instead of down.”

The boys were much disheartened, for they had thought that the police tug would surely locate the craft and that they would thus be able to come to their father's rescue. They scarcely knew what to do next.

”I'll go up the river a bit further, if you say so,” said the police officer in charge of the tug.