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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam, by John Henry
+Goldfrap
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: The Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam
+
+
+Author: John Henry Goldfrap
+
+
+
+Release Date: May 20, 2010  [eBook #32460]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUTS FOR UNCLE SAM***
+
+
+E-text prepared by David Edwards and the Project Gutenberg Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images
+generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries
+(http://www.archive.org/details/americana)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 32460-h.htm or 32460-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32460/32460-h/32460-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32460/32460-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive/American Libraries. See
+      http://www.archive.org/details/boyscoutsforuncl00pays
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Obvious punctuation errors were corrected.
+
+      Breaks in the text were represented in three different ways
+      in the original: a blank space, a line of dots, and a line
+      of stars. The blank space has been replaced by a line of
+      hyphens, the line of dots by addition signs, and the stars
+      by asterisks.
+
+
+
+
+
+THE BOY SCOUTS FOR UNCLE SAM
+
+by
+
+LIEUT. HOWARD PAYSON
+
+Author of
+"The Boy Scouts of the Eagle Patrol," "The Boy Scouts
+on the Range," "The Boy Scouts and the Army
+Airship," "The Boy Scouts' Mountain Camp,"
+"The Boy Scouts at the Panama Canal,"
+etc.
+
+
+[Illustration: Every eye watched the distant yacht anxiously.
+
+        _(Page 75)_ _(The Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam)_]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A. L. Burt Company
+Publishers       New York
+Printed in U. S. A.
+
+Copyright, 1912,
+by
+Hurst & Company
+
+Made in U. S. A
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+          CHAPTER                             PAGE
+
+               I. THE EAGLES AT HOME             5
+
+              II. THE FACE AT THE TRANSOM       14
+
+             III. AN OCEAN DERELICT             26
+
+              IV. A MYSTERY OF THE SEA          36
+
+               V. A MESSAGE FROM THE PAST       46
+
+              VI. A STARTLING ADVENTURE         53
+
+             VII. TRAPPED BY FLAMES             61
+
+            VIII. A BOY SCOUT SIGNAL            69
+
+              IX. THE BOYS MEET A "WOLF"        76
+
+               X. A NEW RECRUIT                 84
+
+              XI. BARTON THE MACHINIST          95
+
+             XII. THE SUBMARINE ISLAND         102
+
+            XIII. DOWN TO THE DEPTHS           112
+
+             XIV. FACING DEATH                 120
+
+              XV. THE STRANGE FLAG             129
+
+             XVI. SCOUTING FOR UNCLE SAM       138
+
+            XVII. ROB'S BRAVE ACT              146
+
+           XVIII. THE ISLAND HUT               154
+
+             XIX. A CHASE IN THE NIGHT         163
+
+              XX. ON BOARD A STRANGE CRAFT     173
+
+             XXI. OFF ON A SEA TRAIL           182
+
+            XXII. A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE         190
+
+           XXIII. THE DEPTHS OF OLD OCEAN      198
+
+            XXIV. ROB MAKES A DISCOVERY        209
+
+             XXV. THE DEAD MAN'S HOARD         217
+
+            XXVI. WHICH WILL WIN?              228
+
+           XXVII. THE ENDURANCE RUN            238
+
+          XXVIII. THE SUPREME TEST             248
+
+            XXIX. INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH       263
+
+
+
+
+The Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE EAGLES AT HOME.
+
+
+"After all, fellows, it's good to be back home again."
+
+The speaker, Rob Blake, leader of the Eagle Patrol of Boy Scouts, spoke
+with conviction. He was a "rangy," sun-burned lad of about eighteen,
+clear-eyed, confident and wiry. His Boy Scout training, too, had made
+him resourceful beyond his years.
+
+"Yes, and it's also good to know that we each have a good substantial
+sum of money in the bank as the result of the finding of the Dangerfield
+fortune," agreed Merritt Crawford, his second in command, a
+sunny-faced, good-natured looking youth a little younger than Rob and
+crowned with a tousled mass of wavy brown hair.
+
+"Well, at any rate we've had plenty to eat since we've been back,"
+chimed in Tubby Hopkins, a corpulent youth who owed his nickname to his
+fleshiness.
+
+"That's right, Tubby," laughed Paul Perkins, another bright-eyed young
+"Eagle"; "that's something we didn't always get in the Adirondacks. I
+thought at one time that you'd fade away to a shadow."
+
+"Humph! Pretty substantial sort of shadow," grinned Hiram Nelson, who,
+besides Paul Perkins, was the inventive genius of the Eagles.
+
+The scene of these reminiscences was the comfortably furnished patrol
+room of the Eagles, situated over the bank of the little town of Hampton
+on the south shore of Long Island. Rob Blake's father, the president of
+the bank, was a patron of the Eagles, and had donated the room to the
+boys some time before.
+
+Boxing gloves, foils, baseball bats and other athletic apparatus dear to
+a boy's heart lay scattered about the room in orderly confusion. On the
+walls were diagrams of the "wig-wag code" and the "Morse code
+simplified," with other illustrations of Scout activities.
+
+But it was above the door that there was perched the particular pride of
+the Eagles' hearts--a huge American eagle, a bird fast disappearing from
+its native haunts. With outstretched wings and defiant attitude it stood
+there, typifying the spirit of its young namesakes. The eagle had been a
+present to the lads from Lieutenant Duvall, of the United States Army,
+whom they had materially aided some time before in various aerial
+intrigues and adventures. What these were was related in full in the
+"The Boy Scouts and the Army Airship."
+
+In the first volume of this series, "The Boy Scouts of the Eagle
+Patrol," it was told how the boys came to organize, and how they
+succeeded in unravelling a kidnapping mystery, involving one of their
+number. In the second volume, "The Boy Scouts on the Range," we followed
+the boys' adventures in the far southwest. Here they encountered Moqui
+Indians and renegade cow-punchers. But through all their hardships and
+adventures they conducted themselves according to the Scout laws.
+
+The third volume was "The Boy Scouts and the Army Airship," referred to
+in connection with Lieutenant Duvall. In this book a military biplane
+played an important part, as did the theft of a series of plans of a
+gyroscope invention of Lieutenant Duvall's, who was an all-around
+mechanical genius.
+
+In the story that preceded the present account of the Eagle Patrol the
+lads found themselves in the Adirondacks on a strange mission. With a
+certain Major Dangerfield, a retired army officer, they searched for a
+lost cave in which an old-time pirate, one of the Major's ancestors, had
+hidden his loot when Indians threatened him. How the cave was located
+and the startling discovery made there, we have not space to describe
+here. But in the wildest part of the "land of woods and lakes" the boys
+encountered some thrilling adventures, not the least of which was Rob's
+battle with the moonshining gang that infested a lonely canyon.
+
+From this trip they had returned not more than two weeks before the
+scene in the meeting-room, which we have described, took place. Bronzed,
+clear-eyed and alert, they were already longing for action of some sort.
+How soon they were to be plunged into adventures of a variety even more
+exciting than any they had yet encountered they little dreamed at the
+moment.
+
+       -       -       -       -       -
+
+They were still laughing over the idea of the substantial Tubby's rotund
+form being compared to a shadow when there came a tap at the door of
+the room in which they were assembled.
+
+"Guess that's Andy Bowles," said Rob, referring to the only member of
+the Patrol who was not present; "wonder why he's so late."
+
+Then, in a louder voice, he cried:
+
+"Come in, Andy."
+
+But the voice that answered as the door was flung open was not Andy's.
+Instead, it was a deep, resounding bass one.
+
+"I'm not Andy; but I'll accept the invitation."
+
+As the owner of the voice, a tall, well-set-up man with a military
+bearing, stepped into the room all the Scouts sprang erect at attention,
+and gave the Scout salute. Then they broke into three cheers.
+
+"Why, Lieutenant Duvall, what are you doing here?" exclaimed Rob, coming
+forward.
+
+The young officer shook hands warmly with the leader of the Boy Scouts.
+Then, while the others pressed closer to the lieutenant--the same
+officer who had conducted the aviation tests at the "tunnelled
+house"--he addressed Rob.
+
+"The fact is, I came down here to see if you are willing to tackle some
+more adventures," he said.
+
+"Are we--" began Rob; but a roar from the Scouts interrupted him.
+
+"Just you try us, Lieutenant."
+
+"More adventures? Great stuff!"
+
+"I'm ready right now."
+
+"You can count on me."
+
+The air fairly bubbled with confusion and excitement.
+
+The Lieutenant roared with laughter.
+
+"I do believe if you boys were told to lead a forlorn hope up to a row
+of machine guns you'd do it," he exclaimed; "but all this time I've been
+leaving my friend outside. May I bring him in?"
+
+"Why ask the question?" exclaimed Rob. "This room is at the disposal of
+the United States Army at any time."
+
+"Well, in this case it must be at the disposal of the Navy also," smiled
+the officer. Then, turning his head, he called to someone outside in the
+hallway, "Dan, the Eagles are prepared to receive the Navy."
+
+At the word, a stalwart young man of about Lieutenant Duvall's age,
+stepped into the room. He was deeply sun-burned, and had an alert,
+upright carriage that stamped him as belonging to Uncle Sam's service.
+
+"Scouts of the Eagle Patrol," said Lieutenant Duvall, with becoming
+formality, "allow me to present to you Ensign Daniel Hargreaves, of the
+United States Navy, just now detailed on special service."
+
+Once more came the Scout salute, and then, given with a will, the long
+drawn "Kr-e-e-ee" of the Eagles.
+
+The naval officer's eyes twinkled.
+
+"These are Eagles that can scream with a vengeance," he exclaimed to his
+companion.
+
+"Yes; and they can show their talons on occasion, I can assure you,"
+declared Lieutenant Duvall. "But 'heave ahead,' as you say in the Navy,
+Dan, and put your proposition before them."
+
+The boys greeted this announcement with wide-open eyes. Somehow or other
+they felt impressed immediately that they were on the verge of another
+series of important adventures; that the unexpected visit of the
+officers had something to do with their immediate future. And in this
+they were not the least bit out of the way, as will be seen.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE FACE AT THE TRANSOM.
+
+
+"Of course what I am going to say will be held strictly confidential?"
+began Ensign Hargreaves, looking about him at the bright, eager faces of
+the young Eagles.
+
+"We are Boy Scouts, sir," responded Rob proudly.
+
+"I beg your pardon; but what I am going to say is so important to the
+nation that one word of it breathed abroad might cause endless
+complications and the ruin of certain plans. I have come to see you
+because my friend, Lieutenant Duvall, told me that he did not know
+anywhere in the country of a band of boys of similar resourcefulness,
+courage and high training."
+
+"That's going some," whispered Tubby, behind a plump hand, to Merritt
+Crawford.
+
+"I said no more than they deserved, Dan," observed Lieutenant Duvall.
+
+"So I should imagine from what you told me about the part they played in
+the matter of the biplane and the tunnelled house," responded the young
+officer. "I came to you for another reason, also," he went on reverting
+to the subject in hand; "I have heard that as well as being land scouts
+you are thoroughly at home on the water."
+
+"Well," said Rob, "we've all of us been brought up here on the south
+shore. I guess we are all fair sailors and know something about
+sea-scouting as well as the land variety."
+
+"It is mainly for that reason that I came to you," rejoined the naval
+officer. "For the mission which I am desirous to have you undertake a
+knowledge of sea conditions is essential."
+
+"Gee! He's a long time coming to the point," mumbled Tubby impatiently.
+
+"Have any of you boys ever heard of the 'Peacemaker submarine'?"
+
+"So called because the nation possessing it would be so formidable as to
+insure naval peace with other countries?" exclaimed Rob quickly. "Yes,
+sir, I've heard of it."
+
+"What has reached your ears about it?"
+
+"Why, a week ago the papers said that a submarine of that type had been
+sold to Russia and shipped for that country from the factory of the
+inventor at Bridgeport, Connecticut," said Rob, with growing wonder as
+to what all this could be leading.
+
+"Correct. But that submarine never reached Russia!"
+
+"Did the ship that was carrying it sink?" asked Tubby innocently.
+
+"No," smiled the ensign, amused at the fat boy's goggling eyes and
+intent expression; "the _Long Island_, the freighter conveying it, did
+not sink. Instead, it hung about the coast, and then, under cover of
+fog, slipped into the harbor of Snug Haven on the South Carolina coast.
+Snug Haven is a small place and a sleepy one. Under the blanket of fog
+the _Long Island_ slipped in, as I have said. Then the submarine was
+hoisted overboard by means of a derrick, and under her own power run to
+anchorage off a small island not far from Snug Haven. The captain and
+crew of the _Long Island_ were sworn to secrecy, and so far as we know
+not a soul, but those directly interested, is aware of the present
+location of the _Peacemaker_."
+
+"But why, if the submarine was sold to Russia, was she not sent there?"
+inquired the mystified Rob.
+
+"For the excellent reason that she was _not_ sold to Russia at all," was
+the naval officer's rejoinder; "that was simply announced for the
+benefit of inquisitive newspapers who have been trying for a long time
+to get at the details of the 'Peacemaker submarine.' But it is not alone
+the newspapers we have had trouble with. Foreign spies, anxious to
+secure the _Peacemaker_ for their governments, have harassed us at
+Bridgeport ever since the keel plates were laid."
+
+"Then the United States has bought the submarine?" asked Merritt
+Crawford.
+
+"Not yet. But the construction and principles of it are so efficient
+that Uncle Sam wishes to have first call on the craft."
+
+"And you are going to test it at this lonely island in South Carolina?"
+cried Rob, guessing the truth.
+
+"Perfectly right, my boy," was the response. "Off that little-frequented
+coast, beset with islands and shoals, we hope to carry out our tests
+unobserved. At Bridgeport this would have been an impossibility, and for
+that reason the story of the sale to Russia was concocted. Russia, I
+may add, was about the only country not represented by spy service at
+Bridgeport."
+
+"And you say that nobody but the officials directly connected with the
+craft has any knowledge of its whereabouts?" asked Rob with deep
+interest.
+
+"As far as it is humanly possible to be certain, such is our positive
+belief."
+
+"But where do we fit into all this?" sputtered Tubby, acutely coming to
+the main point.
+
+"I am coming to that," was the response. "From what I have told you, you
+will have gathered that no ordinary class of watchmen could be trusted
+to keep quiet about what is to go forward on the island. Yet it is
+necessary to have sentries of some sort to keep constant watch that no
+one approaches unexpectedly. For that purpose we have adopted various
+mechanical precautions, such as submarine detector bells, etc. But our
+main reliance must be on human intelligence."
+
+"I see," said Rob, nodding. The object of the officer's visit was
+beginning to dawn on him.
+
+"To come straight to the point," went on the officer, "how would you
+boys like to take a camping trip to the South Carolina coast on Uncle
+Sam's service?"
+
+"You mean to act as guards to the submarine?" almost shouted Rob.
+
+"Just that," responded the officer. "I have----"
+
+But a roar of cheers drowned any further remarks he might have had to
+make.
+
+"I knew it would happen," cried Merritt when the riot had, in a measure,
+subsided.
+
+"What?" demanded Tubby.
+
+"Action!" responded Merritt briefly.
+
+The hubbub grew tumultuous. All the Eagles were trying to talk at once.
+The wonderful prospect opened up before them of fresh adventures fairly
+set them wild.
+
+At last, above the turmoil, Ensign Hargreaves managed to make his voice
+heard.
+
+"Boys! Boys!" he exclaimed, "one minute till I outline the plans."
+
+A respectful silence at once ensued in which each Scout was prompt to
+join.
+
+"Of course, it will be necessary for you to obtain written consent of
+your parents," spoke the naval officer.
+
+At this some of the faces in the room fell several degrees.
+
+"The government will absolutely require such authority," he continued.
+"The service on Barren Island, as it is called, while not necessarily
+hazardous, may prove dangerous, and each boy's parents must be so
+informed."
+
+"We'll get plenty to eat, I suppose?" inquired Tubby anxiously.
+
+"Why, of course," laughed the officer; "moreover, I forgot to inform you
+that there is a wireless plant on the Island, and other conveniences
+unusual in so remote a situation."
+
+"Well, so long as the grub holds out, I'm satisfied," muttered Tubby in
+a contented tone.
+
+"How soon will we start, supposing our parents allow us to go?" asked
+Rob, as soon as the laughter over Tubby's remark had subsided.
+
+"At the end of this week if possible. Mr. Danbury Barr, the inventor of
+the _Peacemaker_, will meet us in New York. We shall voyage south on the
+U. S. Derelict Destroyer _Seneca_."
+
+"Derelict Destroyer," repeated Rob. "Those are the craft that Uncle Sam
+sends out to destroy drifting wrecks that might prove a menace to
+navigation, aren't they?"
+
+"Correct, my boy," rejoined the officer. "Our reason for making the
+voyage on the _Seneca_," he continued, "is that no regular passenger
+steamer makes a stop near Barren Island. Furthermore, if we went down on
+a naval vessel some of these sharp reporters would be sure to make
+inquiries, with the result that our retreat might be discovered."
+
+"And that would be a serious matter?" put in Rob.
+
+"Yes, very serious. Several nations are on the _qui vive_ to discover
+just what the _Barr Peacemaker_ is. They have sent shrewd, cunning men,
+versed in the art of espionage, to this country on that mission. These
+men will stick at nothing to ferret out the secret if they can. Mr. Barr
+has been approached with all sorts of offers. But he is a staunch
+American to the backbone, as you will discover when you meet him. If
+anyone is to have the _Peacemaker_ it is to be Uncle Sam, first,
+foremost and all the time."
+
+"Kree-e-ee-ee!" shrilled the Boy Scouts of the Eagle Patrol in unison.
+
+The sharp, screaming note of the Eagle was still resounding when Merritt
+uttered a startled cry, and pointed to the open transom above the door.
+The others were still staring at him when he darted toward it and flung
+the portal open. The passage beyond was empty, and the boy turned to his
+companions with a puzzled look on his face.
+
+"What's up, Merritt?" asked Rob.
+
+"Seeing spooks?" inquired Tubby.
+
+"Seeing nothing," snapped out Merritt; "I _saw_----"
+
+"Saw what?" demanded Lieutenant Duvall.
+
+"A face peering at us over that transom. It dodged into the darkness as
+I looked up, but I saw it as plain as daylight."
+
+Both officers bent forward almost breathlessly. Merritt's communication
+appeared to affect them strangely.
+
+"What kind of a face was it?" demanded Ensign Hargreaves.
+
+"A wild looking one. Very pale, and fringed with dark whiskers."
+
+The effect on the officers was electrical. They both sprang up and made
+for the door followed by the puzzled Scouts.
+
+"Was--was it anyone you know?" demanded Rob, as he paced beside
+Lieutenant Duvall.
+
+"Yes. From the description it was Berghoff, the spy of a powerful
+European nation whose ambition it is to outgeneral all other powers on
+the sea. We must apprehend him if possible. It is only too clear that he
+followed us here from Washington and must have heard a great part of our
+conversation."
+
+"Phew! This is action with a capital A!" gasped Rob as they ran down the
+stairway and out into the lighted street.
+
+But although a rigorous search was made and all trains watched, no trace
+was found of Nordstrom Berghoff, the naval spy. It was surmised that he
+must have made good his escape in a speedy "roadster" car in which he
+had crept into Hampton earlier in the evening.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+AN OCEAN DERELICT.
+
+
+"What's that object off on the starboard bow, sir?"
+
+It was a week after the events narrated in the preceding chapters, and
+the _Seneca_, a converted gun-boat fitted with torpedo tubes for the
+destruction of derelicts, was plowing her way southward through an azure
+sea under a cloudless sky.
+
+Rob Blake asked the question. In full Boy Scout Leader's uniform, and
+wearing the different badges to which he was entitled, the young chief
+of the Eagles stood on the _Seneca's_ bridge with Ensign Hargreaves and
+Lieutenant Murray, who were in command of the destroyer.
+
+"Jove, lad, you have sharp eyes!" exclaimed Lieutenant Murray. "Even the
+lookout has not yet spied it. Let's see what it may be. Possibly it's
+our 'meat'--food for our torpedoes."
+
+"In that case the boys are in for a bit of excitement," said Ensign
+Hargreaves.
+
+"You think it is a derelict!" exclaimed Rob. "Oh, boys!" he called down
+to the shady deck below, where the other lads lay reading or writing
+letters or studying the Scout Manual, "we've sighted a derelict."
+
+"An ocean hobo, eh?" hailed back Merritt.
+
+"Hold on! Hold on! Not so fast!" laughed Lieutenant Murray.
+
+He took his powerful naval binoculars from their case and carefully
+focussed them on the dot which Rob's sharp eyes had espied at so great a
+distance.
+
+"You are right, Master Rob," he exclaimed the next instant; "it _is_ a
+derelict, and a big one, too."
+
+"And you are going to blow it up?" asked Rob, his voice quivering with
+excitement.
+
+"That's our business, lad."
+
+"Hooray! Boys, stand by for the fireworks!" shouted the delighted Rob.
+
+The Boy Scouts, who had pretty well the run of the ship and were favored
+alike by officers and men, came swarming upon the bridge. Lieutenant
+Murray was adjusting the range finders and directing the quartermaster
+at the wheel to change his course so as to bear down on the drifting
+hulk. As they drew closer to the dismantled derelict they saw that, as
+Lieutenant Murray had declared, she had been a large vessel. Stumps of
+three masts rose from her decks above the broken bulwarks. Ends of
+bleached and frayed-out shrouds hung from her fore, main, and mizzen
+chains. From the look of her, she had been a considerable time adrift.
+
+As she rolled slowly on the gentle swell they could see that her
+underbody was green with seaweed and slime, the accumulation of years.
+Amidships stood a small deck house, and at the bow a broken bowsprit
+pointed heavenward as if invoking mercy on her forlorn condition.
+
+"Why, she might have been drifting about since the time of Noah, to
+judge by her looks," exclaimed Merritt, gazing at the odd sight.
+
+"I have heard of derelicts that have followed the ocean currents for
+fifty years and more," declared the Lieutenant. "This craft looks as if
+she might date back that far. Certainly she has been a long time adrift.
+Sailors sometimes become panic-stricken and leave their ships when there
+is no real necessity for so doing. A case in point is that of Captain
+Larsen of the _Two Sisters_, which sailed from Bath, Maine, for a West
+Indian port. She was abandoned in a hurry after a hurricane, and the
+captain and crew took to the boats. After drifting for weeks--they had
+had time to provision the boats well--they arrived in Kingston, Jamaica,
+and the first sight that greeted the captain's eyes was the hulk of the
+_Two Sisters_. She had drifted close to the island and had been towed
+in, arriving ahead of the crew that had forsaken her!"
