There was no way without being rude of avoiding shaking hands with the
man, and, though there was something in his manner that caused the
boys to feel a distrust of him, they were not going to be impolite on
mere suspicion.

They shook hands with Mr. Blowitz, and Jerry introduced himself, his
chums, the young ladies and Professor Snodgrass, and told, briefly,
the object of their trip.

"Well isn't that nice, now," said Mr. Blowitz, when Jerry had
finished. "The professor comes out here to hunt horned toads, and you
lads come to hunt adventures, Mr. Seabury comes out here in search of
health and I-- well, I'm out here on a sort of hunt myself."

"Are you interested in science?" asked Mr. Snodgrass eagerly. "Perhaps
you and I might go off together after horned toads and web-footed
lizards. Or, if you care for snakes, or insects, I think I can show
you where there are plenty."

"No, no," said Mr. Blowitz, with a laugh, which he tried to make sound
hearty by the mere noise of it. "No, I'm on a different sort of a
search. In fact it's quite a queer story-- perhaps you would like to
hear it. In fact, I'm hunting for a lost ship."

"A lost ship!" exclaimed Bob.

"Well, one that was abandoned just before she sank, and that's about
the same thing. It was abandoned quite a way out, but off this part of
the coast. There is a current setting in towards shore, at this point,
I'm told, and I thought I might get some news of her, or find some of