It was described as having a single "shanty," a tent, and a crew of three men.

As that was not the kind of a raft he was looking for, this information only added to the young man's perplexity.

It never occurred to him that the raft might have been stolen and disguised.

So, as he was certain he had not passed it, there was but one solution to the problem.

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.