+
+"Hark!" cried Merritt, while they were still commenting on the
+Lieutenant's story, "what was that?"
+
+"Sounded like a bell tolling," exclaimed Rob.
+
+"It is a bell!" cried Merritt.
+
+Sure enough, borne over the gently heaving water, there came to their
+ears the melancholy ding-dong of a deep-toned bell. Coming as it did
+from the abandoned sea-riven hulk it cast a gloom over them.
+
+"Who can be ringing it?" cried Tubby, in what was for him, an
+awe-stricken voice.
+
+"No mystery about it, I guess," said Lieutenant Murray; "it is the
+ship's bell, and as the craft rolls it is ringing a requiem for the
+dead."
+
+"Ugh! It gives me the shudders!" exclaimed Hiram.
+
+"It's not a cheerful sound certainly," agreed Rob.
+
+"Bom-boom; bom-boom," chimed the bell, waxing now faint, now loud, as
+the wind rose and fell.
+
+"I'd like to go aboard that boat and explore her," declared Merritt.
+
+"That's an opportunity you shall have," said the Lieutenant. "It is our
+rule to explore all such derelicts for a hint as to the fate of their
+crew before we consign them to the deep."
+
+Orders were given to check the speed of the _Seneca_ and to prepare to
+lower a boat.
+
+"Are we to go?" chorused the Scouts eagerly.
+
+"Of course. Mr. Hargreaves will accompany you."
+
+"Aren't you going?" asked Rob.
+
+"No. It's an old story with me. While we are waiting for you, I will
+work out our position, which must go in with my report of the derelict's
+destruction."
+
+Five minutes later, in one of the _Seneca's_ whale boats, the boys were
+skimming over the sea toward the melancholy old derelict. As they glided
+along, the bell kept up its monotonous booming with the regularity of a
+shore bell summoning worshippers to church.
+
+As the whaleboat was pulled around the derelict's stern they could see a
+name painted on the square counter, surrounded with many a scroll and
+flourish in the antique manner. These flourishes had once been gilded
+and painted, but the gilt and color had long since worn off them.
+
+"_Good Hope of Portland, Me._," read out Rob. "What a contrast between
+her name and her fate!"
+
+"Bom-boom," tolled the bell as if in answer to him.
+
+"She must have been one of those old-time clippers that sailed round the
+Horn with Yankee notions for the Spice Islands and China, and came back
+with tea and other Oriental goods," opined Ensign Hargreaves.
+
+"She was a fine ship in her day, sir," ventured the old quartermaster
+who pulled stroke oar.
+
+"Aye, aye, Tarbox; in those days the American mercantile marine was a
+thing to be proud of," agreed the ensign. "To-day not one-tenth of the
+craft that used to fly the Stars and Stripes remain afloat. They have
+vanished and their keels sweep the sea no more."
+
+By this time they had arrived below the derelict's port main chains.
+From these several bleached ropes hung down, but all proved too rotten
+to support the weight of a Boy Scout, let alone a man. But by good
+fortune a chain, rusty, but still strong seemingly, depended from the
+bows of the old craft. This withstood a test, and, led by Ensign
+Hargreaves, the boys clambered on deck. Quartermaster Tarbox and the
+four sailors who had manned the oars were left in the boat.
+
+The boys' hearts beat a little faster as they stood on the forecastle of
+the abandoned _Good Hope_. Nor was this caused by the exertion of the
+climb altogether. There was something uncanny in standing upon that
+long-untrodden deck, while right below the break in the forecastle the
+bell kept up its doomsday-like tolling.
+
+The ensign's first task was to make fast a lanyard to the clapper of the
+dismal thing, and thereafter their nerves felt steadier. With the dying
+out of the clamor of the bell, a death-like hush fell over the abandoned
+ship. Only the rippling complaint of the water as she rolled to and fro
+broke the stillness. The boys actually found themselves talking in
+whispers under the spell that hung above the decks of the ill-fated
+_Good Hope_.
+
+"Let us explore that deck house first," said Ensign Hargreaves, and,
+followed by the boys, he started for the small structure which stood
+just aft of the wreck of the foremast.
+
+Little dreaming of the surprise that awaited them within, the boys
+followed, on tip-toe with curiosity and excitement.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+A MYSTERY OF THE SEA.
+
+
+The door of the deck house was closed. But the ensign opened it without
+difficulty, and with the boys pressing close on his heels he entered the
+place.
+
+Hardly had he done so before he fell back with a sharp exclamation. The
+next instant the boys echoed his interjection with a tone in which
+horror mingled with surprise. Seated at a table in the cabin was what at
+first appeared to be a man. But a second glance showed that, in reality,
+the figure was a grim skeleton upheld by its posture and still bearing
+mildewed and mouldy sea clothes.
+
+"What a dreadful sight!" cried Rob, shivering, although the day was
+hot.
+
+"Poor fellow!" exclaimed the naval officer. "He must have perished just
+as he sat. See, there is a paper under his hand, and there lies the pen
+with which he had been writing."
+
+He stepped forward to make a further examination, and the boys,
+mastering their instinctive dread of the uncanny scene, also approached
+the table.
+
+The writing beneath the dead man's hand was on a fragment of paper,
+yellowed with age and covered with scrawlings grown brown from the same
+cause. Mastering his repugnance, the ensign took the paper from under
+the skeleton's fingers that still rested upon it.
+
+"What is it?" demanded Rob.
+
+"Look at it for yourself," returned the officer after scrutinizing the
+document.
+
+Thus addressed, Rob took the mouldy screed while his chums looked over
+his shoulder curiously.
+
+"Why, it's nothing but a mass of figures," he exclaimed.
+
+"That is certainly so. Some sort of cipher, I suppose," struck in
+Merritt.
+
+"That's what it is, I imagine," agreed the ensign; "but see this cross
+marked in red ink in the midst of the figures! What can that be intended
+for?"
+
+"If you don't mind, I'll try to figure this out sometime," said Rob.
+"I'm rather fond of working cryptograms and such things. It will serve
+to pass the time, too, when we reach the Island."
+
+"That is perfectly agreeable to me," returned the officer. "If you can
+make anything of it, it may serve to solve the mystery of this ship. For
+that a mystery there is about the whole thing, I feel certain."
+
+"It does seem uncanny, somehow," agreed Rob; "the posture of this man,
+this strange writing! I wonder how he died?"
+
+"Impossible to say," rejoined the officer; "but let us investigate
+further. We may make some more discoveries."
+
+"I hope we don't make any more finds of this character," rejoined Rob
+with deep feeling.
+
+Reverently and quietly they made their way out of the presence of the
+dead mariner.
+
+Their next objective point was the poop of the vessel, where a high,
+old-fashioned quarter-deck upreared itself above the main deck. Port
+holes looked out from this, and the party of explorers rightly judged
+that here had been the living-quarters of the ship's officers. A door of
+heavily carved mahogany gave access to the space below the lofty
+poop-deck. Pressing through this, they found themselves in a dark,
+dingy-looking cuddy. The cushions of the lockers, which ranged along
+each side, were green with mould and in the air hung the odor of decay.
+
+A skylight above gave light to this chamber, and at its sides four
+doors, two to a side, opened off.
+
+"Those doors must lead to the staterooms of the former officers,"
+declared the ensign, and a tour of inspection of the rooms was begun at
+once. In the first three, after a thorough ransacking nothing more
+interesting was to be found than some old sea chests, containing
+garments and nautical instruments of antique pattern. In the last,
+however, which bore traces of having been better furnished than the
+others, there hung a crudely painted picture of a grizzled-looking
+seaman, on whose breast hung conspicuously a gold image of a whale.
+Apparently this was some sort of an emblem. But to Rob the portrait
+presented a clew.
+
+"Why, that same emblem hung on the uniform of the dead man in the
+deckhouse!" he exclaimed.
+
+"So it did," cried the ensign. "Boys, from the looks of it, this was the
+cabin of the master of the ship, and yonder body, it is my firm belief,
+is his."
+
+But Merritt had stumbled upon another discovery. This was nothing more
+than a large book, bound in leather. But to the ensign it seemed to be
+apparently a highly important find.
+
+"It's the ship's log-book," he exclaimed, pointing to the embossed words
+on the cover. "Now perhaps we may light on a partial solution of this
+mystery."
+
+He opened the book at the first page, and learned from the crabbed
+writing with which it was covered, that the _Good Hope_, Ezekial T.
+Daniels, master, had set sail from New Bedford for the South Pacific
+whaling ground in April, 1879.
+
+"Gracious, that was about thirty-three years ago," stammered Merritt.
+
+"I have heard of derelicts that drifted longer than that," said the
+naval officer calmly.
+
+He began turning over the leaves of the log book. It was an epic of the
+sea. Every incident that had befallen the _Good Hope_ on her long voyage
+was faithfully set down. He skimmed through the records, reading the
+most interesting bits of information out aloud for the benefit of his
+youthful companions.
+
+From the log book it was learned that the _Good Hope_ had met with
+indifferent luck on her long three years' cruise, but had suddenly run
+into a most extraordinary bit of good fortune.
+
+"Listen to this, boys," exclaimed the ensign with what, for one of his
+self-contained nature, was strong excitement, "it reads like a bit of
+wild romance."
+
+Without further preface he began reading:
+
+"'May, 1883--This day encountered the strangest thing in all my
+experience. As set down, we have drifted into the Antarctic ice pack.
+This day sighted a berg within which was a dark, shadowy object. On
+going in the ship boats to investigate we saw to our amazement that the
+said object was a ship. The ice surrounding it was thin, mostly having
+melted.
+
+"'From what I knew of such craft I decided, incredible as the idea
+might seem, that the craft within the berg was a long frozen up Viking
+ship. Not knowing just what her recovery might mean, I undertook to
+blast her free of her prison. We had plenty of dynamite on board for the
+very purpose of ice-blasting. By three of this p. m. we had the ship
+blasted open. I and my officers at once entered the hole the explosive
+had made in the craft's side. We expected to find strange things, but
+none of us was prepared for what followed. The hold of the imprisoned
+ship was full of ivory.
+
+"'My first officer, William Clydesdale, an Englishman, and a college man
+before strong drink ruined him, pronounced the ivory to be that of the
+tusks of the extinct mammoths which scientists say formerly inhabited
+these regions.'"
+
+"Phew! This is romance with a vengeance!" exclaimed Rob.
+
+"Did they get the ivory?" asked the practical Paul Perkins.
+
+"Yes," rejoined the officer, rapidly skimming over the further pages of
+the log, "and they estimated the stuff roughly at about five hundred
+thousand dollars' worth of exceptional quality."
+
+"How did the ship get frozen in the ice?" asked Hiram. "The Viking ship,
+I mean."
+
+"Who can tell," returned the ensign. "I have heard of such things at the
+North Pole. Several explorers have even brought back fragments of the
+Norseman's lost craft; but I never heard of such an occurrence
+transpiring in the Antarctic regions. But let's read on."
+
+The log continued to tell of hardships encountered in beating back
+around the Horn with the valuable cargo; of discontent of the crew; of
+their constant demand to have the hoard divided equally among the
+officers and men, and of the captain's refusal to accede to their
+requests. Finally the entries began to grow short and disconnected, as
+if whoever was writing up the log was on constant watch and had little
+time to spare. Indeed, one entry read:
+
+"Mutiny threatens constantly. The men mean to seize the ivory and take
+to the boats."
+
+Following that no entries were made for several days. Then came a
+startling announcement, both in its brevity and suggestiveness of
+tragedy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+A MESSAGE FROM THE PAST
+
+
+"'What I dreaded has come to pass,'" read out the ensign; "'the men
+mutinied, but thanks be to Providence, we are safe. But a fearful
+catastrophe overtook the misguided fellows. Short handed as we were,
+having lost ten hands by scurvy and drowning in the South Seas, the crew
+mustered but eight men. Thus, with my two officers, we were three
+against them. The attack came at midnight on July 27th, 1883. Luckily we
+were on the watch, and as the men came aft we met them with firearms.
+Four went down at the first volley. Three died shortly, the other the
+next day.
+
+"'The remainder fled, but before I could stop them my officers had shot
+down three, leaving only the cook alive. I saved his life. But as we
+were examining the injured, one of them whipped out a knife and killed
+my first officer. The next day we buried the dead and worked the ship as
+best we could with three hands. Luckily the breeze was light, for in a
+brisk blow we could not have handled the ship.
+
+"'Finding ourselves off the coast of the Carolinas, and despairing of
+navigating the ship to port, we ran in and anchored off a small desolate
+island. On it grew a few scrub trees, but not much else. After a
+consultation we decided to abandon the ship; but first we agreed, while
+the weather was fair, to bury the ivory on one of the islands. It was a
+long, tedious task, but at last it was done, and the spot where it had
+been secreted, marked.
+
+"'This done, we rowed back to the ship to obtain my chronometers,
+papers, and so forth. I should have explained that we had but one boat,
+heavy seas off the Horn having smashed four of them, and a fifth was
+broken in a fight with a whale. I was some time below, getting papers,
+when suddenly I heard a splash of oars. By some inspiration, I guessed
+what had happened. Rushing on deck I was in time to behold my rascally
+second mate and the cook rowing from the ship with might and main.
+
+"'I shouted, entreated, and raged. But it was all in vain. All the
+rascals did was to laugh at me. I might have guessed their terrible
+purpose to maroon me on my own ship, but I had paid no heed to some
+whispering I had observed between them while on the island working at
+the burial of the ivory. All this has been written since they abandoned
+me in so cowardly a fashion for the sake of the ivory. Their intent, I
+readily guessed. They would reach the shore ahead of me. Find some
+capital, get a ship and seize the whole cache. I count myself lucky that
+they did not kill me outright.'"
+
+By this time the boys were leaning forward, all else forgotten in the
+thrilling interest of the extraordinary narrative.
+
+The ensign read on.
+
+"I find no more entries till several days later," he said, "then comes
+this one:
+
+"'Since last I wrote I have encountered a fearful experience. The night
+succeeding the occasion on which the two villains left the ship, a
+terrific gale came up off shore. Unable to reef sail single-handed, I
+was compelled to cut the cable and head out for sea. For three days we
+scudded before the gale. The canvas was torn to ribbons, and one after
+another my masts went. I managed to cut the wreckage free with an axe.
+
+       +       +       +       +       +
+
+"'Some days later. What is happening to the ship? She is being drawn by
+some strong but invisible current. There is no wind, but she is moving
+fairly fast. What can be going to happen to me? One thing is sure, I am
+out of the track of ocean vessels. Heaven help me, for I fear I am
+beyond human aid!'"
+
+"The poor fellow's mind evidently gave way soon after this," said the
+ensign; "the entries grow disjointed and wild. He declares the cabin is
+haunted. That the ghosts of the dead mutineers haunt the ship. At last
+they cease abruptly with the words, 'God be merciful to me, I am going
+mad.'"
+
+A silence fell over the party in the dead mariner's cabin. The mystery,
+the spell of the horror of it all, was strong upon them. In each lad's
+mind was a vivid picture of the unfortunate captain held in the grip of
+a strange current, being driven day by day further from the track of
+ships, while his fevered mind pictured ghostly forms all about him.
+
+"How do you suppose his death came?" asked Rob, after the silence had
+endured some moments.
+
+"I have an ugly suspicion which I shall soon verify," said the ensign;
+"you boys wait here for a time."
+
+Alone he reëntered the deck-house, where sat the dead seaman. When he
+returned his face was very grave.
+
+"Boys, my suspicions were correct," he said; "by the man's side I found
+a pistol. Undoubtedly, crazed by despair, he ended his life."
+
+"After writing this strange paper?" asked Rob.
+
+"Evidently. To judge from the jumble of figures, it was the product of
+his poor, demented brain."
+
+"If you don't mind, I'll keep it, though," said Rob. "I've an idea about
+it."
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"Why, that it may not be what you think, after all. It bears the
+earmarks of an orderly cipher and is not scrawled at all as are the
+final entries in the log book."
+
+"That's right," agreed the ensign admiringly, "you Boy Scouts have
+mighty keen minds. Well, my boy, keep it and study it at your leisure,
+although I am free to confess that I cannot think of it otherwise than
+in the way mentioned."
+
+"Perhaps you are right," said Rob, "but I'll have a try at puzzling it
+out, when I get time."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+A STARTLING ADVENTURE.
+
+
+During the conversation recorded none of the party had given much
+thought to conditions outside. Now, when he stepped to the door of the
+cabin, the ensign uttered a sharp cry of consternation.
+
+"What's the matter?" asked Rob, as he approached.
+
+"Matter enough. Look there!" was the rejoinder.
+
+A dense white fog had come softly rolling up, and now the derelict _Good
+Hope_ lay enwrapped in fleecy white clouds, thick and impenetrable.
+
+"Well, we'll have to wait here in the boat till this clears off,"
+declared Bob; "we could never find the _Seneca_ in this mess."
+
+"That's the worst of it," rejoined the lieutenant, "there is no boat."
+
+"No boat," echoed Rob uncomprehendingly; "but we came in one. It will be
+waiting for us."
+
+"No. I gave orders for the men to return to the _Seneca_ and bring over
+a destructive mine, for I had determined to blow up this dangerous
+menace to navigation. They have not returned, that is evident, or I
+would have been notified. Boys, we are in a bad fix. I don't know how
+fast this old hulk is drifting; but I imagine that if this keeps up much
+longer, we shall fetch up a long way from the _Seneca's_ whereabouts."
+
+"Can't they cruise about and find us?" asked Merritt rather piteously.
+He was not a lad to underestimate the real seriousness of their position
+on board the old hulk in the impenetrable fog that hung in blanket-like
+wreaths everywhere about them.
+
+In reply to the boy's question the ensign declared that it would be
+impossible for the _Seneca_ to pick them up until the weather cleared,
+if then.
+
+"It would be risking the vessel to cruise about in this smother," he
+said; "why, she'd be as likely to strike the _Good Hope_ as not!"
+
+Rob's face grew long, though he did his best to make light of the
+situation.
+
+"Then we've got to picnic here till the fog clears off," he said.
+
+"That's the case exactly, Rob," was the officer's rejoinder.
+
+"But what are we going to picnic on?" inquired Tubby anxiously. "There's
+no food or water on board, and we haven't brought any."
+
+"There you go again. Always thinking of that precious tummy of yours,"
+cried Hiram. "A little starving won't hurt you."
+
+"Huh, just because you look like a human bean pole, you don't think
+anyone has a right to be fat. You're jealous, that's what you are," was
+the indignant reply of the fat youth.
+
+Under other conditions there might have ensued a rough and tumble
+battle; but just at this instant, through the fog, there came the
+booming sound of a vessel's whistle.
+
+"Waugh-gh-gh-gh!"
+
+The long bellow sounded through the white, all-enveloping mist
+surrounding the old hulk and its young company of castaways.
+
+"That's the _Seneca's_ whistle," exclaimed the ensign anxiously. "She's
+calling for us."
+
+"Gee! She must know that we can't come to her," exclaimed Paul Perkins.
+
+"I guess she's 'standing by' till the fog lifts," rejoined the officer.
+"We'll release the bell. That may help to locate us."
+
+But instead of standing by, it became apparent, before long, that the
+_Seneca_ was cruising about. The reason for supposing this was that the
+next time they heard the hoot of the siren it sounded much further off.
+
+The boys exchanged glances.
+
+"How long do these fogs last, as a rule?" enquired Merritt.
+
+"Impossible to say!" was the quick reply, with an anxious look about.
+"If only we could get a slant of wind!"
+
+But there was not a breath stirring. Only the _Good Hope_ swung to the
+soft swells, lifting and falling with a hopeless, helpless sort of
+motion. In fact, an experienced seaman could have told her waterlogged
+condition by the very "heft and heave" of her, which was sluggish to a
+degree.
+
+"Well, I suppose we must make up our minds to spend some time here,"
+said Rob, with another attempt to treat the matter lightly. "Goodness,
+our adventures are surely beginning early this trip!"
+
+The others could not help but agree with the young leader of the Eagles,
+although they could hardly foresee the still more thrilling experiences
+that lay just ahead of them.
+
+"I would suggest," began the ensign presently, "I would suggest that we
+search for some trace of food."
+
+"Humph; mouldy ship's biscuits!" grunted Tubby half under his breath.
+"Even if there are any on board, they must be rotten by this time. This
+is a fine fix! Maybe we won't get any supper at all," and the fat boy
+looked positively tragic over the dire prospect.
+
+But although Tubby had spoken in a low tone, more to himself than to
+anybody else, the ensign's sharp ears had overheard him.
+
+"Young man," he said somewhat sternly, "if you want to be a good Boy
+Scout you must learn to take hardships as they come."
+
+"Even missing meals?" asked Tubby, in an injured voice.
+
+"Yes, even that," repeated the young officer with a smile, which in the
+Eagles' case was a perfect roar of laughter at Tubby's keen distress.
+The fat boy strode off sullenly by himself, gazing at the fog as he went
+in a very knowing way.
+
+They searched the ship over for something that it would be possible to
+eat; but not so much as a crumb of edible supplies did they find. In one
+hold was discovered a number of barrels of "salt horse and pork," but
+they were all dried up and unfit for human food. The same thing applied
+to the biscuit kegs, and all the other supplies. It was out of the
+question to think of touching any of them.
+
+"Whatever are we going to do?" gasped Rob, a note of real alarm in his
+voice for the first time.
+
+The ensign's calmness served to steady all the boys a bit.
+
+"Don't worry; everything will come out all right," he said; "we are in
+the track of ships, and----"
+
+"But in this dense fog, that fact make it all the more dangerous,"
+declared Rob, and the young officer could not but answer him with a nod
+in the affirmative.
+
+"I can't help admitting that, my boy," was his further rejoinder; "all
+we can do is to trust to Providence and hope that the fog will disappear
+before long."
+
+"Let's whistle for a wind," suggested Rob, who had heard of sailors
+doing such a thing.
+
+"Better than doing nothing. It will fill the time in, anyway," agreed
+the ensign.
+
+The boys squatted in a circle.
+
+"What will we whistle?" asked Merritt.
+
+"'Wait Till the Clouds Roll By,' of course," rejoined Rob.
+
+As the plaintive notes came from the whistlers' puckered lips, Tubby
+sauntered up, his hands in his tunic pockets.
