Page:Tom Swift and His Wireless Message.djvu/220

210 spray, a sound like an explosion, and when the waters subsided the island had sunk from sight.

"I told you it would go," cried Mr. Parker, triumphantly, but the horror of it all—the horror of the fate that would have been theirs had they remained there an hour longer—held the castaways dumb. The scientist's honor of having correctly predicted the destruction of the island was an empty one.

The agitation of the sea rocked even the mighty Cambaranian and, had our friends been aboard the frail raft, they would surely have perished in the sea. As it was, they were safe—saved by Tom Swift's wireless message.

The steamer resumed her voyage, and the castaways told their story. Captain Valasquez refused to receive the large amount of money Mr. Hasbrook and Mr. Jenks would have paid him for the rescue, accepting only a sum he figured that he had lost by the delay, which was not a great deal. The castaways were given the best aboard the ship, and their stories were listened to by the other passengers with bated breath.

In due time they were landed in New York, and Mr. and Mrs. Nestor accompanied Tom to Shopton. Mr. Damon, with many blessings also accompanied them, going to his home in Waterfield. Later it was learned that the other boats