+
+"What are you doing?" he asked, staring at them, "gone crazy with the
+heat, or what?"
+
+"We're whistling for a wind," answered Merritt.
+
+"Huh; why don't you whistle for grub?" demanded Tubby, turning on his
+heel, and striding gloomily off once more.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+TRAPPED BY FLAMES.
+
+
+Night fell and found them still in the same plight. The fog had shut in
+closer if anything. Since the last time they had caught the diminishing
+sound of the _Seneca's_ siren, they had heard no sound from any vessel.
+Others besides Tubby were hungry on board the _Good Hope_ that night.
+Then, too, the thought of the tragedy that had been consummated on board
+the derelict, and the gloom-inspiring presence of the silent figure in
+the forward deck house, were not calculated to inspire cheerful
+thoughts.
+
+One thing they did have, and that was light. For in the course of their
+investigation of the old hulk they had stumbled across several old
+candle lanterns, the candles in which were still capable of burning. One
+of these lanterns was lashed to the stump of the forward mast, but the
+other was hung up in the cabin below. For it was in this latter place
+that the little party of castaways gathered and tried, by telling
+stories and cracking jokes, to keep their spirits in the ascendent.
+
+But their efforts were not very successful. As the Scotch say, "It's ill
+jesting on an empty stomach," and that is the malady from which they all
+were suffering. Thirst did not as yet trouble them much, but they knew
+that if they were not speedily picked up by some vessel, that would also
+be added to their ordeal.
+
+So the night passed away, with the castaways watching in turn for some
+ray of hope of the fog lifting. It was soon after midnight, and in Rob's
+watch, that a startling thing happened--something that brought his heart
+into his mouths, and set his every nerve on vibrant edge.
+
+The boy was sitting up forward, pondering the strangeness of the day's
+happenings, when suddenly, right ahead of him, as it seemed, the fog was
+split by the hoarse shriek of a steamer's whistle.
+
+Rob's scalp tightened from alarm as he leaped for the lantern.
+
+"Look out!" he shouted at the top of his voice; "look out!"
+
+But for reply there only came back out of the dense smother ahead
+another raucous call of the big steam whistle.
+
+"Gracious! We'll be run down! We'll be sunk!" cried the boy, half wild
+with alarm.
+
+He shouted to his companions to come on deck; but before they could
+obey, a huge, black bulk loomed up right above the derelict. Rob shouted
+at the top of his voice. It seemed as if the _Good Hope_ would be cut in
+two and that the steamer was also doomed to disaster if she struck.
+
+Through the blackness flashed a green side-light, and then came the
+rushing by of the great hull, with its rows of illuminated portholes.
+Rob stood stock still. He was fairly rooted to the spot with panic. But
+the big steamer raced by in the blackness and fog without anyone on
+board her ever dreaming that she had been in such close proximity to the
+drifting derelict.
+
+As her stern lights flashed for an instant and then were shut out in the
+fog, Rob's companions came rushing on deck.
+
+"What is it? What has happened?" demanded the ensign, readily perceiving
+that something very serious had occurred.
+
+Rob, still shaky from his experience, related, as briefly as possible,
+just what had caused his cry of alarm.
+
+"Well, those liners take desperate chances," commented the officer; "had
+they struck us, not only we, but they, would have been seriously
+injured."
+
+"Gee! I wish you could have found time to ask 'em to throw us some
+sandwiches," said Tubby, rubbing his stomach; "I'm as empty as a dry
+gourd."
+
+"I reckon we could all do with something to eat," chorused the other
+young "Eagles".
+
+The ensign bade them cheer up.
+
+"By daylight we may have a wind, and then, with the fog gone, it won't
+take long for some vessel to pick us up."
+
+He spoke with a cheerfulness he was actually far from feeling. In fact,
+his boyish listeners were not inclined to look hopefully on the
+situation. By this time every one of them would have given almost all he
+possessed for a big pitcher of cool ice water.
+
+"I will take the remainder of your watch, Rob," said the ensign, with a
+glance at his watch. "You only had a few minutes to serve anyway, and
+the next round of duty is mine."
+
+"Very well," said Rob; "to tell the truth, a nap would feel pretty good.
+I hope things will have cleared by the time I wake up."
+
+The boys went below, leaving the officer on the fog-circled deck. The
+mist gleamed on everything, the rays of the candle-lamp making them
+glisten as if water had been newly poured on them. Far off the hoarse
+hooting of the ship that had so nearly run them down was to be heard.
+
+"Narrow escape, that! Narrower than I quite care to admit, even to
+myself," mused the young officer. "I wonder if those lads realize how
+bad a fix we are in. I must confess I don't like the look of things at
+all."
+
+He fell to pacing the deck, and then decided to have a cigar. For this
+purpose he produced a perfecto from his pocket and lighted it. Then he
+fell to pacing the deck once more, thinking deeply. His cigar finished,
+he tossed it aside. Possibly it was his worry over their predicament
+that made him absent-minded in this regard, but instead of observing the
+rule of the sea to cast all such things overboard, he threw it to the
+deck. A lurch of the _Good Hope_ caused the glowing butt of the cigar
+to go rolling across the deck and to drop into the hold below.
+
+It was some time later that Paul Perkins came on deck to take his turn
+at the night vigil.
+
+As he came forward he was startled to see what appeared to be a ghostly
+figure, slightly darker than the fog, slip from the forward hold and
+glide across the deck toward the ensign, who was pacing up and down.
+Much startled, Paul called out aloud, and at the same instant a peculiar
+acrid odor came to his nostrils.
+
+"Something's burning!" he cried.
+
+Simultaneously he had come up to the side of the hatch and saw that
+smoke was pouring from it. What he had taken for a ghostly figure was a
+whirl of smoke.
+
+"Fire! Something's on fire below!" cried the boy, dashing forward.
+
+The ensign reached the edge of the hold as quickly. Together they peered
+over into the great open space below. Both involuntarily recoiled with
+a cry of horror and alarm at what they saw.
+
+The _Good Hope's_ hold was a mass of flames! To gaze into them was like
+looking into a red hot furnace.
+
+Adrift in a blinding fog, on a burning ship, and without boats, was a
+predicament the like of which their adventurous lives had never before
+encountered!
+
+The cigar so carelessly cast aside by the ensign had fallen upon a pile
+of sacking, grease-soaked and inflammable, lying in the former whaler's
+hold. Like all whale ships the timbers of the _Good Hope_ were literally
+soaked with grease, the result of whale oil and blubber. Such timbers
+burn like matchwood.
+
+Small wonder that, brave man as he was, and schooled against emotional
+display in the stern school of the Navy, the ensign should yet cry out:
+
+"If help does not arrive, we are doomed to die like rats!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+A BOY SCOUT SIGNAL.
+
+
+It was five minutes later that the whole company of castaways was
+gathered around the hatchway. A red glare from below shone on their
+faces, illuminating expressions of dismay and apprehension.
+
+"What can we do?" gasped out Rob. "There are no boats, no means of
+escape!"
+
+"We'll be burned to death," shuddered Paul Perkins.
+
+All looked to the ensign for some suggestion. His tightly compressed
+lips and drawn features suggested that he was thinking deeply, thinking
+as men think whose very lives depend upon quick decision.
+
+"We must put on the hatches," he said decisively; "there they lie
+yonder. That will deprive the fire of oxygen and give us at least a few
+hours before we have to vacate."
+
+The coverings of the hatch, big, thick planks, lay not far away.
+Evidently they lay just as they did on the day that the cargo of mammoth
+tusks had been taken from the _Good Hope_ and hidden. Working with
+feverish energy, the boys soon had the hatch covered tightly. But the
+work had almost exhausted their strength. The fumes of the blazing hold
+and the suffocating black smoke that rolled out, had almost caused them
+to succumb.
+
+Their desperate task accomplished, they lay panting on the deck,
+incapable, for the time being, of further effort. However, with the
+hatch in place and tightly dovetailed, there was a gleam of hope that
+the flames might be smothered, or at least held in check till the fog
+cleared and they could sight a vessel.
+
+The first faint glimmering of dawn, shown by an increasing transparence
+in the fog, found the derelict still lying inert. But a second later the
+boys were on their feet with a cheer. A light breeze had sprung up and
+the fog was agitated by it like drifting steam. Little by little the
+breeze increased and the fog thinned out to mere wisps. The sun shone
+through and disclosed a glimmering expanse of sea stretched all about.
+But, to their bitter disappointment, the great heaving expanse was empty
+of life. Not a sail or a sign of a steamer marred its lonely surface.
+
+They exchanged dismayed looks. There was no knowing at what moment the
+fiery, seething furnace beneath their very feet might break through and
+force them to fight for their existence.
+
+Already the decks were hot. Aside from this, however, so well did the
+hatch fit that not even a wisp of smoke escaped. Except the extreme
+heat, there was nothing to indicate that the interior of the _Good
+Hope's_ hull was a fiery furnace.
+
+The hours wore on, the little company of castaways dreading every moment
+that what they feared might happen. Still no indication that the fire
+was about to break through occurred. But their sufferings from thirst
+were terrible. One after another the Boy Scouts sank to the decks in a
+sort of coma. Rob, Merritt, and the ensign himself alone retained their
+strength.
+
+"If some vessel doesn't appear before long we are doomed."
+
+It was Rob who spoke, and the mere fact that the others were silent
+indicated plainly that they shared his opinion.
+
+Despite their sufferings and anxiety a bright lookout was kept. It was
+Rob who electrified them by a sudden shout:
+
+"Look! Look out there to the north!"
+
+"A sail!" shouted the ensign, springing to his feet.
+
+"Yes. A steam yacht, rather! She's coming this way, too!"
+
+"That's what. But how can we signal her? If she doesn't hurry she may be
+too late!"
+
+"We can wave and shout!"
+
+The ensign shook his head.
+
+"She is too far off to see or hear us. Is there no other way to attract
+her?"
+
+A dozen plans were thought of and discarded. Then Rob spoke:
+
+"I've thought of a way, but it's a desperate one."
+
+"Never mind, what is it?"
+
+"We will signal her in Boy Scout fashion. Maybe there is someone on
+board who understands it."
+
+The others looked puzzled. Rob hastened to explain.
+
+"You all know the smoke column system of signalling?"
+
+"I see what you mean!" shouted Merritt. "You mean to send up two
+columns of smoke meaning 'Help! We are lost!'"
+
+Rob nodded.
+
+"But how is that possible?" demanded the ensign, with a puzzled
+inflection in his tones. "We've got a whole ship full of smoke under us,
+of course, but I don't see how we are going to utilize it in the way you
+suggest."
+
+"I've thought it out," declared Rob modestly.
+
+He produced his heavy-bladed scouting knife.
+
+"Merritt, you take your knife and we'll cut two holes in the top of the
+hatch. That will make two smoke columns, and if anyone on that yacht is
+a Scout, they will come rushing at top speed toward us!"
+
+"Jove! You boys are resourceful, indeed!" cried the ensign admiringly.
+
+Without more ado the boys fell to work on their task. They cut the holes
+about ten feet apart. It was hard work, but they stuck to it
+perseveringly, and at last, from the two holes, two columns of black
+smoke spouted up. Luckily for their plans the wind had, by this time,
+moderated so much as to have fallen almost flat.
+
+High into the heavens soared the two black columns of smoke like two
+pillars of inky vapor.
+
+Every eye watched the distant yacht anxiously. For five minutes the
+anxiety was so intense that no one spoke. The pitch of expectancy was
+painful.
+
+Then came a great cry.
+
+"They've seen our signal!" shouted Rob.
+
+"Yes; look, she's changing her course. Look at the black smoke coming
+from her funnel. She's making top speed to our rescue!" cried Merritt.
+
+"Let's hope that she won't be too late," murmured the ensign under his
+breath, and then aloud he cried:
+
+"Three cheers for the Boy Scouts of the Eagle Patrol!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE BOYS MEET A "WOLF."
+
+
+Faster and faster came the yacht. She was a large white craft, with a
+yellow funnel and two rakish-looking masts, with light spidery rigging.
+Between her masts was suspended a parallel sort of "antennæ," wires
+betokening that she carried wireless. At her bow the foam creamed up as
+she rushed through the water on her errand of mercy.
+
+With what anxiety those on the _Good Hope_ watched her, may be imagined.
+Their eyes fairly burned as they regarded the race of their rescuers
+against the fire which raged below them. For the two holes cut by Rob
+and Merritt, while they had had the good effect of attracting aid, had
+also had a less gratifying result.
+
+Through them the air had been transmitted to the flaming mass below, and
+flames were now shooting up through them and enlarging the openings
+every instant. The air grew so fearfully hot that all were compelled to
+beat a retreat to the extreme stern of the _Good Hope_.
+
+Little was said as the yacht rounded up as close to the burning ship as
+she dared, and lowered a boat. By this time clouds of black smoke, shot
+with livid flames, were shooting skyward above the doomed craft. It was
+a fortunate thing for the castaways that no wind was stirring or this
+story might have had a different termination.
+
+The boat was manned by sailors in white duck clothes and was guided by a
+lad wearing the Boy Scout uniform. As soon as they saw this the boys
+gave the cry of the Eagle Patrol. As the long drawn "Kree-ee-ee!" died
+out, the boy in the stern stood erect and gave the Scout salute. Then
+followed a long-drawn, growling shout:
+
+"How-oo-oo-oo!"
+
+"That's the cry of one of the Wolf Patrols!" cried Merritt.
+
+"Yes; and that boy is a Wolf," declared Rob.
+
+"Well, at all events he comes in sheep's clothing," the ensign could not
+resist saying.
+
+The next instant the boat was under the stern and the rescued castaways
+were sliding down a rope into it. Hardly a word was spoken while this
+was going on; the work in hand was too important.
+
+But hardly had they all found places before, in an earnest voice, the
+ensign exclaimed:
+
+"Pull for your lives, men; spare no time."
+
+"Why, you are safe enough now," declared the Wolf Scout.
+
+"Far from it," declared the young officer seriously, "the log book of
+that craft spoke of dynamite on board. They used it to blast their way
+out of the polar ice. I think----"
+
+A terrific concussion that threw them all from their seats interrupted
+him. Then came a blinding flash, and this in turn was followed by an
+explosion that seemed to shake the sea.
+
+"Pull for your lives!" shouted the ensign to the alarmed sailors.
+
+Dazed as they were, they lost no time in doing so, but even then
+fragments of blazing wood and red-hot metal rained about them in a
+downpour of great danger.
+
+Luckily, however, none of the blazing fragments struck the boat. As soon
+as they recovered their faculties, the boys gazed back at the spot where
+the _Good Hope_ had last been seen. There was not a trace of her. The
+dynamite had literally blown the ill-fated whaler out of existence. Only
+oily pools remained on the surface to show the spot of her vanishing.
+
+"I can easily see that you chaps have been through some thrilling
+experiences," remarked the Wolf boy, whose name proved to be Donald
+Grant, attached to the Wolf Patrol of the 14th New York City Troop.
+
+"We have, indeed," rejoined Rob, "but we would rather defer the telling
+of them till we arrive on board your yacht. What's her name?"
+
+"The _Brigand_," was the reply; "we are on a cruise through the West
+Indies."
+
+"The _Brigand_," echoed the ensign. "Isn't that J. P. Grant, the great
+financier's yacht?"
+
+"Yes, he's my father," rejoined Donald simply; "he's on board. You'll be
+glad to meet him, and I know he'll be delighted to welcome you and hear
+your story."
+
+"Did you recognize our signal as soon as you saw it?" inquired Rob.
+
+"I sure did," responded Donald; "lucky you sent it up, too, as we were
+on another course, and would not have passed near enough to see that
+there was anyone on board what we thought was just an old hulk drifting
+about the ocean."
+
+"You'll be more interested still when you hear how we made the signals,"
+spoke up Hiram.
+
+"Well, I knew that the call meant that the necessity was urgent, and
+although we were going slowly at the time we soon got under full speed.
+Dad has been a bit sceptical about scouting, but I guess he'll admit
+there's some good in it now."
+
+"It was Scout lore that saved our lives," said the ensign quietly.
+
+"Not a doubt of that," agreed Donald; "but here we are, almost alongside
+the _Brigand_."
+
+The boys gazed up at the towering sides of the big yacht, at her
+glittering brass work, and crowds of white-jacketed sailors gazing over
+the side curiously. Astern a big bronzed man leaned over the rail gazing
+down with equal interest. Rob recognized him instantly from pictures he
+had seen of him in the papers, as Junius P. Grant, the "Wall Street
+King," as he was called.
+
+He greeted them with a wave of his hand.
+
+"Welcome to the _Brigand_, young men," he hailed in a hearty tone; "you
+have the Boy Scout idea to thank for your lives. Had my lad there been
+five minutes later we'd have been too late to save you."
+
+"That's true enough, sir," hailed back the ensign; "we all thank you
+from the bottom of our hearts for your prompt relief work."
+
+"The best thanks you can give me will be to come on board at once and
+get washed up and partake of the best the _Brigand_ can provide," was
+the pleasant reply.
+
+"Yes; get on board, quick," urged Donald, as the gangway was lowered and
+the boatmen shipped their oars, "you look about all in."
+
+"We look like a lot of tramps, I guess you mean," laughed Rob, but for
+all that he felt a bit ashamed of their appearance. They were covered
+with grime from their fire-fighting experiences. Loss of sleep, hunger,
+and exposure had drawn their cheeks and reddened their eyes. Altogether,
+they looked very unlike the trim crew that had set out from the Derelict
+Destroyer _Seneca_ only a comparatively short time before.
+
+As soon as they arrived on board, they were turned over to the steward,
+who provided them with quarters in which to spruce up. Everything on the
+_Brigand_ was appointed as luxuriously as could be possible. This fact
+rather added to the boys' embarrassment. But when half an hour after
+their arrival they gathered about a splendidly appointed luncheon table,
+their embarrassment turned to positive bashfulness. Never had any of
+them felt so out of place. The ensign alone retained his
+self-possession.
+
+It was not till Mr. Grant had tactfully interested them in relating
+their adventures, that they forgot their self-consciousness and ate and
+drank during the narrative, like famished wolves--or Eagles.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+A NEW RECRUIT.
+
+
+It was about an hour after luncheon, which, naturally enough, with all
+that had to be related, had been a rather protracted meal. The party of
+which the Boy Scouts and their naval friend had so unexpectedly become
+members was foregathered beneath the stern awning in comfortable wicker
+chairs.
+
+The ensign was relating to Mr. Grant, under pledge of secrecy, some
+details of the work which was expected to be accomplished on the lonely
+island. Mr. Grant, who was intensely interested, agreed to put the
+officer and his young charges ashore at Charleston or some convenient
+port, provided the _Seneca_ could not be reached by wireless. The boys
+were secretly hoping that this would prove impossible, that they might
+protract their cruise on the _Brigand_.
+
+Donald and the boys had instinctively become chums. The millionaire's
+son was a manly, self-reliant sort of chap, with crisp, curly hair, and
+blue eyes that could be merry or determined. Then, too, he was a
+first-class Scout and deeply versed in Scout lore. In fact, the Eagles
+were no more than a match for the knowledge of this young Wolf.
+
+While the ensign and Mr. Grant chatted, they watched the youngsters with
+interest. When Donald had carried them off to show them the _Brigand_
+from stem to stern, as he expressed it, Mr. Grant laid down his cigar
+and, turning to the ensign, said, with his customary abruptness:
+
+"Could you use another Boy Scout on this work?"
+
+"Well--I--really, I've hardly considered it," was the astonished
+rejoinder.
+
+"If you could, I have one for you."
+
+"You mean your son Donald?"
+
+"Yes. He is a manly, fine lad, but he has been a little bit coddled by
+his mother and sisters. Now he and these other boys appear to get along
+famously, and they are just the sort of lads I should like my boy to
+associate with."
+
+The naval officer nodded.
+
+"I never saw or heard of such another lot of lads as those comprising
+the Eagle Patrol," he said with emphasis; "although, of course," he
+continued, "there are probably many such enrolled in the ranks of the
+Boy Scouts."
+
+"I don't doubt it. Donald is a different lad already since he joined the
+Wolf Patrol. Now this cruise of mine will be dull at best to the lad.
+You see I am combining business with pleasure, and he will be thrown
+much on his own resources. He has seen the West Indies before, so there
+would not be much that is novel to him in the scenery or the people.
+What do you say to my proposal?"
+
+Cigar in hand, the great man of Wall Street paused for an answer,
+knitting his famous black eyebrows as he did so.
+
+"Why, if Donald is anxious to go, I don't see why it could not be
+arranged," was the ensign's reply; "but why not ask the lad himself?"
+
+"And your boys, too, of course," was the rejoinder; "they might object
+to adding an outsider to their number."
+
+"Not much fear of that," smiled the officer; "why, you would think they
+had been lifelong friends. Hark at that!"
+
+A merry peal of laughter came ringing from somewhere about the ship.
+
+At this juncture, a young man in a natty uniform came hastening up. He
+bore a slip of yellow paper which he respectfully handed to the Wall
+Street magnate.
+
+"Ah, Collins,--Mr. Hargreaves, this is our wireless operator."
+
+The ensign nodded while Mr. Grant gazed over the message.
+
+"So you picked her up, eh, Collins?" he said, handing the message he had
+just perused over to the ensign.
+
+"Yes, sir. It appears that after missing the derelict in the fog the
+_Seneca_ cruised in circles looking for her. She is now within ten miles
+of us."
+
+"So I see by this message," struck in the ensign; "we are fortunate not
+to have drifted further."
+
+"What do you wish to do?" inquired Mr. Grant.
+
+"Naturally, to be transferred to my own ship, if you will be so kind."
+
+Mr. Grant nodded.
+
+"Collins, get our exact position from the captain, signal it to the
+_Seneca_, and tell her we will lay off and on here till she arrives."
+
+"Very well, sir," said the man of the wireless, with a bow.
+
+He had hardly withdrawn when the boys came up, fresh from their
+inspection of the _Brigand_. All were loud in praise of the craft,
+especially Rob and Merritt.
+
+"Would you rather cruise on this craft or go on the duty for Uncle Sam
+which lies before you?" asked Mr. Grant quizzically.
+
+The Boy Scouts drew themselves up.
+
+"Why, sir, our duty to our country comes before pleasure," declared Rob,
+acting as spokesman. "Cruising about is all right, but we Boy Scouts
+like to be doing something useful for somebody else, but most of all for
+Uncle Sam."
+
+Rob paused, rather alarmed at his temerity at thus addressing one of the
+richest men in the world.
+
+"So you think I am wasting my time cruising, eh?" said Mr. Grant
+amusedly glancing at the upright, slender boy before him from under his
+heavy brows.
+
+It was impossible to tell whether he was displeased or not. But Rob
+decided not to recede from his position. He knew that the Boy Scouts
+were supposed to be manly, self-reliant, and upright under all
+conditions. So putting his fears of offending the man before him aside,
+he spoke up boldly:
+
+"It's different for you, sir. Your life work has raised your monument;
+but I think, and I guess my Patrol agrees with me, that it is better for
+boys to be on active duty and," he added, his eyes flashing and his
+cheeks glowing, "especially such service as we are now going on.
+It's--it's glorious," he concluded breathlessly.
+
+"I think you are quite right, my boy," was the magnate's reply, a very
+different one from the rejoinder Rob had dreaded.
+
+"I hope you don't think me presumptuous or impudent," replied Rob, "but
+you asked my opinion, and you know, sir, we Boy Scouts must always tell
+the truth. Perhaps it seems a poor return after you saved our lives,
+to----"
+
+But Mr. Grant cut the boy short with a wave of the hand.
+
+"Nonsense, all I did was to stand by and watch. If Donald had not
+understood those smoke signals, you might not be on earth now. But in
+return, I want to ask you to do something for him."
+
+Rob nodded respectfully but said nothing. He wondered greatly what could
+be coming next.
+
+"I want you to take Donald with you on this duty for Uncle Sam. The
+ensign here has agreed. Are you willing to make my son one of your
+party?"
+
+"Are we willing?" stammered out Rob. "Why, sir, we've just been
+discussing what a shame it was that he had to go on a stupid old
+cruise--I beg your pardon, on a cruise--when real work lay ahead,
+and----"
+
+But Donald had danced up to his father cheering and throwing his hat in
+the air. Then he rushed up to his newly-found comrades and a
+hand-shaking and "bear hugging" match ensued, such as is rarely seen
+except among lads who are real companions, bound together by a common
+bond.
+
+Suddenly above the tumult Rob's voice sounded.
+
+"Boys, let's give the cry of the Wolf Patrol!"
+
+Instantly savage growls resounded, and after that the Eagles joined
+hands, formed a circle about Donald, and danced a sort of war dance of
+joy, concluding with the screaming cry of their Patrol.
+
+Mr. Grant and Ensign Hargreaves smilingly watched this scene.
+
+When something like order had been restored, the latter announced the
+closeness of the _Seneca_.
+
+This, too, was greeted with a cheer, which was cut short by the
+reappearance of Collins.
+
+"I've been talking with the _Seneca_, sir, and he says that they are
+proceeding here at full speed."
+
+"Good. That will do, unless you have any communications to make," said
+Mr. Grant, turning to the ensign.
+
+"No, sir, none whatever," was the reply.
+
+It was ten minutes later when Rob's sharp eye descried a trail of smoke
+on the horizon. A short time after, by the aid of glasses, the craft was
+made out to be the _Seneca_, bound at full speed for the yacht. On the
+latter's signal-halliards up went a gaudy string of signal flags
+announcing her identity. The signal was answered from the Derelict
+Destroyer, which also fired a gun in honor of the recovery of the
+castaways.
+
+By midafternoon good-byes, warm and hearty, had been said, three ringing
+cheers exchanged between the crews of both craft, and the _Brigand_ was
+headed due south, while the _Seneca_ made in toward the coast. Long
+before sunset both craft had vanished from each other's sight.
+
+"So that was one derelict that Uncle Sam did not have to destroy,"
+laughed Ensign Hargreaves to Lieutenant Murray as they stood side by
+side on the bridge.
+
+"No," rejoined the other, "she committed suicide; but if it hadn't been
+for our young recruit, Donald, she wouldn't have gone to her grave
+alone!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+BARTON THE MACHINIST.
+
+
+An island, a sandy, scantily grown spot of land, shaped like a splash of
+gravy on a plate, loomed up over the _Seneca's_ bow. On it stood a shed,
+two naked masts with wireless antennæ strung between them, and some
+tents, and that was all, except that, removed from the shed mentioned
+above, was a similar and larger structure. This second structure was
+built on piles right out over the sea, and as the coast of the island
+declined abruptly at this point, there was considerable water under its
+corrugated iron roof.
+
+"So that's Barren Island?" asked Rob, who, with the boys and the two
+officers, was standing on the bridge of the _Seneca_ regarding with the
+most intense interest that desolate spot of land.
+
+Beyond it lay other islands equally barren, so that applicability of the
+name was not quite clear, while in the dim distance a faint blue line
+betokened the Carolina coast.
+
+"Yes, that is Barren Island," nodded Lieutenant Murray; "and strange as
+it may seem, the hopes of the Naval Department are centered right at
+this moment on that sandy patch yonder."
+
+"Seems queer, doesn't it?" commented Merritt.
+
+"Queer but safe," smiled Ensign Hargreaves.
+
+"I'm aching to get ashore," exploded Donald eagerly. "Is that a powerful
+wireless?"
+
+"It is capable of sending up to three hundred miles on an average, and
+more under favorable conditions," was the reply.
+
+"What's in that big shed?" demanded someone.
+
+"That houses the _Peacemaker_. The shore shelves off abruptly and the
+submarine is housed under that roof in more than forty feet of water."
+
+"And the other building?"
+
+"A combination cook house and dining room."
+
+"Shall we have lots to eat?" asked Tubby, his eyes glistening as he
+heard.
+
+"Plenty, I hope," rejoined the ensign smiling. "There is an ample stock
+of provisions, and they will be received from the mainland as occasion
+requires."
+
+"But how shall we reach the mainland?"
+
+"In a powerful motor boat," was the reply.
+
+"Say, this is going to be a regular picnic. I thought you chaps said
+hard work lay ahead of us," complained Donald.
+
+"Don't worry," laughed Rob; "I guess we'll find lots to do."
+
+"Never fear," struck in the ensign. "Besides the inventor of the
+_Peacemaker_, Mr. Danbury Barr, and ourselves, there will be only three
+trusted sailors, familiar with submarine work, to conduct the tests; so
+you see that you boys will have your time well occupied."
+
+"Are those tents for us?" asked Paul Perkins interestedly.
+
+"Why, no. You brought your own camping outfits with you. I shall sleep
+in one, Mr. Barr in another, while the third will be occupied by the
+sailor assistants."
+
+"And they are already there?" asked Rob.
+
+"Watch," smiled Lieutenant Murray.
+
+He seized the whistle cord and blew three resounding blasts.
+
+Instantly, from the large shed referred to as housing the submarine,
+four figures appeared, three wore sailor garb and the fourth, it could
+be seen, was in overalls and shirt sleeves.
+
+They waved and the boys cheered.
+
+"I guess we'll drop anchor right here and take you ashore in a boat,"
+said Lieutenant Murray.
+
+The necessary orders were given, the chain roared out, and the _Seneca_
+swung at anchor off Barren Island in twenty fathoms of water.
+
+"Can we go down as deep as that in the _Peacemaker_?" inquired Rob.
+
+"Deeper, much deeper," was the rejoinder; "we hope to go deeper than any
+submarine has ever been before."
+
+"Whoof!" exclaimed Donald.
+
+"What's the trouble?" inquired Merritt.
+
+"Oh, nothing; only it makes a fellow feel kind of creepy, that's all,"
+was the rejoinder.
+
+No sooner had the anchor been dropped, than a scene of great activity
+ensued. The wireless operator of the _Seneca_ was flashing signals back
+and forth with the shore station, and sailors were piling Boy Scout
+equipment into one of the boats while another was lowered for the
+passengers. Donald had his own outfit, it having been on board the
+_Brigand_ when he transferred to the _Seneca_. Although he was the son
+of one of the richest men in the world, it in no wise differed from the
+other lads' outfits, except that it had not seen such hard service as
+theirs had been through.
+
+At last all was ready, good-byes were said, and not without some regret
+the Boy Scouts left their kind friends of the _Seneca_ behind. Ashore a
+warm welcome greeted them. Mr. Danbury Barr proved to be a tall, lean
+individual with a prominent, thin-bridged nose, and sharp, gray eyes
+with all the keenness of a hawk in them. His skin was burned a deep
+golden brown by his sojourn on the island while getting his craft in
+readiness for the tests. Like most inventors he had not much to say, but
+seemed to be agreeable and glad to see the newcomers.
+
+The three sailors, as became them in the presence of an officer, stood
+respectfully back without saying anything, only drawing up and saluting.
+But this was not the case with a man who has not yet been mentioned.
+This was an individual named Luke Barton. He was Mr. Barr's expert
+machinist and mechanical superintendent. Rob took an instinctive dislike
+to the fellow. Not that there was anything actually repulsive about him.
+On the contrary, he was a well-set-up chap of about thirty-five, dark
+haired and mustached; but it was something shifty in the fellow's eyes
+that made Rob distrust him. This impression was not removed when he
+asked of Mr. Barr, in a voice by no means an undertone:
+
+"What's this parcel of kids doing here? Looks like a Sunday school
+picnic."
+
+Mr. Barr explained.
+
+"Oh, a bunch of kid tin soldiers," he sneered, and strode off swinging a
+big monkey wrench. Right then and there Rob's instinctive dislike of the
+man crystallized into a feeling of distrust. He felt sure that the
+fellow had some reason to resent the presence of the Boy Scouts.
+
+Mr. Barr made no comment on his assistant's remarks, doubtless not
+thinking that they had been overheard. In fact, the rest of the party,
+except Rob, had been standing at some little distance when the fellow
+uttered his sneering jibes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE SUBMARINE ISLAND.
+
+
+Under Mr. Barr's guidance the party toured the island. It was about half
+a mile across and slightly longer than its width. Coarse grass grew
+almost to the water's edge, and in the centre, where it rose in a
+cone-shaped formation, some stunted, wind-twisted bushes grew. Also on
+the summit was a driven well, which was formed of galvanized piping, and
+went down, so the boys were informed, for more than two hundred feet.
+
+But to the lads of the Eagle Patrol the most interesting thing on the
+island was, of course, the shed that housed the submarine. This shed was
+open at both ends, and under its iron roof lay the submarine craft.
+Lying as it did, with only its rounded back showing above the surface of
+the water, it reminded the boys of a sleeping whale.
+
+On the top of it, amidships, was the conning tower, with thick glass
+lenses for observation. From the conning tower also protruded the
+periscope, an instrument which enabled the operators of the craft to see
+the ocean about them even when submerged some twenty feet below the
+surface.
+
+A stout rail ran around the top of the hull so as to allow the crew to
+walk along the slippery decks without danger of going overboard. But it
+was the interior that the boys were most anxious to see, and a glad rush
+followed when Mr. Barr invited them on board. Access to the conning
+tower was gained by a gang plank running from the side of the shed.
+Reaching the conning tower, with a press of eager lads about him, Mr.
+Barr threw open a metal door in the top of the observation post, and
+climbed inside. The boys needed no invitation to follow him.
+
+Inside they found themselves in a compartment much resembling the
+wheelhouse of an ordinary surface craft, except that there were various
+instruments to show submergence, and the quality and pressure of the
+air, and devices for handling the engines; for one of the features of
+Mr. Barr's invention was that it could be handled by one man once the
+engines were going.
+
+Leaving the conning tower, they descended a steel ladder into the heart
+of the submarine. The centre was occupied by a comfortably fitted-up
+room which contained, among other things, a small library and a
+phonograph. The inventor switched on a button and the "cabin," as it may
+be called, was instantaneously flooded with a soft light, bright but not
+glaring. In the bulkheads at either end of this compartment were doors,
+steel riveted and solid looking. The inventor explained that beyond the
+stern one were located the engine room and crew's quarters, while on the
+other side of the forward portal lay the sleeping quarters, galley or
+kitchen, and bathroom. Beyond these again came the torpedo room, which
+contained the machinery for launching the death-dealers. Each of these
+was inspected in turn, the boys being delighted with the compactness and
+neatness of everything.
+
+"Now," said the inventor, "we will visit the engine room." Paul Perkins
+and Hiram looked interested; machinery was one of their hobbies.
+
+The _Peacemaker_ carried two sets of engines, electrical for running
+under the surface, and gasoline for use above water. The engines were
+fitted tandem-wise, and to their shafts were attached twin screws of a
+novel design that gave great speed and controlled the submarine easily.
+The gasoline engines were of fifteen hundred horse-power each, and the
+electrical had a trifle lower capacity.
+
+In the engine room, too, were the powerful pumps used for emptying or
+filling the submarine's submergence tanks as it was desired to rise or
+descend. Aft of the engine room came the gasoline tanks, the storage
+batteries, and some minor machinery, such as an ice-making plant, air
+compressor, and so on. In the engine room, too, was a comfortable
+upholstered lounge for the engineer on duty to rest upon. Several dials
+and gauges were on the walls of this compartment, enabling the engineer
+to know at all times under just what conditions the submarine was
+proceeding.
+
+It was in the engines themselves that the inventor had excelled all
+other types of submarines, as well as in the peculiar attributes of the
+hull. Extra tanks were provided whereby, in the event of the main supply
+of gasoline giving out at any time, the _Peacemaker_ could be run quite
+a distance on those alone.
+
+"How long could you stay below the surface?" asked Rob, as they came
+back into the main cabin once more. There they took their seats on broad
+leather divans which at night time could be converted into beds or bunks
+by pulling a lever which caused them to turn over and reveal a snug
+resting place.
+
+"I have not yet made an exhaustive test of that," rejoined Mr. Barr,
+"but I estimate that we could remain below, if necessary, forty-eight
+hours."
+
+"Forty-eight hours!" gasped Rob incredulously.
+
+The inventor nodded calmly.
+
+"My air purifying device makes this supposable. I have a plan by which
+fresh, pure air is almost manufactured. At the same time the foul air is
+forced out."
+
+"I suppose you boys are aching to take a trip," laughed Ensign
+Hargreaves.
+
+"Aching is no word for it," Rob assured him.
+
+"Well, you may have a chance to-morrow," said Mr. Barr; "I am going to
+test out the whole craft thoroughly, and you boys can come along if I
+go."
+
+For the next five minutes nothing could be heard but enthusiastic
+shouts. The boys fairly went wild with delight at the prospect of a trip
+below the ocean's surface. Soon afterward the party emerged from the
+submarine in time to see the _Seneca_ making out to sea on her return
+journey. She carried letters from the boys to their families, as they
+were by no means sure when they would get the next opportunity of
+sending a letter north.
+
+The next hour was occupied in making camp. Then the Stars and Stripes
+and the Eagle banner went up. Donald had no Wolf banner with him, but
+above his tent he hung up something that resembled a wolf's head,
+painted on a bit of canvas.
+
+"Looks more like a chicken than a wolf," scornfully sniffed Tubby when
+he saw it.
+
+"You couldn't think of anything but something good to eat, could you?"
+was Donald's crushing reply.
+
+By the time camp had been made and everything placed neatly in order,
+Andy Bowles, on Ensign Hargreaves' order, sounded the dinner call.
+
+"That's the call that Tubby never forgets," laughed Rob, as the stout
+lad cantered off in the direction of the combination dining hall and
+cook house above mentioned.
+
+They found a bare, pine table, scrubbed scrupulously clean and set with
+metal plates and cups. Lieutenant Hargreaves showed each boy to his
+seat, while he and the inventor sat at opposite ends of the board. The
+sailors, and the machinist who had impressed Rob so unfavorably, ate
+later.
+
+The cook, a stout, good-natured looking negro, came bustling in with a
+huge bucket-like pan full of steaming soup. Tubby's eyes glistened as
+he saw it, and soon he was piling in prodigious quantities of it. The
+soup was followed by salt beef, potatoes, and other vegetables, and then
+came a big wedge of cocoanut pie.
+
+"We get fresh meat fairly often," explained Mr. Barr, "but the launch
+has not been to the mainland recently, so we have to get along on what
+sailors call 'Willie'."
+
+"Isn't there game of any kind hereabouts?" asked Rob.
+
+"Oh, yes. There are several shore birds of different varieties, but we
+have really been too busy of late to go after them. Now that you boys
+have come, however, you can take out my shot guns--I have three of
+them--and see what you can do as hunters."
+
+"Are the shore birds good eating?" inquired Tubby with his mouth full of
+pie.
+
+"Yes, Master Hopkins. Epicures, in fact, declare that there is no better
+dish than roasted plovers."
+
+"I'll take one of the guns," declared Tubby, his eyes glistening, as,
+even his appetite satisfied for the while, he sank back in his chair.
+
+As they filed out of the dining hall the negro cook announced to the
+sailors and the mechanic, by means of a big bell, that it was time for
+them to eat.
+
+Rob, on his way to the camp, happened to pass by Luke Barton. He greeted
+the latter with a cheery nod.
+
+"Going to eat, Barton?" he inquired.
+
+The man glowered at him a minute, and then muttering something about
+"fresh kids eating up everything," he strode on toward the eating place.
+
+"My gracious," exclaimed Tubby, who had witnessed the whole proceeding,
+"you and that fellow get along like a pair of panthers, don't you?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+DOWN TO THE DEPTHS.
+
+
+It was the following morning, a bright, clear day, with a clean swept
+sky overhead, and seaward, the waves whipping up into smart little
+whitecaps under a brisk breeze. Breakfast was over, the Boy Scouts'
+bugle had sounded an assembly call, and now all were eagerly mustered
+about the submarine shed awaiting Mr. Barr's arrival and permission to
+go on board the _Peacemaker_.
+
+True to his promise, the inventor had decided to make the boys
+participants in the trial trip of the slate-colored diving boat.
+Presently he appeared, accompanied by Ensign Hargreaves. Ten minutes
+later the chatting, laughing party was on board the _Peacemaker_, and
+half an hour after that she was pronounced ready for the start. Mr. Barr
+took his place in the conning tower with Ensign Hargreaves beside him.
+Barton was in the engine room, sullen and uncommunicative as usual. Rob
+and Merritt were on deck with one of the sailors, delegated to the duty
+of casting off the diving boat's lines.
+
+At last came the word from the conning tower:
+
+"Cast off."
+
+Rob seized a rope and cast off from the stern bitts, while the sailor
+performed the same operation at the bow.
+
+"Must we come inside now?" inquired Rob, through the open hatch of the
+conning tower.
+
+"Not yet; unless you wish to. I will notify you before we dive," was Mr.
+Barr's reply.
+
+"Goodness, I hope he doesn't forget," said Rob laughingly, as the
+inventor turned on a switch and started the engines. The cigar-shaped
+form of the craft trembled as the powerful twin propellers beat the
+water. Then, handling as perfectly as a catboat, she backed slowly out
+of the shed and on to the open sea.
+
+Once outside the shed, her helmsman headed the craft about and made
+directly east. To Rob and Merritt, standing on the deck, the sensation
+was a thrilling one. Faster and faster the craft was driven till great
+clouds of spray compelled the two lads to seek refuge in the conning
+tower.
+
+Inside the boat the hum of machinery and the vibration of the powerful
+engines could be plainly distinguished. Rob glanced at the speed
+indicator on the steel wall of the "pilot house."
+
+"Twenty-five knots! Phew! that's going some," he gasped.
+
+"She can make thirty-two on the surface and twenty-one under water,"
+said the inventor calmly.
+
+As he spoke, he drew a lever toward him and the _Peacemaker_ appeared to
+leap forward like a horse under the lash.
+
+Rob watched the handle of the indicator as it sped slowly around the
+dial. Up and up it crept till it stopped at thirty-two knots and a half.
+
+"Jove! Barr," exclaimed the ensign, "this is the wonder craft of the
+century."
+
+"I think I could get even more speed out of her, but I don't wish to
+strain the engines," was the confident reply.
+
+"This is fast enough for me, thank you," said Rob to Merritt in an
+undertone.
+
+From the conning tower lens the _Peacemaker_ appeared to be rushing
+between two solid walls of water, so great was the quantity of spray she
+threw as she was remorselessly driven through the choppy sea. Yet the
+vibration was not nearly as bad as might have been expected.
+
+"Let's go below and take a look at the engine room," said Merritt.
+
+"All right; but I'll ask Mr. Barr's permission first," was Rob's
+rejoinder.
+
+This was readily obtained, and the two boys went below. They found
+their comrades gathered in the large central cabin, excitedly discussing
+the novelty of their voyage. Passing them, the young leader and his
+lieutenant made their way back into the machinery department. Barton
+glowered at them as they entered.
+
+"Well, what d'ye want?" he asked gruffly.
+
+"Merely to have a look at the engines," said Rob.
+
+"Aw, what do you know about engines?" growled the man. "You ain't got no
+business in here."
+
+"We have Mr. Barr's permission," rejoined Rob in a calm, even tone,
+determined not to let the fellow make him angry.
+
+"Well, take a look around and get out quick," was the ungracious reply
+of the surly fellow.
+
+Rob thought it best not to answer him, and arm in arm he and Merritt
+wandered among the flashing, smoothly working machinery, which, despite
+its size and power, was almost noiseless. Whatever his failings might be
+in the way of politeness, Barton must have been a good engineer, the
+boys decided, for every bit of metal and paintwork about the engines was
+polished to a brilliant finish, and the engine room was as neat as a new
+pin.
+
+Rob was examining the powerful pumps when his eye suddenly fell on a bit
+of paper lying on the floor. He picked it up, prompted by he knew not
+what instinct, and found that it was covered with minute sketches,
+apparently of machinery. The sketches were numbered and lettered, as if
+they had been "keyed" for the purpose of making the diagram clearer.
+
+He was still examining the sketches when there was a swift step behind
+him and a heavy hand fell on his shoulder. Rob, facing about, looked
+into Barton's face. The engineer's countenance was livid, his eyes
+fairly blazed.
+
+"Give me that paper, you young jackanapes!" he exclaimed, "and then get
+out of here--quick!"
+
+"As to giving you the paper, here you are," said Rob, quietly handing
+the engineer the mechanical sketches. "If I'd known they were yours, I'd
+have returned them to you at once. I must ask you, however, to be a
+little less rough in your manners. I don't know what harm we've ever
+done you, that you should show such a dislike for us."
+
+"Bah!" growled Barton as he turned away, thrusting the paper into a
+pocket of his jumper.
+
+After this incident neither of the boys cared to remain in the engine
+room, and soon joined their companions in the main cabin.
+
+They found them chatting and laughing over different boyish topics, and
+Merritt joined in the fun.
+
+But Rob, usually talkative and bright, was strangely silent. He found
+himself musing over the incident of the scrap of paper covered with
+mechanical sketches. Why had Barton become so agitated when the boy
+picked it up? What was there about the affair to excite the man so
+strangely?
+
+Suddenly into the boy's mind there flashed a startling suspicion. But so
+grave was the idea that he dismissed it, or rather tried to; but with
+all his efforts the idea kept recurring like a dominant note in a piece
+of music. Rob decided to be on the watch and try to verify or disprove
+his suspicion, which was nothing more nor less than an idea that Barton
+was a traitor to his employer, and was also in the service of some
+powerful interests striving to get a grip on the secrets of the
+_Peacemaker_.
+
+"That man will bear watching," decided Rob.
+
+Scarcely had he come to this conclusion when Mr. Barr shouted down from
+the conning tower:
+
+"I'm going to dive!"
+
+The hearts of all the lads beat perceptibly quicker at the words.
+
+They were about to descend into the unknown regions beneath the surface
+of the ocean, down into the dark waters where men's souls are put to a
+supreme test.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+FACING DEATH.
+
+
+"Ready?" came the cry from the conning tower.
+
+"All ready!" shouted back the lads assembled in the cabin, waiting for
+they knew not what.
+
+"Then hold tight, we're going down quick."
+
+S-w-ish-ish-ish! The roar of the water, as the powerful pumps sucked it
+into the submerging tanks, filled the interior of the Barr submarine.
+Suddenly she gave a forward plunge, and the boys now learned for what
+purpose several handholds were attached to the cabin walls!
+
+"Say, this is a queer sensation, isn't it?" gasped Merritt, looking
+rather alarmed as the downward rush could be distinctly felt. In the
+engine room the electric motors had been connected, and in the conning
+tower the hatch which gave entrance and egress when on the surface had
+been clamped tightly down.
+
+"S-s-pose we don't come up again?" exclaimed Donald.
+
+"We haven't got an awful lot to eat on board," murmured Tubby anxiously.
+
+"Gracious, how far down are we going?" spoke Merritt, as five minutes
+passed and still the _Peacemaker_ continued her descent into the depths
+of the sea.
+
+All at once the tilting motion ceased, the _Peacemaker's_ stern tanks
+were filled, and she floated on an even keel. Leaving the care of the
+wheel to Ensign Hargreaves, who, as we know, was familiar with the usual
+type of submarine, Mr. Barr came into the cabin.
+
+"Well, boys, what do you think of it?" he asked with a smile.
+
+"It's g-g-great," rejoined Tubby, with a notable lack of his usual
+assurance.
+
+"And now I suppose you'd like to see what the bottom of the sea looks
+like. We are down some two hundred fathoms and about fifty miles off the
+coast. Should you care to see how things look down here?"
+
+"How will that be possible?" asked Merritt.
+
+By way of reply Mr. Barr went to the starboard wall of the cabin and
+pulled a lever connecting with a worm gear. As he did so, a great
+section of the _Peacemaker's_ steel side drew back and revealed a plate
+glass window set between the inner and outer "skins" of the craft.
+
+The boys crowded round the window and peered out eagerly. But to their
+disappointment they could see no more of their surroundings than if they
+had been looking out of a train window on a dark night. It was as black
+as a wolfs mouth at those unknown depths.
+
+"Why, we can't see anything," came a disgruntled chorus.
+
+"Wait a minute," smiled the inventor.
+
+[Illustration: THE BOYS CROWDED ROUND THE WINDOW AND PEERED OUT
+EAGERLY.]
+
+Pressing a button, he extinguished the cabin lights. Then he opened a
+sort of closet in the wall alongside the window and swung out a
+powerful, though small, searchlight attached to an adaptable arm in the
+same manner as a desk telephone.
+
+There was a clicking sound, and a flood of white light pierced the
+blackness outside. The boys broke into delighted exclamations as the
+powerful rays revealed all sorts of fish, many of odd shapes and colors,
+attracted by the light.
+
+Suddenly a dark, shadowy form swung into view. Instantly the other fish
+vanished, and the boys saw that the newcomer was a large shark swimming
+leisurely along.
+
+No doubt he wondered who the strangers in his deep sea abode could be,
+for he swam up close to the window, causing the boys to shrink back.
+They quite forgot that between them and the tiger of the deep was a
+solid plate of glass as strong almost as steel.
+
+The shark gazed at the window for an instant and then vanished. With its
+disappearance, the other fish reappeared and kept the submarine company,
+for all the world like sea gulls circling round a ship entering port.
+
+"I wonder if they are hungry and want us to throw some food out to
+them," said Tubby stolidly, as he gazed at the finny tribes darting here
+and there in the searchlight's rays.
+
+"Gracious, do you think that the fish have the same appetite as you
+have?" laughed Merritt.
+
+"Just the same, some of those fellows would taste all right broiled,"
+declared the stout youth, at which there was a general laugh.
+
+After an hour spent in this manner the searchlight was switched off and
+the panels slid back into place.
+
+"I think we will rise now," said the inventor; "you boys had better hold
+on, for we may go up pretty quick."
+
+"I hope we _do_ go up," muttered Tubby, rather nervously. The stout
+youth was not particularly in love with the dark depths in which they
+were navigating. In fact, all the lads, though they did not admit it,
+experienced a longing for daylight. It was an awe-inspiring feeling--too
+awe-inspiring to be comfortable--to be in the depths of the ocean where
+no keel had ever before plowed.
+
+Mr. Barr remounted to the conning tower. A minute later a renewal of the
+swishing sound told that the pumps were emptying the tanks at the rate
+of a thousand gallons a minute. The submarine could be felt to leap
+upward toward the surface. The boys held on for dear life, exchanging
+rather alarmed glances.
+
+All at once the pace slackened, and the swishing sound ceased. Mr. Barr
+had decided that the pace was too swift and had cut off the pumps.
+
+"Well, thank goodness that's over!" gasped Donald. "At the rate we were
+going up we'd have bounced clean out of the sea."
+
+"I guess we're all right now," remarked Merritt.
+
+The words had hardly left his lips when there came a jar and a bump that
+shook the submarine in her every frame and rivet.
+
+The boys were thrown from their feet and hurled about the cabin. At the
+same instant the engines stopped and the submarine began to back, but
+slowly, like a stricken animal.
+
+"We've rammed something!"
+
+"We're sinking!"
+
+These and a hundred other exclamations came from the alarmed boys.
+
+Mr. Barr poked his head down into the cabin.
+
+"Are you all right below?" he asked.
+
+"Yes; but what has happened?"
+
+"Have we been badly damaged?"
+
+"Are we sinking?"
+
+The above questions were all shouted at once in the tense excitement.
+
+Barton, his face white as ashes, came out of his engine room.
+
+"What did we hit?" he demanded in a frightened voice.
+
+"I don't know; but we struck something, possibly a sunken wreck, a hard
+blow," was the inventor's reply. Although his face was deadly pale, his
+voice was without a tremor as he spoke.
+
+"We must make an examination at once," he went on. "Andrews, Higgins,
+and Ross," addressing the three sailors who had appeared from forward,
+"make an examination forward at once and see if any of the plates have
+started. If you find a suspicion of a leak report to me at once."
+
+The sailors, trained in naval discipline, saluted, and hastened off on
+their errand.
+
+"If we are leaking, what are we to do?" demanded Rob.
+
+"Meet death as bravely as we can," was the reply in steady tones;
+"submarines carry no boats and we must go to the bottom unless we can
+find some way to stop the leak."
+
+Small wonder that the boys were stricken aghast. Barton, the machinist,
+flung himself face downward on a couch and began whimpering.
+
+The inventor looked at the man with contempt.
+
+"Stand by your engines, Barton," he commanded sternly; "the first man to
+shirk his duty in this emergency will have to settle with me."
+
+Barton rose to his feet unsteadily. He was pasty yellow with terror. In
+his eyes was a wild look. But under the inventor's stern gaze he
+reëntered the engine room, shaking like a leaf.
+
+It was then that Rob noticed that a revolver was in the inventor's hand
+as he stood at the top of the cabin ladder.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+THE STRANGE FLAG.
+
+
+After ten minutes of the most painful suspense that any of the boys had
+ever known, the three sailors returned with the report that while one of
+the forward plates was bent and was leaking slightly, there appeared to
+be no danger.
+
+Mr. Barr made no secret of his relief at receiving this bit of
+information. The boys burst into a cheer, and Barton, crouching in
+cowardly panic in the engine room, knew by this sound that all was well.
+
+"Now we'll get to the surface quick and see what happened," declared the
+inventor.
+
+The _Peacemaker_, which all this time had been slowly backing, was sent
+upward once more. As soon as they reached the surface Mr. Barr opened
+the conning tower hatch, and they all hastened out on deck. To their
+amazement the water all about was dyed crimson, and the cause was almost
+immediately apparent. Not far off lay the carcass of a whale, almost cut
+in two. This was beyond question the obstacle that the submarine had
+struck. Probably the dead cetacean could not get out of the way of the
+steel diving craft in time, or else deemed it another whale, and so was
+rammed by the sharp steel prow.
+
+"Suppose that had been a solid object, like a rock, or a submerged
+derelict?" asked Rob.
+
+"We shouldn't be here now," rejoined Ensign Hargreaves calmly enough,
+but in his voice there was palpable evidence of the relief he felt at
+their narrow escape.
+
+"I guess we'll stay on the surface for a while now," decided the
+inventor. Accordingly, the craft was put about and headed for the island
+at a good rate of speed. The return voyage was made without incident,
+except that Tubby caused much amusement by inquiring if whale flesh was
+edible, and if it was, he should enjoy a broiled whale steak for dinner.
+
+When the shed was reached the bow of the submarine was elevated by means
+of powerful geared tackle provided for this purpose, and the job of
+substituting a new plate for the damaged one was begun. It was finished
+by sunset.
+
+That afternoon Rob and Merritt took the shotguns and started for the
+other shore of the island to see if they could not bring down some shore
+birds. They tramped along the beach and met with some success. Their
+walk brought them to the opposite shore of the island, as has been said,
+and they found themselves in a desolate stretch of country, nothing but
+sand and brush and coarse shore grass.
+
+They were discussing the odd nature of their mission on the island, when
+Merritt suddenly grasped his companion's arm and pointed seaward,
+toward another of the islands that have been mentioned as being
+scattered pretty closely in the vicinity. Rob was just in time to catch
+sight of a motor boat, seemingly a fast one, slipping behind the spot of
+land.
+
+At the same instant a figure rose from the grass almost in front of
+them. It was Barton the machinist. He had apparently been concealed in
+the grass, and had not calculated on the boys discovering him.
+
+"Well, what are you after now? Spying on me again, eh?" he snarled
+angrily.
+
+"I don't know why you should say we were spying on you," rejoined Rob,
+"unless you are up to something wrong."
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Barton, stepping quickly toward him as if to
+strike him.
+
+The man's hand was upraised, but the determined way in which Rob met his
+angry glare caused him to drop it.
+
+[Illustration: ROB WAS JUST IN TIME TO CATCH SIGHT OF A MOTOR BOAT,
+SLIPPING BEHIND THE SPOT OF LAND.]
+
+"I want you to quit followin' me around, that's all," he said.
+
+"I guess this island's big enough to hold all of us," snapped Merritt,
+"and as for following you around, we have other and better occupations
+on our hands."
+
+The machinist made an angry reply and set off across the island at a
+rapid pace. As he did so an odd incident took place on the island behind
+which the motor boat had vanished.
+
+On a staff which the boys had not previously noticed a red flag began to
+glide up and down. Sometimes it was hoisted quickly and then again
+slowly.
+
+"What in the world are they doing over there?" wondered Merritt.
+
+"I can't make out unless they are a party of crazy campers amusing
+themselves," rejoined Rob; and then he suddenly burst out: "By Jove, I
+have it; they are signalling."
+
+"But signalling what or who?"
+
+"I haven't decided yet; but I wonder if the same thought has occurred to
+you as to me?"
+
+"Namely, what?"
+
+"Why, that Barton was watching those signals."
+
+"You mean that they were intended for him?"
+
+"That's what."
+
+"But what would they be signalling him for?"
+
+"Only one thing that I can think of. You know what the ensign said about
+spies; well, if that fellow Barton isn't up to some crooked work, why
+should he sneak off like this and be so anxious to hide from us when we
+happen along accidentally? Then, too, there's that paper covered with
+drawings that I found in the engine room."
+
+"By ginger, I see what you are driving at. You think that Barton is a
+traitor, and is in league with those spies?"
+
+"It's a grave accusation to make, but I can hit on no other explanation
+of his actions. He is angry at us because he thinks we may see too
+much. Look, they are still signalling."
+
+"I wish we could read what they are saying."
+
+"I think I can," rejoined Rob quietly.
+
+"You can?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"How are you going to do it?"
+
+"By bringing my knowledge of Morse into play. I think that when the flag
+is run up slowly it means a dash and a quick run is a dot. Let's try it
+anyway."
+
+Luckily the spot where the two boys were was grown with high, coarse
+grass, and the sand dunes rose high in places, affording protection for
+them.
+
+As the flag rose and fell they spelled out a word according to the Morse
+code.
+
+"That's 'Ready'," proclaimed Rob exultingly; "we have hit on their code,
+all right."
+
+"They're still at it," exclaimed Merritt, as the flag continued its
+eccentric rises and falls; "what's next, I wonder?"
+
+Dash--dash--dash--dash, spelled out the flag.
+
+"That means 'to'," declared Rob.
+
+"Yes, and there comes 'night'," exclaimed Merritt a moment later. "And
+now they've stopped. Let's see what message we've caught."
+
+"Short and sweet," laughed Rob. "I guess we came in at the tail end of
+their confab. All we've got is 'Ready to-night'."
+
+"Well, isn't that something?" demanded Merritt. "At all events it's a
+complete sentence and tells us that somebody will be ready for something
+to-night."
+
+"Right you are, and that 'somebody' is to be Barton, I'll bet a
+doughnut."
+
+"But ready for what?"
+
+"That remains to be seen. I've always thought Barton would bear
+watching. I'm certain of it now, and if the submarine isn't mixed up in
+this tangle somewhere, call me a Chinaman."
+
+"Are you going to tell the ensign about this?"
+
+"Not till we have something more tangible to go upon. After all, we have
+proved nothing, but to-night we'll keep a close watch on Barton and in
+that way find out if our suspicions are correct or not."
+
+And so it was arranged. The boys hunted a bit more, but somehow the
+strange signals and the peculiar behavior of Barton had got on their
+minds, and they gave up their sport earlier than they had expected and
+trudged back to camp to complete their arrangements for the night's
+work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+SCOUTING FOR UNCLE SAM.
+
+
+"Rob! Rob! Rob!"
+
+Merritt nudged his dozing companion as they lay near to the submarine
+shed, where they had taken up their position earlier in the night.
+Immediately after supper the lads had, apparently, slipped off to their
+tents; but as soon as they were sure that they were free from
+observation they had, in pursuance of their plans, taken up a position
+close to the sheltering place of the _Peacemaker_.
+
+Rob had dozed off shortly before midnight, and the words at the
+beginning of this chapter formed Merritt's notification to him that it
+was time to bestir himself.
+
+The boy, aroused at once from his nap, sat up at his comrade's summons.
+
+"What is it?" he asked in a whisper.
+
+"Look! Look yonder! Don't you see Barton sneaking toward the shed?"
+
+There was no moon, but in the starlight Rob, thus admonished, could
+distinctly discern a shadowy figure gliding across the sand dunes to the
+submarine shed.
+
+"It _is_ Barton, sure enough!" he exclaimed in a low, tense voice. "I
+guess we were right, Merritt, when we read that 'Ready to-night'
+message."
+
+"We sure were," was the response; "the question now is, what is that
+fellow up to?"
+
+"Some sort of mischief, just as we surmised," was the reply. "Let's do
+an Indian crawl toward the shed and see what we can find out."
+
+The next instant both boys were noiselessly wriggling their way on their
+stomachs toward the shed into the interior of which Barton had, by this
+time, vanished. It was easy work to make a noiseless advance over the
+soft sand, but so thoroughly had both the Boy Scouts practiced the
+maneuver of silent advance that even had the ground been different, it
+is likely that they could have approached unheard.
+
+Right up to the very walls of the shed they wriggled their way and then,
+placing their eyes to a crack in the timbers, they peered in. By the
+yellow light of a lantern Barton had lighted they saw him dive down into
+the interior of the submarine and emerge, ere long, with several rolled
+sheets of paper.
+
+The fellow did not appear to labor under anxiety that he was being
+watched, for he went boldly about his business, taking no apparent pains
+to screen the light or to move noiselessly. Having emerged from the
+submarine and reached once more the door of the shed, he extinguished
+the light and glided out into the night like a half-embodied form.
+
+Merritt half leaped to his feet as he saw the fellow making off, but Rob
+drew his companion down into their place of concealment with a
+whispered,
+
+"Hold on. Don't spoil everything now by betraying our presence. Let him
+get a little way and we'll follow him."
+
+"But we may lose him in the darkness," objected Merritt.
+
+"I scarcely think so," was the rejoinder; "in fact, I have a pretty good
+idea where he is bound for."
+
+"And where may that be?"
+
+"The place in which he lay this afternoon to read those signals from the
+distant island. Depend upon it, he is going to meet the men who
+manipulated that flag!"
+
+"By hooky! That's so, Rob. What a mind you have for figuring out things!
+Of course, it's plain enough now that he is betraying Mr. Barr by giving
+drawings and plans of the submarine to Mr. Barr's enemies, but I didn't
+think he'd take so bold a method."
+
+"There's nothing very bold about it," retorted Rob. "He is a trusted
+man, and has been given every opportunity to be dishonest, if it so
+suits him."
+
+"I guess that's right; but it's our duty to thwart him."
+
+"You just bet it is, and we'll do it, too, if it's possible. See, there
+he goes over the top of that sand dune. I could see his figure
+silhouetted against the sky. I reckon it's safe now to take after him."
+
+"All right, you say when."
+
+"I'll give the word right here. Silently, now; remember he is on the
+outlook for some interference with his plans, and a false move may spoil
+everything."
+
+"Don't worry about me. A first class Scout should be able to carry
+through a simple little thing like this."
+
+"Don't be too sure it's simple," admonished Rob, as they silently rose
+from their crouching postures and took after the vague shadow; "this
+thing may turn out to be bigger than we thought."
+
+"Have you laid any plans as to what you will do if we do apprehend him
+in the act of transferring the plans to Mr. Barr's enemies?"
+
+"Not yet. There's no use crossing a bridge till you come to it."
+
+Through the night the boys pursued their quarry as silently as two
+snakes. At times they lost sight of him, but always his figure would
+loom up against the star-sprinkled sky as he topped a sand dune. At
+length they saw him pause and light the lantern, which he had used in
+the shed, and which he still carried.
+
+This done, he swung the light twice across his body, after the fashion
+of a brakeman signalling a train to come ahead.
+
+Instantly, out of the darkness, flashed an answering beacon--a red
+light. The boys clasped each other's arms. That they were on the brink
+of an exciting adventure they did not doubt. But in each lad's heart was
+a firm resolve that, come what might, they would do their duty by Uncle
+Sam.
+
+"Was that red light shown from the other island?" whispered Merritt.
+
+"No, I am inclined to think it came from that launch we saw sneaking in
+behind the island this afternoon just before the signalling commenced,"
+was the response.
+
+"In that case, she must be still far out?"
+
+"Yes; but in any event they would have to send a boat ashore. That
+launch is too large to land on the beach directly."
+
+As if in answer to his opinion the watching boys presently saw a red
+light creeping over the water toward the island. Undoubtedly it came
+from a small boat, so low on the water was it.
+
+Before long they could detect the splash of oars, although whoever was
+rowing the boat was trying to make as little noise as possible.
+
+As the light drew close in shore, Merritt seized Rob's arm.
+
+"What's the next move?" he asked.
+
+"It looks as if it were ours," was the quiet, but determined,
+rejoinder.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+ROB'S BRAVE ACT.
+
+
+While the boys had been watching, Barton had lain down, as though tired,
+on the summit of a near-by dune. As the red light came close in shore,
+however, he arose, and once more waved his lantern.
+
+At the signal the course of the red light shifted and headed directly
+toward him. The boys' hearts beat thickly; the time for action was at
+hand. The bow of the boat they had seen approaching grated on the beach,
+and two figures sprang out while Barton advanced to meet them.
+
+"Get as close as you can," whispered Rob, as he wriggled forward; "we
+want to get every word."
+
+Merritt merely nodded; but his silent advance was as rapid as his
+leader's. Owing to the nature of the ground, they were able to run
+forward in an almost upright position when they reached the hollows of
+the dunes, being compelled to cast themselves down only when they topped
+a rise. Therefore, they were within ear shot when Barton greeted the two
+men who had disembarked from the boat.
+
+"Well," said one of the newcomers in a voice which plainly betrayed his
+foreign origin; "well, did you do as you said you would?"
+
+"Yes," responded Barton; "I've got the drawings here. They are not
+complete, however, and you will have to give me more time."
+
+"As you were told at Bridgeport, before you left for this island, you
+can have all the time you want, only make the job complete."
+
+"You can depend upon me to do that," was the response. "So long as I'm
+well paid, I'll sell out all I know, and that's about everything about
+the Barr submarine."
+
+Here another voice, that of the second man who had left the boat, struck
+in:
+
+"What about the models?"
+
+"I've got them hidden up here in the sand," came Barton's voice in
+reply. "I'd have had them ready but two blooming kids trailed me here."
+
+"Trailed you? What do you mean?" demanded the voice of the man who had
+first spoken and who, with the solitary exception noted, had carried on
+most of the conversation.
+
+"Why, this Ensign Hargreaves, this Navy dude, saw fit to bring a band of
+Boy Scouts down here. They're the nosiest kids ever, and I half think
+they suspect me of not being all I appear to be."
+
+"That's a good guess," whispered Rob to Merritt.
+
+Merritt could not refrain from a quiet chuckle.
+
+"As a long distance and local guesser, Barton takes the palm," he
+breathed.
+
+"Hush!" murmured Rob under his breath: "What are they up to now?"
+
+"Going to dig up those models, I guess. Barton must have stolen them
+from the workshop at odd moments."
+
+Right then something happened that gave Merritt a shock. Rob rose to his
+feet and started toward the beach. The men that the two Boy Scouts were
+watching had headed inland, evidently to aid Barton in uncovering the
+hidden models.
+
+"Have you gone crazy, Rob? Lie down here," cautioned Merritt.
+
+"Not much," was the response; "I'm going to do some reconnoitering while
+I've got the chance."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"That I'm going down to have a look at that boat, and if I can I'm going
+to shove her off and thus leave those men prisoners on the island."
+
+"By ginger, Rob, you are a great fellow for ideas. If only you can cast
+the boat adrift, we'll have those chaps bottled up as securely as if
+they were in a jail."
+
+"Wait here till I come," responded the boy leader. "I won't be gone more
+than ten minutes."
+
+"I'd like to come with you, Rob."
+
+"No; this is a job I can do best alone."
+
+Rob noiselessly slipped away. The boat from which the mysterious men had
+landed was plainly discernible as a black blot on the sandy beach. Rob
+tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, but against the
+white strip of sand he felt as noticeable as an elephant. However, he
+gained the boat without interruption.
+
+Its bow had been built up, apparently, to make it more seaworthy, and
+the boy noticed that a small door had been cut leading into the space
+beneath the raised bow. He had hardly discovered this when he was
+startled to hear voices close at hand.
+
+It was Barton and his crooked accomplices coming back. Fortunately for
+Rob, they were behind a dune, so that it was impossible for them to
+observe him. But in a moment, the boy realized with a thrill, they would
+be upon him.
+
+Quick as a flash, and hardly realizing what he was doing, Rob sought the
+only place of concealment close at hand--the space under the raised bow
+of the boat. He had hardly squeezed into his cramped quarters before the
+trio of rascals topped the rise.
+
+Rob, with a sinking of the heart, realized at that moment that it would
+have been better for him to have taken his chances and run away from the
+scene. But it was too late now. With something that was not exactly
+fear, but very like it, Rob recognized the fact that he was a concealed
+passenger, a stowaway, on board a boat on which his presence might cost
+him his life.
+
+As these reflections ran through his mind the men drew closer, talking
+about the "clever" work they had done.
+
+"I guess Barr and his _Peacemaker_ can say good-bye to Uncle Sam now,"
+laughed one of them.
+
+"Yes, and the best of it is that Barton will never be suspected,"
+responded the other. "Our government will be manufacturing submarines of
+the Barr type, while Barr and the United States Government are still in
+blissful ignorance of the fact that all efforts are for nothing."
+
+"You can bet I never put through a job unless I do it right," struck in
+Barton with great self-complacency.
+
+Rob, crouched in his cramped place of concealment, flushed with anger.
+Right then and there he determined that, come what might, he would see
+this strange adventure of his through to the bitter end. This resolve
+was still in his mind when the two men shoved the boat off, bade
+good-night to the rascally Barton, and, all unconscious of their
+secreted passenger, got under way.
+
+"If I get out of this alive, I'll be lucky," soliloquized Rob as he
+heard the oars and felt the boat moving through the water. "I wonder if
+I've done right? At any rate I'm in it now, and, as a Boy Scout, I'm
+going to see it through."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+THE ISLAND HUT.
+
+
+Rob, in his place of concealment, could hear the two men talking as they
+rowed.
+
+Their conversation related, in the main, to the affairs of the night.
+Apparently, so far as Rob could gather, the stealing of the plans of the
+submarine was not yet complete. It appeared that Barton was to remain on
+the island in his capacity as trusted aide to Mr. Barr, and to gather up
+all he could of the details of the new submarine, down to the smallest
+particular.
+
+Scarcely daring to breathe, Rob listened with all his might to the
+conversation of the oarsmen.
+
+At the same time the thought was running through his mind that he had
+acted rashly in taking the step he had. But the boy pluckily made up
+his mind to stick to his resolution of discovering just what was going
+on inimical to the plans of the United States Government and Mr. Barr.
+
+Before very long the prow of the boat grated on a sandy beach, and the
+two men, gathering up some rolls of paper and several bulky-looking
+objects, left the craft, first securing it by an anchor and line.
+
+As their footsteps died away, Rob ventured to raise his head above the
+gunwale of the boat and follow them with his eyes. He saw them ascend
+the beach and enter the hut, apparently a structure once used by
+fishermen or hunters.
+
+After an interval a light shone from the solitary window of the hut, and
+Rob came to a sudden resolve to find out just what was going forward.
+With this object in view he clambered out of the boat, taking every
+precaution against making unnecessary noise. On hands and knees he then
+approached the lighted window.
+
+The night was dark, and, standing at a fair distance from the casement,
+he did not feel much fear of being seen from within. It is hard for
+persons in a brightly lighted chamber to perceive what is going on
+outside.
+
+Seated around a rough table in the hut, which consisted of only one
+room, Rob saw three men. Two of them, undoubtedly, were those who had
+unconsciously rowed him to the island. The other he recognized with a
+start as the possessor of the face which had peered through the transom
+on the memorable night in Hampton, when plans for the experiments on the
+island were in process of being formulated. In other words, the third
+member of the party was none other than Nordstrom Berghoff, the spy.
+
+Instantly many things that had been vague to Rob crystallized into a
+clear understanding of the situation. The signals from the island, the
+indignation of Barton over the presence of the Boy Scouts, and the
+stealing of the plans and models, all stood out plainly now as being
+part of an elaborate plot of which Berghoff was the mainspring.
+
+A wave of indignation swept over the boy as he contemplated the rascals
+within the hut gloating over the things they had obtained from the
+treacherous Barton.
+
+"The scoundrels," he thought; "so they think they can rob Uncle Sam of
+one of the greatest submarines ever invented, and do so with impunity! I
+don't care what happens, I'll fool them if I can."
+
+With this resolve firmly embedded in his mind, Rob crept closer to the
+window. By skillful maneuvering he was at last almost under the
+casement. In this position every word uttered within the hut was clear
+to him.
+
+He heard Berghoff chuckling gleefully over the manner in which the
+night's work had been carried out.
+
+"Undt not a vun of dose Boy Scouts knew anting aboudt idt," he
+exclaimed.
+
+"No," rejoined one of his companions, a swarthy man with a pallid face
+on which there stood out a bristly beard; "those kids were out of the
+game so far as we were concerned. That Barton is a slick one, all
+right."
+
+"Well, he's getting well paid for the job," struck in the third man, who
+was short and stocky, with a crop of rough, reddish hair and a
+protruding chin that gave him a "bull doggy" aspect.
+
+"Of course, he gedts vell paid," rejoined Berghoff; "dis job is vorth de
+naval supremacy of the worldt to der country vot I represent."
+
+"As if we didn't know that as well as you," rejoined the red-haired man.
+"It was lucky we worked in the same machine shop in Bridgeport with
+Barton and knew he was a man who could be bought."
+
+"Yes, there isn't much that he wouldn't do for money," chimed in the
+pallid-faced man.
+
+"Vell, ledt us see if dese plans are all righdt, or if ve must get some
+more of dem," remarked Berghoff.
+
+From his manner of examining the intricate prints and plans, Rob knew
+that the man, as were most probably his two companions, was an engineer
+of no mean ability. With a small pocket scale he went over every scrap
+of paper and then fell to examining the models. From his expression, Rob
+judged that Barton had served the rascal well. Berghoff declared the
+plans and the models all that would be required to produce a
+_Peacemaker_ almost the exact duplicate of Mr. Barr's diving-boat.
+
+"Well, when do we make our getaway?" queried the red-haired man when the
+examination was concluded.
+
+"To-morrow ve go," declared Berghoff. "In New York I catch der steamer
+for Europe undt you two scatter verefer you like."
+
+Rob felt his face flush with indignation, and at the same time he
+experienced a sort of hopeless feeling of indecision. The plans and the
+models lay there, almost within his reach, but so far as the possibility
+of recovering them was concerned, they might as well have been in China.
+
+"If only all the boys were here," he thought, "it would be possible to
+'rush' those scoundrels and secure all their loot."
+
+Finally Rob came to the decision to remain where he was for the present
+and see if some opportunity would not present itself to recover the
+articles of such vital importance to Uncle Sam's Government.
+
+The men talked on, conversing in low tones, and presently the red-headed
+man started to prepare some food on an oil stove, which must have been
+brought from the motor boat earlier in the day. Till sundry appetizing
+odors began to drift out to him from the plotter's cookery, Rob did not
+realize that he was hungry. Before long, however, his desire for food
+became almost overwhelming. It was tantalizing to lie out there in the
+dark, tired and hungry, and hear within the hut the clatter of knives
+and forks and inhale the odors of what was evidently a hearty meal.
+
+At length the men stopped eating, and Rob heard them discussing whether
+they should sleep in the hut or on board their motor boat. The boy
+pricked up his ears as he listened. If only they decided to sleep on the
+boat and leave the models and plans in the hut, he would have a chance
+to recover the stolen property and make away with it in the beached
+rowboat before dawn.
+
+Rob could hardly restrain an exclamation of delight when the men came to
+the decision to pass the night on their boat.
+
+"What are you going to do with this stuff?" inquired the pallid-faced
+man with the stubbly beard, indicating the mass of papers and models.
+
+"Oh, we'll leave that here till morning," was Berghoff's response; "dere
+is no use in taking idt by der boat now."
+
+"Goodness," thought Rob, "I sure am in luck! It will be no trick at all
+to get that stuff as soon as they have gone, and carry it back to the
+island. I almost wish it was going to be a harder task. It's a bit too
+much like burglary to suit me."
+
+But Rob was not to have such an easy time of it as he anticipated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+A CHASE IN THE NIGHT.
+
+
+The men left the hut, banging the door behind them. Rob waited till the
+sound of their voices grew dim in the distance, and then raising himself
+cautiously he crept around to the door of the hut.
+
+The light had been extinguished, but as the boy had matches in his
+waterproof case this fact did not worry him. Pushing the door open Rob
+entered the place. Before striking a light he did all he could to assure
+himself that he was not likely to be interrupted by the sudden return of
+the men.
+
+Having established to his satisfaction that he was safe, which was not
+until he perceived a light on the motor boat, which lay not far from
+the hut, he proceeded to light up the lantern the men had left behind.
+
+Anxious not to lose any time on his risky task, he began stuffing papers
+and plans into his pockets at once. The models, or most of them, he
+decided he would have to convey to the boat in his arms.
+
+He had hardly completed the task of stowing the papers in his pockets,
+when he was startled at hearing footsteps coming toward the hut. Hastily
+he extinguished the light, uttering an inward prayer that it had not
+been seen. Luckily for himself he had taken the precaution of closing
+the door as soon as he had the lantern lighted.
+
+Just before extinguishing the lamp, he had gazed about the place for
+some spot of concealment. But the hut, as has been said, was a crude
+affair, and no closets or cupboards presented a chance of hiding. The
+only thing that Rob could think of to do was to slip under the table
+and trust to a miracle that he would not be discovered. Hardly had he
+carried out his intention when the door opened and two men entered.
+
+They were the red-headed man and the pallid-faced individual, who
+appeared to act as assistants to Berghoff. At any rate, judging by their
+accents, they were foreigners.
+
+Rob had placed the lantern on the table in a position as much resembling
+that in which the men had left it as he could. He heard a match
+scratched and then the sputter of the flame.
+
+"Don't see why Berghoff sent us back to get that stuff," grumbled one of
+the men angrily; "it's as safe here as it would be anywhere."
+
+"Well, as we're getting good pay fer this job, we might as well obey
+orders," was the reply.
+
+"Gee whillakers!" came a sudden exclamation from the man who had
+attempted to light the lantern.
+
+"What's up?" asked the other.
+
+"Why, the plagued thing is red hot!"
+
+"Red hot?" exclaimed his companion in tones of amazement. "How can that
+be when it's a good half hour since we put it out?"
+
+"Dunno, but it burned my fingers, all right."
+
+"Say, Mike, do you think anyone has been here since we left?"
+
+"Who could have been here? And yet, come to think of it, it's blamed
+queer. Tell you what we'll do."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Search this place. It won't take long."
+
+"Good for you," rejoined the other, while Rob quaked in his place of
+concealment.
+
+"There ain't many nooks or crannies, so the job won't take long."
+
+"That's right. We'll begin by looking under the table----Jeehosophat!"
+
+The sudden exclamation was caused by Rob's suddenly springing up,
+upsetting the table and planting his fist full in the fellow's face.
+The lantern was dropped in the excitement and the hut was plunged in
+darkness. Rob had come to his sudden decision to act as he did as the
+only way to escape the men.
+
+For a time it looked as if he would be successful. Dashing past the man
+who remained on his feet he made for the direction in which he knew the
+door lay. In fact, as the men had not closed it, he had no difficulty in
+locating it by the starlight outside.
+
+"Hey! Stop! Stop!" roared the fellow behind him.
+
+Rob sped on like the wind, using every ounce of running ability he
+possessed. Straight for the beach he made, devoting all his energies to
+a swiftly formed plan to get into the beached boat and row to safety. It
+was a desperate plan, but he had no other resources.
+
+He was within a few yards of the beach when a dark form loomed suddenly
+before him. In the starlight Rob saw something glittering in the
+newcomer's hand. This object was leveled at him, and a stern voice
+commanded him to stop or be shot.
+
+Rob, with a throbbing heart, pulled up. He recognized the voice as that
+of Berghoff and knew that if he did not obey the order the desperate
+ruffian would have no hesitation in sending a bullet into him.
+
+Berghoff, who had been aroused by the cries of his aides when Rob
+escaped from the hut, came up to the lad, keeping him covered with his
+wicked-looking "gun."
+
+"Who are you? What you doing here?" he demanded sternly.
+
+The next moment, and before Rob could reply, the fellow noted the Boy
+Scout uniform.
+
+"Oh, ho!" he exclaimed in a malignant tone. "So you are one of dose Boy
+Scouts, eh? You think you pretty smart, eh? You vait. I may make you pay
+for your fun."
+
+There was a cold sort of malice in the man's way of speaking that
+actually sent a chill down Rob's spine.
+
+But he plucked up courage to make a bold reply.
+
+"I know the sort of illegal trafficking you are engaged in, Berghoff,"
+he said boldly, "and I tell you, you had better leave me alone."
+
+"Is dot so?" sneered the fellow. "You haven't seen the last of me for a
+long time yet."
+
+"My friends will punish you for this," exclaimed Rob, in as confident a
+tone as he could assume.
+
+"It vill be a long time alretty before you see your friendts again,"
+jeered the other. "Ah, here comes Mike and Gyp, now. Now ve findt out
+what you vos doing up by der hut."
+
+As the spy had said, the two men who had been in the hut came up at the
+moment.
+
+Berghoff instantly demanded to know what had occurred in the hut.
+
+"By gosh, cap," said the red-headed man who, it seemed, was "Mike," "it
+happened so sudden I can hardly tell you. We goes up there to get them
+papers as you told us, and the first thing you know out jumps this young
+catamount and hits me a swat on the jaw that 'most put me out fer the
+count."
+
+"That's right," corroborated his companion; "that's just what he done,
+cap."
+
+"How did he get here?" demanded Berghoff angrily.
+
+"Dunno, unless he flew," rejoined Mike helplessly. "Hadn't we better
+search the young varmint and see what he's got in his pockets?"
+
+"Yes, you had better search him at once."
+
+"My last chance has gone," thought Rob as the two fellows seized him
+roughly and began rummaging his pockets.
+
+It would have been worse than useless to resist, so Rob submitted to the
+search, while Berghoff stood looking grimly on as the papers were
+extracted from his pockets by the two ruffians.
+
+"If only I'd hurried a little more," thought Rob to himself bitterly.
+"If only I'd hurried, I'd not have been in this predicament now."
+
+"So you almost got avay mit vot you came after," exclaimed Berghoff as
+the last of the papers was removed from Rob's pockets and handed over to
+the spy; "it voss an inspiration dot made me send my men back by der
+huts."
+
+"What will we do with the kid?" asked the man known as Mike.
+
+"I don't know yet," was the rejoinder in a harsh voice. "Ve ought to
+throw him in der sea. He knows too much aboudt us."
+
+"That's right, cap," came from Gyp, the pallid-faced man, "it's just as
+Barton told us, these blamed Boy Scouts are on to us."
+
+"Vell, it don't be goodt to get ridt of him righdt now. Better bring him
+aboard the boat."
+
+"All right, cap. Come on, you young sneak!" said the man known as Mike.
+
+He gave Rob's arm a vicious twist, and with one of the men on either
+side of him, and Berghoff walking close behind with the revolver, there
+was no recourse for Rob but to accept the situation as it came. But in
+mind he was casting about desperately for a means of escape. None had
+occurred to him by the time they reached the motor boat, which was
+moored at a tumble-down wharf, or jetty.
+
+The motor boat proved to be a sixty-foot affair, with a cabin amidships.
+Into this Rob was gruffly ordered.
+
+"Get aboard now, and look slippy about it," was Mike's way of urging the
+Boy Scout on board the craft.
+
+Rob obeyed the order with a sinking heart Things looked about as black
+as they could be, so even his optimistic nature was compelled to admit.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+ON BOARD A STRANGE CRAFT.
+
+
+Once inside the main cabin Rob was thrust into a small stateroom opening
+off the larger apartment. He heard the lock click as the door was
+slammed to, and knew that he was a prisoner.
+
+It was dark inside the cabin, but by feeling about he discovered a bunk
+on one side of the place. Critical as his situation was, the boy was so
+tired that he flung himself down on this, and, before long, while still
+pondering his quandary, he sank into a deep slumber.
+
+When he awakened it was broad daylight. By the motion of the craft Rob
+knew that she was at sea. Getting up from the bunk he peered out of the
+small porthole of the stateroom. Outside nothing but the ocean was to be
+seen. Of course the boy had not the slightest idea where they were, or
+how long the boat had been running.
+
+All he did know was that he was a prisoner, ravenously hungry, achingly
+thirsty and almost fagged out. His slumbers had been uneasy and had not
+refreshed him.
+
+Outside he could hear voices in the larger cabin. Crawling to the
+keyhole he listened intently. Berghoff was talking. Rob heard enough to
+convince him that the plans of the band had been changed.
+
+"There vill be a big hue undt cry ven dey findt oudt der boy is gone,"
+declared Berghoff. "We must findt some place where we can stop till der
+excitement dies out."
+
+"That's right, cap," agreed one of his companions, "but where can we
+go?"
+
+"There are plenty of small islands further down the coast. One of those
+would suit our purpose," struck in another voice, which Rob recognized
+as that of the pallid-faced Gyp.
+
+"Dot's a good idea," agreed Berghoff; "gedt out der chart and look one
+up."
+
+The voice sank into inaudibility and Rob threw himself back on the bunk.
+At least he knew now what to expect, isolation and captivity with three
+desperate men. It would be wrong to say the lad was frightened. Possibly
+the very nature of his predicament had dulled his brain, as is sometimes
+the case.
+
+"I wonder if they are looking for me now?" he mused, and with the
+thought came a glad realization that Merritt knew of the signals from
+the island and would inform the ensign of them.
+
+"If they only follow me up quickly, maybe they can overtake this craft,"
+he said to himself, "although she's a fast one."
+
+At this juncture of Rob's cogitations the door was thrust open and Gyp
+entered with some food and water.
+
+He placed them on the floor and started to leave the room in sullen
+silence, when Rob stopped him.
+
+"What are you going to do with me?" he demanded.
+
+"Don't ask no questions and you'll get told no lies," growled the man,
+slamming the door and relocking it on the outside.
+
+"Well," thought Rob, "it's plain that I'm to be kept in the dark as to
+my fate. Well, it's no use worrying. I'll tackle this food and take a
+good long drink of water and then see if I can come to any conclusion."
+
+The meal brightened Rob up wonderfully. After eating it he sat on the
+edge of the bunk casting about for something to keep his mind off his
+troubles, when he suddenly recollected the mysterious cipher found on
+the _Good Hope_.
+
+Reaching into his pocket he pulled it out and began figuring with the
+stump of a pencil on the back of an old envelope. But ingenious as he
+was, he found it hard to decipher. He tried half a dozen well-known
+systems on it and was about to give up in despair when he recalled the
+"Letter" method of reading cryptic numeral ciphers.
+
+This system requires the operator to figure out the recurrence of
+different numerals and the order in which they appear. Rob noticed that
+the number 5 occurred most frequently. Now E is the most used letter in
+any bit of English writing, so the lad set down 5 as answering for E.
+
+After this he figured industriously till he had managed to make
+something like sense out of the first paragraph of the old writing.
+
+It would be wearisome to take the matter step by step in all its
+details. Suffice it to say, therefore, that Rob found that he had hit on
+a correct system and at the end of two hours had the following message
+before him.
+
+"It is buried twenty-four paces from dead cypress and to the west. The
+island lies in long. 80 degrees 50 minutes and lat. 33 degrees 24
+minutes. To whoever finds this and reads it, I will the ivory. Death is
+close to me now. Good bye to all."
+
+When his task had been completed, Rob sat gazing at the paper before
+him. Unquestionably it gave the location of the dead whaler's cache. For
+an instant the boy thought, with a thrill, that he was within reach of a
+fortune. But the next moment he recalled where he was, which, in the
+interest of his task, he had forgotten. Then, too, he remembered that
+the dead man's two companions who marooned him on his own ship had
+probably carried out their intention of returning and carrying off the
+precious hoard.
+
+"So that's all of that," mused the boy, "but just the same, if I ever
+get out of this scrape, I mean to hunt up that island and see if I can
+locate the fate of those mammoth tusks."
+
+All day the boat moved swiftly along, and it was not till the following
+morning that anchor was dropped, as Rob knew by feeling the motion of
+the craft stopped, and by hearing the rattle of the anchor chain.
+
+"I wonder what is going to happen to me now?" he mused.
+
+He had not long to wait.
+
+"Come out on deck and help us row the dinghy ashore," Gyp muttered as he
+unlocked the door.
+
+Heartily glad to get out of his cramped quarters, Rob obeyed.
+
+Coming on deck he found Berghoff and Mike already there. The former had
+a formidable-looking revolver strapped on him. The boat was lying off a
+small, sandy island, isolated from the others, in one of the groups that
+are common on that part of the coast.
+
+It was wooded and appeared to be a fine spot for Berghoff's purpose of
+remaining in seclusion till Rob's friends gave him up for lost, and the
+mystery of his capture blew over.
+
+The dinghy, which hung on the davits astern, was lowered, and Rob
+roughly told to "pile in and row us ashore." He obeyed the order,
+noticing that in the boat were tent and camping supplies. Evidently
+these had been placed in it before he was called on deck.
+
+His heart sank as he observed these preparations for an extended stay on
+the lonely island. Once ashore, he was forced to help in putting up the
+tent, building a fire and doing other jobs to make the camp habitable.
+Then, without food, he was set to chopping wood. After a hasty meal,
+Berghoff disappeared, leaving Rob guarded by Gyp and Mike, who lay at
+full length smoking lazily while he worked.
+
+When Berghoff returned he announced that there was no trace of humanity
+on the island. With this statement vanished Rob's last hope of help. He
+had nourished a secret aspiration that there might be some campers or
+fishermen living on the place.
+
+When the sun set that night Rob's feelings were down to zero. The very
+fact that he was not closely watched seemed to prove to him the utter
+impossibility of his escaping. True, there was the boat, but that had
+been drawn up on the beach by his wily captors so that it would be
+impossible for him to move it without attracting their attention.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+OFF ON A SEA TRAIL.
+
+
+As minutes and then hours elapsed and Rob did not return, Merritt became
+first anxious, and then seriously alarmed. He knew Rob's daring nature,
+and had a keen fear that it might have led him into doing something
+reckless.
+
+It was almost dawn when he at length determined to return to the
+encampment and seek out Ensign Hargreaves. By the time he had tramped
+back over the sandy dunes day was breaking, and in the camp of the Boy
+Scouts the notes of the morning bugle were ringing out cheerily. The
+first of the Scouts to note Merritt's return was Donald Grant.
+
+He came running toward him, and then stopped short as he noted the
+other's drawn, tired face.
+
+"Why, what in the world's the matter with you, Merry?" he gasped out.
+"You look as if you'd been drawn through a knothole. Where's Rob? Where
+have you been all night?"
+
+"I'll explain that later," said Merritt wearily; "just now I've got to
+find Ensign Hargreaves. Rob's either been kidnapped or lost."
+
+He hastened on, leaving the other lad rooted to the spot with amazement
+and alarm. He knew Merritt well enough already to realize that the other
+was not the sort of lad to overrate a situation. If Merritt was as
+scared and weary as he looked, something serious indeed must have taken
+place.
+
+In the meantime Merritt hastened to Ensign Hargreaves' tent. Hastily
+arousing him, he hurriedly explained the whole matter. The officer was
+out of his cot in an instant.
+
+"You had no business to go off alone like that without notifying me,"
+he exclaimed rather sharply. "Don't you know that the first duty of a
+soldier, a sailor or a scout is to obey orders?"
+
+Merritt crimsoned and hung his head. He knew that the officer was right.
+
+"We thought we were doing a good thing," he said, "but I know now that
+we did wrong in not notifying you."
+
+The ensign's hand fell on the lad's shoulder. Then kindly enough he
+said:
+
+"Well, acknowledging that you did wrong is a manly thing, my boy, and
+we'll say no more about the matter. But about Rob, something must be
+done right away. Arouse Mr. Barr while I am dressing and we'll set about
+searching for him at once. There's little doubt in my mind but that he
+is on that island where you saw the signals flying."
+
+"But how could he get there unless he had an airship?" inquired Merritt.
+
+"Hasn't it occurred to you that he might have hidden in the boat while
+the men were out of it?"
+
+"Gracious! In that case he may be their prisoner by this time!"
+
+"I am afraid that there is little doubt of that. We must get after the
+rascals at once."
+
+By the time the ensign was dressed, Mr. Barr was also attired, and the
+two immediately began a discussion of plans for the rescue of Rob. But
+first the ensign wanted to know about Barton.
+
+It was hard for Mr. Barr to believe that the man whom he trusted
+implicitly could have proved traitor to him.
+
+"The best way to find that out is to look at your papers and models and
+see if anything is missing," was the response.
+
+"I'll do so; but I'm sure the boys must be mistaken in Barton. He has
+worked for me for many years."
+
+"Possibly the large price he was offered to turn over the plans of the
+_Peacemaker_ had something to do with it," suggested Merritt.
+
+"Perhaps; but I'll not say anything till I find out definitely that
+something is missing."
+
+Mr. Barr hastened off toward the shed, but returned before long with a
+countenance filled with apprehension.
+
+"My most important blue prints and models are missing!" he exclaimed.
+
+The ensign made a dry grimace.
+
+"Our young friends were right," he said. "In detecting the rascal they
+have done an excellent piece of scouting work. But now let us hurry off
+in search of Rob at once."
+
+"How will you reach that other island?" asked Merritt.
+
+"We will go in the motor boat. She is fast and does not draw much
+water."
+
+"Can we all go along?"
+
+"No, we'll take one of my sailors, your chum Donald, Tubby Hopkins, you
+and myself. We haven't settled accounts with Barton yet, and I don't
+want him left practically alone on the island."
+
+"Do you think he would try to harm the submarine?"
+
+"I think it likely. He has probably been paid to injure it so that the
+rival power that is working against us can construct its submarines
+first."
+
+"But you are going to make him confess?"
+
+"If he will, yes. If not, he faces a long prison term, although it will
+be hard to prove that he actually stole the papers and models."
+
+"But we saw him answering those signals, and then again, last night we
+saw him meet the men."
+
+"I'm afraid that wouldn't make very good evidence in a court of law,"
+was the rejoinder. "But enough of this now. Tell Hawkins (one of the
+sailors) to get the boat ready, and hurry through your breakfast We'll
+start right afterward."
+
+"We can't start too quick for me," was the brisk reply. "Poor old Rob, I
+wonder what has happened to him."
+
+While he ate a hasty meal Merritt outlined to the other Scouts what had
+happened. Following this, Ensign Hargreaves announced a change of his
+plans. He had decided, he said, to take Barton along, not caring to
+leave the man on the island.
+
+"He is clever and dangerous," he said, "and I want him under my eye till
+I have decided how to dispose of his case."
+
+"You are not going to let him know you suspect him?" asked Merritt.
+
+"For the present, no. As to what I shall do in the future, I have not
+yet made up my mind."
+
+Ten minutes later a black motor boat shot out of the little inlet in
+which she had been moored. As she sped seaward, making for the other
+island, those left behind set up the cry of the Eagle and Wolf patrols.
+
+Barton, looking sullen and suspicious, was at the engines. He knew the
+object of the trip, but, of course, had no knowledge that his part in
+it was suspected. Nor did any of the party show him by looks or words
+that so much as a breath of suspicion attached to him. This was by the
+orders of Ensign Hargreaves, who had determined to give the fellow
+plenty of rope.
+
+As the _Viper_, as the black motor boat was called, raced over the
+water, Merritt found himself gloomily contemplating the future. If
+anything serious had happened to Rob, he felt that he would be in a
+measure responsible for allowing the young leader of the Eagles to go
+off alone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE.
+
+
+Half an hour after her start, the _Viper_ glided alongside the island
+from which Merritt had seen the signals go up the afternoon before. He
+could not forbear to take a glance at Barton as the ensign ordered the
+engines stopped.
+
+The machinist was stooping over the motor to hide his agitation; but by
+the trembling of his hands Merritt could tell that the fellow was
+apprehensive of something that might involve himself. As soon as the
+anchor dropped, the motor boat's dinghy was drawn up alongside and the
+ensign and Merritt boarded it. The others were left on board the _Viper_
+with whispered orders from the officer to watch Barton's every move.
+The island was a small one, and from its highest point it was possible
+to see all around it. To Merritt's bitter disappointment, however, no
+sign of another motor boat was in sight. Their quarry had flown.
+
+"There's but one thing to do," declared the ensign; "we must make for
+that small hut over yonder and search it thoroughly. It may yield a clue
+of some kind."
+
+A short walk brought them to the hut which had been the scene of the
+stirring events of the preceding night. Hardly had they entered the door
+before Merritt gave a start of surprise and a swift exclamation.
+
+"Look! Look there!" he cried. "There's Rob's hat!"
+
+Sure enough, lying in a corner was the boy leader's campaign hat, which
+he had lost in the scuffle with Mike and Gyp.
+
+"Well, that shows conclusively enough that he was here last night, and
+from that upset table and the general look of things, I should imagine
+there had been a pretty lively scrap here," commented the ensign.
+
+"But where can Rob be now?"
+
+"Probably fearing discovery if they remained here, the men who have
+taken the plans and the models carried him off, too."
+
+"How will it ever be possible to obtain a clew as to where they have
+gone?"
+
+The ensign's answer appeared enigmatical.
+
+"Could you describe the motor boat you saw off here yesterday?"
+
+"Well, she was of a very remarkable color--a light green, with a signal
+mast sticking up amidships. Then, too, her cabin was unusually high."
+
+"Good. Such a boat as that ought not to be very hard to locate."
+
+"I don't quite understand."
+
+"Well, then I'll explain. These waters are fairly well traveled, and by
+working our wireless we may be able to get into communication with some
+boat similarly equipped, which may have seen that green motor boat."
+
+"Cracky, that's a good idea," cried the admiring boy; "let's go back and
+try it at once."
+
+"Yes, it's small use our waiting about here. The rascals overreached us
+by getting away as quick as possible. I suppose they didn't want to run
+any chances of discovery."
+
+The return to the _Viper_ was quickly made, and the motor boat was
+driven back to the Submarine Island at top speed. Barton tried with all
+his might to overhear what was said in the bow of the boat where the Boy
+Scouts had gathered; but the ensign was careful to keep his voice low,
+and then, too, the noise of the engines precluded the machinist from
+catching a word, hard as he strained his ears.
+
+Under the tutoring of Hiram Nelson, the wireless scout, the others had
+all become fair operators. It was agreed that day and night one of them
+should be at the apparatus, seeking for news of the green motor boat.
+
+It was the ensign's opinion that the craft would not put into a port
+immediately, fearing a hue and cry, but would cruise about or hide in
+some little frequented part of the coast. But he hoped that if the
+wireless "caught" some vessel that had spoken to her, he could at least
+obtain a line on which direction she had taken.
+
+The first "session" at the wireless was taken by Hiram, then came the
+others in rotation; but when at ten o'clock that night Donald, who had
+learned wireless on his father's yacht, came on duty, there had come no
+word from the air of a green motor boat. Several ships had been spoken
+to, but not one reported anything to give the boys hope.
+
+"Well, good-night, old man," said Merritt, as Donald, who relieved him,
+came on duty, "and good luck."
+
+"I'll keep a good watch out, all right," was the earnest response.
+"It's our only way to get poor old Rob back."
+
+"I'm afraid so," sighed Merritt, leaving the place with a despondent
+air. As Donald had said, it was a chance--but what a long, seemingly
+hopeless one!
+
+Donald, left alone, began sending out calls, and every little while he
+paused for an answer out of space to his appeals. As he pressed the
+sending key the blue, lithe spark leaped and crackled between its points
+like a fiery snake. Then all would become silent again as he listened
+for an answer to his call.
+
+Once he caught a steamer bound north and carried on quite a conversation
+with its operator. He felt quite lonesome when he closed down his
+sending apparatus with a parting "good-bye."
+
+It was very still about the encampment. So still, in fact, that the boy
+began to feel more and more lonesome. He longed for someone to talk to;
+but he knew that chance would not come till Tubby, his relief,
+appeared.
+
+The stout youth was almost due when Donald suddenly got into
+communication with a steamer called the _Cambria_, bound north from New
+Orleans to New York. He put his customary query about the green motor
+boat.
+
+"A green motor boat?" came back the reply.
+
+"Yes," flashed Donald.
+
+"With one signal mast and a high cabin?"
+
+"Yes! yes," shot out Donald, pounding the key excitedly. "Have you seen
+such a craft?"
+
+"We sighted her this evening."
+
+The boy's fingers shook as he wrote down the reply with flying pencil on
+the scratch pad at his elbow.
+
+"Down off some islands about Lat. 80 deg., Long. 33 deg.," came the
+answer. "She was coming straight toward us and then all of a sudden she
+headed away. Seemed like she didn't want to get near us. Is that all?"
+
+"Yes; good-bye, and thank you," flashed back Donald exultantly.
+
+His fingers had hardly left the key before he was startled by a soft
+footfall behind him.
+
+The boy wheeled like a flash and then almost fell off his chair. Facing
+him, with an ugly-looking revolver in his hand, was Barton, the
+machinist.
+
+There was a mean sneer on his sinister face as he snarled out:
+
+"Let me see that message and let me see it quick."
+
+"I've got no message for you," responded Donald, determined not to let
+the man know that he had information of the green motor boat's
+whereabouts.
+
+"That's a lie," snarled Barton; "don't monkey with me. I've got this gun
+and, jingo, I know how to use it, too."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+THE DEPTHS OF OLD OCEAN.
+
+
+Just as Donald, who was no match physically for the burly machinist, was
+pondering what to do, the door which was open became filled by a rotund
+figure.
+
+It was Tubby.
+
+In a jiffy he took in the scene, the threatening attitude of Barton, the
+alarmed look of Donald, who stood staring at the revolver like a bird
+fascinated by a snake. Tubby realized that it was no time for thinking
+the situation over. Instead, he crouched low, and then, darting forward
+with surprising agility, he seized the machinist around the legs before
+the fellow knew what was happening.
+
+Taken utterly by surprise, and borne off his feet by Tubby's rush,
+Barton came crashing to the floor in a heap. As he fell the revolver
+exploded, the bullet passing by Donald's head.
+
+Barton struggled desperately with Tubby, but the stout youth held on to
+him like a leech, at the same time yelling for help. In a few seconds
+the ensign and Mr. Barr came rushing in, followed by the Boy Scouts and
+the sailors. There was an end to the battle then and there. After a
+brief resistance Barton, snarling and cursing, was tied hand and foot,
+and the ensign ordered him locked up in the dining room shed for the
+present.
+
+Donald soon told his story and proudly exhibited the message from the
+air which told of sighting the green motor boat. All agreed that it was
+a cheering bit of news.
+
+"If they were near a lot of islands when sighted, it is most probable
+that they are hiding on one of the group. At all events, having the
+latitude and longitude, it will be easy to go down there and see."
+
+"What are you going to do about Barton? We have full proof of his
+villainy now," struck in Merritt.
+
+"I suppose we shall have to take him along with us. We can't waste time
+going ashore now and risking the law's delays. We will go down the coast
+in the submarine with the _Viper_ acting as escort, and Barton a
+prisoner on the _Peacemaker_," decided the ensign.
+
+"I wonder why he was so anxious to see that message?" spoke Tubby.
+
+"I guess he knew we were trying to trace the green motor boat, and was
+watching the wireless through that window. When he saw Donald busy
+taking a message, he guessed what it was, and decided that it was
+necessary for him to see it," hazarded Mr. Barr. "How I have been
+deceived in the rascal!"
+
+"You certainly have. His actions show him to be a scoundrel of the
+worst type," agreed the ensign.
+
+There was not much more sleep for anybody that night. Excitement ran far
+too high for that. An attempt was made to force Barton to confess his
+part in the conspiracy, but he sullenly refused to talk.
+
+"You've got nothing on me," was all he would vouchsafe. "Anything those
+tin soldier kids tell you is patched up out of whole cloth."
+
+Slumber being out of the question, the rest of the night was devoted to
+stocking both craft with food and water in good quantities. In this work
+the Scouts helped with a will. They were aided by the three sailors, who
+were to be left behind to guard the island, and therefore did not work
+any too hard.
+
+Dawn found all in readiness, and at the summons of the bugle all lined
+up before Ensign Hargreaves to receive their orders. To the submarine
+were assigned Merritt and Donald, besides Mr. Barr, Ensign Hargreaves,
+and the prisoner Barton. The _Viper's_ crew was captained by Tubby, a
+capable motor boat engineer, and Hiram and the others. When this had
+been done, Barton was led before Ensign Hargreaves.
+
+"Barton," said he sternly, "you have acted the part of a scoundrel and
+should be behind the bars now. But I need you for work, and upon the
+manner in which you perform it, will depend just how severe your
+punishment will be. Cast him loose, men, and take him into the engine
+room of the submarine. You are to stand by for orders."
+
+"I'll try to do my best, sir," rejoined Barton in a soft tone of voice,
+very unusual for him. "I'm sorry, sir, for what I did, but I was led
+astray by promises of money."
+
+This change in the man was almost startling. From a sullen, morose
+fellow he had suddenly, or so it seemed, become a dutiful, attentive
+man, willing to obey orders and do his best. Was all this genuine? We
+shall have to go further to see.
+
+There being no excuse for delay, and as all were anxious to get off as
+quickly as possible, the two craft were boarded. The hatch of the
+submarine was left open for the present, for it was the intention of the
+ensign to run "awash," as it is called.
+
+The motor boat running very nearly as fast as the submarine, they kept
+each other company down the coast with little difficulty. It was fine,
+exciting sport in the motor boat as it cut its way over the swells,
+hurling spray and water out to either side of its sharp bow. If only the
+boys had had Rob with them, they would have enjoyed it much more,
+though.
+
+All that was visible of the submarine was the top of her conning tower,
+and the slender, needle-like "eye" of the periscope. The water surged
+round her conning tower as she rushed along, for all the world like
+some sea monster speeding on an errand of destruction. She was not going
+full speed, for the ensign wished to keep company with the motor boat.
+
+At noon, just as the lads on the motor boat were settling down to lunch
+cooked on a blue-flame stove, a head was thrust out of the conning
+tower. It was that of Mr. Barr.
+
+"We are going to run under the surface in a short time," he said; "just
+follow your same course, and you'll pick us up when we rise again."
+
+"All right," shouted Tubby, his mouth full of ham sandwich, which he
+held in one hand, while with the other he clasped a big wedge of pie.
+
+The hatch on top of the conning tower closed shortly after with a
+metallic "clang." The next instant the craft vanished from view in a
+swirl of water. For a time the tip of the periscope tube, which was
+twenty-five feet long, projected above the surface; then that, too,
+vanished, and the motor boat was alone on the ocean.
+
+On board the submarine the lads were enjoying themselves as much as
+their fellow Scouts on the motor boat. This second experience was even
+more novel and enjoyable than their first dive. Mr. Barr sat in the
+cabin reading some scientific works. Barton, seemingly a changed
+character, was at work in the engine room. The negro cook was in the
+galley, while in the conning tower the ensign was giving Donald and
+Merritt a lesson in handling a diving craft.
+
+In fact, it was Merritt who was at the deflecting apparatus when the
+occupants of Tubby's boat saw the submarine sink.
+
+"That is the descending lever and this the ascending one," explained the
+officer before Merritt sent the boat under the surface.
+
+The levers were small affairs and looked fragile for the work they did
+of starting up the mighty pumps that caused the boat to rise or sink at
+will.
+
+"What if one of them should break or be lost?" asked Donald.
+
+"Well, if we were under water and the ascending lever happened to be
+missing, we should be in an awkward position, and I don't believe that
+Mr. Barr carries an extra one."
+
+"Gracious! Then if the lever was lost we should have to stay at the
+bottom of the sea?"
+
+"That's about the size of it," was the reply.
+
+Mr. Barr, coming into the conning tower just then, confirmed the
+officer's suspicion that no extra lever was carried.
+
+"I admit there ought to be one as a matter of precaution," he said, "but
+we were in such a hurry to give the boat her tests that we forgot about
+it."
+
+All the afternoon the submarine ran under the water, rising about sunset
+to the surface. In the distance was the motor boat, but far in the rear.
+The _Peacemaker_ was sent around in circle and soon came alongside her
+companion craft.
+
+Then the hatchway was opened and the ensign shouted some orders to
+Tubby. The submarine was going to dive once more, but would come up
+before dark. When night fell a red light would be carried astern which
+the motor craft was to follow throughout the night. When this had been
+made clear, the _Peacemaker_ dived once more, but this time it had been
+decided to send her down to a good depth.
+
+"We will eat an early supper under water just for the novelty of it,"
+declared Mr. Barr.
+
+While the meal was going forward Barton was sent into the conning tower
+to navigate the craft. He obeyed with the same smooth complacence with
+which he had received every order since his attack on Donald. Evidently
+the man was hoping, by good behavior, to save himself from a long jail
+sentence.
+
+After supper Barton was relieved, and Merritt sent to the wheel in his
+place. He had been in the conning tower but a short time when he was
+joined by Ensign Hargreaves and Mr. Barr.
+
+"I guess we'll go to the surface now," said the inventor; "it must be
+almost dark up above."
+
+Merritt reached for the lever that operated the ascending pumps. Right
+then he received the most acute and alarming shock of his life.
+
+There was no lever there!
+
+"It's gone!" he shouted.
+
+"What? What's gone?" repeated the inventor in a puzzled tone.
+
+"The lever! The ascending lever! We can't rise to the surface without
+it."
+
+The inventor turned pale. Drops of sweat stood out on his forehead. Even
+the ensign turned a shade whiter than usual.
+
+If the lever could not be discovered, they were doomed to an awful death
+in the depths of the sea!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+ROB MAKES A DISCOVERY.
+
+
+Rob, disconsolate and miserable, passed a bad night, and rose early. As
+his captors were still asleep and had, apparently, made no effort to
+guard him, he decided to make a tour of the island himself. For one
+thing, he was by no means sure that Berghoff had been speaking the truth
+when he said that the place was uninhabited; and again he thought that
+some form of escape might present itself if only he investigated the
+place thoroughly.
+
+So the lad tiptoed out of the camp, first taking the precaution to fill
+his pockets with food. He headed straight into the woods, planning to
+come out again when he had traveled a safe distance from the camp. He
+followed out this idea, pushing his way through the brush for a time,
+and then emerging on a strip of white beach that seemed to extend around
+the island.
+
+He trudged along, keeping a bright lookout, but saw nothing that would
+further his prospects of getting away. All at once, though, as he came
+around the other side of the little spot of land, he saw another island
+lying at no great distance off. And on the beach of this island was a
+boat.
+
+A more welcome sight could not have presented itself to the boy's eyes
+just then. It meant that there was somebody on the island,--somebody who
+would surely be glad to help out a lad in his predicament.
+
+"But how on earth am I to get over there?" mused the lad. "The tide is
+running like a mill race, and I don't know whether I'm a strong enough
+swimmer to buck it."
+
+Then another idea occurred to him. Just above him was a small point of
+land. By going into the water from the end of this, he would be some
+distance above the island he wished to gain, and the current, would,
+therefore, carry him down.
+
+"If I only could get a log or something," thought the boy; "it wouldn't
+take me long to get over there."
+
+He started to hunt for a log that would suit his requirements; but logs
+didn't seem very plentiful in that vicinity. In his search, he reëntered
+the woods, and after looking about a bit succeeded in finding one that
+would just suit his purpose.
+
+Stooping down, he lifted it, and then jumped back with a startled
+exclamation. A huge black snake had been coiled under the log, and now
+it struck at him, hissing and darting its red tongue in and out, and
+showing its vicious fangs!
+
+Before Rob could avoid the creature's attack, it had wrapped itself
+around his arm, fastening its fangs into his sleeve.
+
+[Illustration: HE TOPPLED BACKWARD OVER THE BRINK AND PLUNGED DOWN INTO
+THE SWIFTLY FLOWING CURRENT BENEATH.]
+
+Rob battled desperately with the reptile, which lashed its tail and
+hissed with vicious intonations. The feel of the creature's grip was
+loathsome to the boy, and although its fangs had not penetrated his
+tough khaki coat, they might do so at any moment.
+
+In the battle Rob backed out of the woods, striving all the time to free
+himself, and unconsciously stepped nearer and nearer to the water's
+edge. Before he realized his position he toppled backward over the brink
+and plunged down into the swiftly flowing current beneath.
+
+Down he went until it seemed he must strike the bottom! But his fall
+into the channel had had one good effect. The snake was not gripping his
+arm any more. When he shot to the surface he saw it swimming for its
+life, but being carried away from the shore.
+
+In fact, the same thing was the case with Rob. The grip of the water
+drew him far from the island he had just vacated in such an
+unceremonious manner, and hurried him toward the spot of land where
+he had seen the boat. Striking out with all his might, the lad fought
+the current so as to reach the other island before the water hurried him
+past it. It was a hard fight even for a powerful swimmer like Rob. His
+clothes encumbered him cruelly, too; but at last, almost exhausted, he
+touched bottom and reeled ashore.
+
+For a time he could do nothing but lie there gasping. Had his life
+depended on it, he could not have moved hand or foot. But at length his
+youthful vitality came to his aid and he rose to his feet to look about
+him.
+
+The current had landed him on a part of the beach from which the boat he
+had spied was not visible. But he knew in which direction it lay, and
+started out for it. As he rounded a small promontory he came upon it, a
+heavily-built, rickety-looking old thing, but still a boat.
+
+Rob in his present situation would have taken anything that would
+float.
+
+"I'll examine it first and then go hunt up the owner and make a bargain
+with him for it," he thought.
+
+With this intention he approached the craft, and the next instant
+received one of the cruellest shocks of his life.
+
+The boat was a mere shell, falling to pieces from age and exposure to
+the hot sun. It must have been years since she had been used, and Rob's
+experienced eye saw that she would have sunk like a stone the instant
+she was put in the water. It was a bitter blow to the lad, and for a
+time he sank down on the sand, completely knocked out.
+
+But after a time he rallied his spirits.
+
+"After all," he mused, "there may be somebody living on the island and
+that boat may be just an old one they have discarded. I'll dry my
+clothes and then start out to investigate."
+
+With the drying of his clothes, Rob made an alarming discovery. The food
+he had taken was most of it reduced to pulp by its immersion, some
+canned goods alone remaining edible.
+
+"That makes it all the more urgent for me to find some aid," he said to
+himself; "I don't think that bunch on the motor boat will trouble to
+look for me. I guess they'd be glad to leave me here if this is a
+deserted island. In that case, I might die here before aid came."
+
+But thrusting all such thoughts as that aside, Rob determined to meet
+the situation like a brave Scout.
+
+"I won't give up till I'm at the last ditch," he said to himself with
+determination, as he put on his clothes. "I'll fight it out to the end."
+
+Somehow this resolution of his made the boy feel better. With renewed
+courage he set out to explore the island. But he made the circuit of it
+in vain. There was not a trace to be found of human habitation nor any
+indication, except the stranded, sun-dried boat, that anyone but himself
+had ever landed there.
+
+So despondent did he feel over this discovery that had he possessed the
+strength to do so, he would have swum back to the other island and
+thrown himself on the mercy of his recent captors. But this was now out
+of the question.
+
+Unless he could find some way out of his dilemma, it looked as if he
+would indeed be doomed to leave his bones on those sands. The thought
+was a dreadful one, and although it was a warm, almost tropical day, the
+boy shivered and cold sweat ran down his face.
+
+If he were indeed to die there, nobody would ever know his fate, in all
+probability. He had failed in his mission to recover the papers, too.
+Altogether he felt in a very miserable frame of mind. It was in this
+mood that, in order to keep his mind off his predicament, more than
+anything else, he fell to examining the old boat again. There might be
+some way to patch her up, he thought desperately, hoping against hope.
+
+Suddenly he made a discovery that set his heart to beating wildly. On
+the stern board of the boat was cut the name "_Good Hope_!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+THE DEAD MAN'S HOARD.
+
+
+The "_Good Hope_!"
+
+What a crowd of memories the name brought buzzing about the boy! The
+lone derelict, the figure in the mouldering cabin, the--the plan in his
+pocket!
+
+With fingers that trembled Rob drew out the solution of the cryptogram
+and read it over.
+
+Then he held his head in his hands a moment to keep it from whirling
+round.
+
+Could it be possible that this was the island where the hoard of
+century-old ivory was buried? Had he stumbled by a complete accident
+upon the cache that had sent one man to his death?
+
+Then he recalled that on his trip of exploration he had noticed a big
+dead cypress on the other side of the island. But if this was the
+veritable island where the whalers had buried their ivory, why was the
+boat lying there mouldering on the beach? Why had they not left again?
+
+The more the boy thought of it, the more mysterious and inexplicable the
+whole thing became. He resolved to go back to the dead cypress and
+follow the directions of the cryptic message of the captain of the _Good
+Hope_.
+
+As has been said, the island was not a large one, and he was not long in
+reaching the gaunt, dead tree. Somehow he felt a chill go through him as
+he stood beneath its leafless gray limbs. It reminded him oddly of that
+skeleton in the deck house of the derelict.
+
+But he pulled himself together and struck off into the woods in a
+direction that, by using his watch as a compass, he knew to be the west.
+The undergrowth was thick, but after going a few paces, he reached an
+open space.
+
+In the centre of this was a sight that made his heart jump and then beat
+wildly. Strewn in every direction were big tusks of yellow ivory,
+evidently lying just as they had been dug from the ground.
+
+Rob was still contemplating them when his eye caught the flutter of a
+rag of cloth at the edge of the open space. Attracted by a curiosity he
+could not account for, he made his way toward it. If the sight of the
+ivory had made him jump, what he now saw sent a chill of horror down his
+spine. The rag that had fluttered had been part of the clothing of what
+had once been two men.
+
+Both lay close together, their bones showing where the cloth had worn
+away under Time's finger. A pair of rusty pistols lying by each showed
+how they had come to their death. The whole tragedy was as clear to Rob
+as if he had seen it:--the quarrel between the two ivory stealers, the
+duel with the pistols, and the death of both combatants beside the
+treasure pile they had done so much wickedness to acquire.
+
+"Truly that figure in the deck house is avenged," thought Rob, gazing
+with horror-stricken eyes at the things before him. "Death was indeed
+the wages of sin in their case."
+
+Turning from the grisly relics of that far-off duel on the lonely
+island, Rob fell to examining the ivory. There was a large quantity of
+it.
+
+"It must be worth an immense sum," he thought.
+
+But in the very moment of his triumph, Rob suddenly recollected what, in
+his excitement, he had entirely forgotten for the moment. He was a
+castaway on a strange, uninhabited island, with only a few tins of beef
+between him and starvation. Thirst he did not fear, for close to where
+he had struggled ashore was a spring of sweet, cool water.
+
+Rob made his way back to the beach and the boat. Inside the boat he now
+noticed what had hitherto escaped his attention. There were several
+hundred feet of light rope which seemed to be still in fairly good
+condition. There was, too, a pair of oars. At the same moment the boy
+was seized by a sudden idea. He could get away from the island, and in a
+boat, too!
+
+His Boy Scout training had made him fertile in ideas, and if the present
+one succeeded it would mean his escape from a terrible fate.
+
+       +       +       +       +       +
+
+Ensign Hargreaves and Mr. Barr looked sternly at each other.
+
+"There is only one man who could have taken that lever," said the
+ensign.
+
+"And that is who?"
+
+"The rascal Barton."
+
+"But for what possible object?"
+
+"I cannot think unless he has hidden it and will only give it up as the
+price of his liberty."
+
+"But if he keeps us down here, he will die, too."
+
+"He is playing his life against ours and he holds the cards."
+
+"Not for long. Come below at once. We must act quickly. There is a
+chance he still has it on his person."
+
+Down the stairs they ran, leaving Merritt at the wheel with a sinking
+feeling of fear clutching at his heart. If Barton, turned desperate, had
+hidden the key and would not reveal its hiding place, it meant that they
+must remain in the depths till death put an end to their sufferings.
+
+In the meantime, the ensign and Mr. Barr, both excited, had rushed
+through the cabin and toward the engine room. As they approached the
+door, it was slammed and a pistol thrust through a small hole in it,
+which had been cut for ventilation.
+
+Then Barton's voice came ringing out:
+
+"Don't come a step closer unless you want to get a bullet in you."
+
+"What's the matter, man, are you mad?" exclaimed Mr. Barr.
+
+A shriek of demoniacal laughter was the sole response.
+
+It sent a shudder through everyone who heard it. The man was mad,
+violently insane. The seeds of lunacy, which had been germinating in his
+brain for a long time, had burst forth into a terrible harvest.
+
+"And on that man everyone of our lives depends," breathed the ensign.
+
+Then in a louder tone, which rang with authority:
+
+"Barton, did you take that ascending lever?"
+
+"Yes; ha-ha-ha! It's a good joke on you! You thought you'd put me in
+prison, but now we'll all die together."
+
+"Barton," pleaded Mr. Barr, "be rational. Return that lever and you
+shall have immunity."
+
+"It's too late now!" screamed the demented wretch. "We'll all die
+together in the depths of the sea, where dead men's bones rot and the
+fish eat their eyes out."
+
+A hasty consultation followed between the ensign and Mr. Barr. The man
+was undoubtedly violently insane, and there didn't seem a chance in the
+world of dislodging him from his position.
+
+The situation was the more serious from the fact that the fresh air
+devices were not working properly and the air inside the submarine was
+already getting noticeably stale and foul.
+
+"We must rush that door; it's our only chance," declared the officer in
+a whispered voice.
+
+"But he is liable to shoot," objected Mr. Barr, eying the blued-steel
+muzzle of the revolver which was pointed threateningly at them.
+
+"It cannot be helped. It means death in a fearful form if we do not
+dislodge him from that position, and a man in his condition cannot
+listen to reason."
+
+"Well, what do you propose?"
+
+"That you start talking to him to distract his attention, offer him
+money or anything to give up the lever. Then I'll watch my chance and
+rush in on him; thank goodness, that door has no lock on it."
+
+"Barton!" said Mr. Barr, in a resonant voice.
+
+"Well?" snarled the lunatic.
+
+"Be calm now and listen to reason. Is it money you wish?"
+
+"No, blood! Human lives!" shrieked the maniac.
+
+At precisely that instant, like a projectile from a gun the ensign's
+powerful body shot forward. Crash came his solid one hundred and
+eighty-five pounds against the door.
+
+At the same instant there was another crash, the sharp crack of a
+revolver! In that confined space it sounded terribly loud.
+
+"He's shot him!" cried Mr. Barr.
+
+But Barton had done nothing of the kind. The attack had been utterly
+unexpected by him, and as the door banged against him with terrific
+force, he had been knocked down. As he fell the revolver exploded;
+before he could pull the trigger a second time the powerful young
+officer of Uncle Sam's Navy was upon the man. Barton fought like a
+wildcat, and with the superhuman strength of those afflicted with
+insanity.
+
+At last, however, he was overpowered and, raving incoherently, was tied
+hand and foot and carried out to the cabin where he was placed on a
+lounge. Mr. Barr, who knew something of medicine, gave him a calming
+dose from the submarine's medicine chest, and he became less violent.
+
+"Barton, where did you put that lever?" demanded the ensign.
+
+The man whimpered like a child.
+
+"I--I don't remember," he gasped out.
+
+Consternation showed on every face. Already the air was getting worse
+and worse.
+
+The ensign bent over the bound man, who was now crying weakly.
+
+"You must remember, man. You must, I say!" he snapped, in tones that cut
+like the crack of a whip. "Think! think! our lives depend upon it!"
+
+"If I knew, I would tell you," murmured the man; "but I don't. I don't
+remember."
+
+A stillness like death itself settled on the occupants of the cabin.
+Barton had accomplished his insane purpose only too well, it seemed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+WHICH WILL WIN?
+
+
+Rob's idea was a simple enough one. With his knife he would cut bundles
+of branches and then bind them to the sides of the boat with the rope.
+This would at least keep the crazy craft afloat and offer him a means of
+reaching the shore.
+
+He set to work at once with great enthusiasm, and by dusk his
+strange-looking boat was ready to be launched. By placing round branches
+under it for rollers and using another branch as a lever, he soon
+succeeded in getting it into the water. But it was hard work, and he
+paused to eat some of his canned beef before going any further.
+
+To his huge delight the boat, though lopsided and half full of water,
+was buoyed up by the branches, and he had no doubt that he could
+navigate her with the oars. As soon as he had finished his unappetizing
+meal, Rob clambered on board his "ark," as he mentally called her, and
+thrust the oars into the rowlocks. The boat was very heavy, and owing to
+her waterlogged condition pulled very hard. Worse still, Rob encountered
+a current that carried him toward the other island, the one he had left
+that morning; and even worse, a fact he presently perceived, his craft
+was being carried around a point, on the opposite side of which he could
+see the glow of a fire against the night sky; for by this time it was
+dark. Rob was heartily glad that this was the case, for he knew that the
+fire must be that of the rascals who had abducted him, and in the
+darkness he might slip by them unnoticed.
+
+Luckily the current set a bit from the shore at this point, and
+although the boy could hear the three rascals carousing around their
+fire over a keg of spirits, and singing and shouting at the top of their
+voices, they could not see him, partly because of their condition, and
+partly because of the firelight.
+
+Past the camp, with its carousing inmates, the boy was carried, and
+suddenly his boat was bumped against something. Rob looked around. At
+first he thought he had struck a rock. Instead he saw before him the
+green motor boat.
+
+Like a flash an inspiration came to him. He clambered on board, and not
+till he was fairly on deck did he recollect that he had neglected to tie
+his ark to the side.
+
+He looked over the stern rail. In the dim light he could see his clumsy
+craft drifting off, bobbing up and down on the tide.
+
+"Well, I've burned my bridges behind me now," he exclaimed to himself.
+"If I can't carry this thing through, I'll be cold meat by morning."
+
+Just at that moment came a shout from the outlaws carousing on the
+beach.
+
+Keener-eyed than his companions, Berghoff had spied a dark form on the
+motor boat, silhouetted against the thickly sprinkled stars.
+
+"There's someone stealing our boat. After him, boys!" Rob heard the
+fellow roar.
+
+Then he ducked as a volley of bullets came whizzing over his head. His
+next move was to clamber forward, keeping as low as possible till he
+reached the anchor chain.
+
+There was no time to haul in, for the men had already run down the beach
+and launched their small boat.
+
+Rob merely knocked out a shackle pin and let the whole thing go. This
+done, he scrambled back and descended to the engine room.
+
+"If I can't make this old tea-kettle go, I'm a gone coon," he admitted
+to himself with grim humor, as he switched on gasoline and spark, and
+turned the fly wheel over. Outside the shouts were coming closer every
+instant, and the motor showed no signs of intending to start.
+
+       +       +       +       +       +
+
+It was Donald, the Wolf Scout, who saved the day for the prisoners of
+the submarine.
+
+As Barton rolled about whimpering and cursing by turns, he spied a
+bright object protruding from the man's pocket.
+
+"Is--is that the lever?" he asked, in tones that trembled with
+excitement.
+
+Mr. Barr darted on the object and pulled it out with a shout of triumph.
+
+"Once more the Boy Scouts have saved the day!" he cried. "It is the
+lever, sure enough!"
+
+Close as the atmosphere of the cabin had by this time become, they all
+found breath enough to give three ringing cheers. In the conning tower
+Merritt, at the wheel, heard them, and guessed what they meant.
+
+Fifteen minutes later the submarine was shooting upward to the surface
+toward the blessed air. With what speed the hatch was opened when they
+reached the surface and could inhale the pure ozone once more, may be
+imagined. As soon as they had somewhat recovered a red light was shown
+from the stern, and presently the _Viper_ came chugging up.
+
+"Well, where in the world have you been?" asked Tubby.
+
+"Where _under_ the world, you mean," laughed Merritt; "but for a time it
+was no laughing matter, I assure you."
+
+He then gave his fellow Scout a description of all they had undergone.
+When the excitement was over, word was given to get under way once more,
+and with the submarine leading, and the _Viper_ following the red light,
+they held their courses toward the south.
+
+It was dawn when they found themselves off a maze of small islands and
+islets. Donald had the wheel, and was gazing ahead as the submarine, at
+reduced speed, threaded her way among the shoals and sand bars.
+
+All at once he saw something coming toward them that made his pulses
+beat far above normal.
+
+It was a green motor boat, with a single military mast and a high cabin.
+
+He lost no time in notifying everybody, and the submarine decks were
+soon crowded.
+
+"Better get below, boys," warned the ensign; "that is undoubtedly the
+rascals' boat. In fact, Merritt says he recognizes it. They are
+desperate fellows, and when they see we have them cornered, they will
+put up a fight. If they run, I mean to pursue them to the bitter end."
+
+Reluctantly the boys went below, while the ensign and Mr. Barr stood on
+the foredeck, revolvers in hand.
+
+But although whoever was on the green boat must have seen them, the
+craft came right on.
+
+"Why, they actually mean to fight," gasped Mr. Barr.
+
+"They're nervy fellows, all right," commented the ensign; "we may have a
+tougher time of it than we think, Barr."
+
+He turned and warned Tubby to take his boat back out of range. On and on
+came the green boat without making a sign of any kind, hostile or
+otherwise.
+
+"What can they be up to?" wondered the ensign in tones of blank
+amazement.
+
+Scarcely twenty feet intervened between the two boats now, when suddenly
+a boyish figure, bareheaded and clad in a Boy Scout uniform, leaped to
+the rail of the green craft.
+
+"Kre-ee-ee-ee!" he shrilled out.
+
+"The call of the Eagle Patrol!" gasped Mr. Barr.
+
+"Yes, and by all that's wonderful, that lad is Rob Blake!" fairly
+shouted the ensign, waving his cap.
+
+By this time Tubby, too, had recognized his leader. The air rang with
+cheers, shouts, questions and answers in a perfect babble of sound.
+
+"Well, who on earth but a Boy Scout could get himself kidnapped and then
+kidnap his abductors' boat!" exclaimed the ensign that evening as they
+lay at anchor off Rob's "Ivory Island."
+
+The climax of a wonderful day had been reached. Only one thing marred
+it. The rascals who had pursued Rob, for he only got the engine going in
+the nick of time, had got clear away in the rowboat. Possibly they
+hailed a passing steamer and were picked up.
+
+But, after all, their escape, while annoying, was not of so much
+importance, for in their haste they had left behind the most important
+papers and models, and the ones they had taken were valueless, Mr. Barr
+declared, without the missing ones.
+
+The next day, after a long evening of jollity, the _Viper_ set out for
+Jamesport, S. C., with the unfortunate Barton bound with ropes to keep
+him from further violent manifestations. The poor man never recovered
+his reason, but died shortly after being admitted to an asylum. It
+appeared that in his youth he had been an inmate of an institution for
+the feeble-minded, but had been discharged as cured.
+
+On the _Viper's_ return, work was begun on transferring the ivory, which
+was ultimately sold for an amount that netted all of them a handsome
+sum; for Rob insisted on sharing his good fortune with all his
+comrades.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+THE ENDURANCE RUN.
+
+
+The ensuing days, following the return to the island, were filled to
+overflowing with activity. Exhaustive tests only made the _Peacemaker_
+appear to be more and more the ideal type of boat for her particular
+work. By means of the island wireless Ensign Hargreaves, using "code" of
+course, sent glowing accounts to Washington of the progress of the
+tests. In these despatches, too, the Boy Scouts were favorably mentioned
+for their pluck and heroism in the pursuit of Berghoff and his rascally
+companions.
+
+One day, about two weeks after the return to the island, it was
+determined by the ensign and Mr. Barr to make quite a run out to sea to
+test to the full the endurance capacity of the _Peacemaker_. Rob and
+Merritt were chosen to accompany them. The rest of the boys were left to
+guard the island, which, among other valuable property, now housed the
+precious ivory hoard recovered in such a strange manner.
+
+The day dawned with a red, angry sky proclaiming nasty weather. But
+this, instead of dampening the ardor of the inventor and his aides, only
+increased it. It meant that the submarine was in for a real test in a
+bad sea.
+
+By the time they were ready to start, the wind had freshened into half a
+gale and a high sea was running, heaping up big gray combers with white
+tops which broke angrily.
+
+Into this storm the _Peacemaker_ was headed without hesitation. On board
+were the ensign, the inventor, Rob and Merritt. The two latter were to
+serve watch and watch in the engine room, while the inventor and the
+ensign placed themselves under a similar arrangement in the conning
+tower.
+
+Both Rob and Merritt were by this time fully conversant with the running
+of the _Peacemaker's_ intricate machinery and were trusted to the full
+by their superior officers.
+
+"Gee! This feels like being afloat in an empty bottle!" exclaimed
+Merritt as the _Peacemaker_ headed into the tumbling seas.
+
+"It sure does," responded Rob, hanging on to a handhold while he oiled a
+bearing. "I suppose they want to see how much she'll stand on the
+surface."
+
+"Wonder they wouldn't dive and give us a chance to get a little quiet,"
+observed Merritt as the rolling, bucking _Peacemaker_ leaped, as it
+seemed, skyward and then plunged dizzily down again.
+
+"There must be a hummer of a sea outside. Guess, as I'm off duty, I'll
+go up and see what's doing," said Rob presently.
+
+He made his way with much difficulty toward the steel ladder leading
+into the conning tower. The passage could only be made by fits and
+starts, and the boy for the first time realized the necessity of the
+handholds placed at frequent intervals on the cabin walls, to which
+reference has already been made.
+
+Reaching the ladder he scrambled up into the conning tower, and, once
+inside, braced himself against the wild and erratic motions of the
+_Peacemaker_. To see through the lenses was impossible. The seas that
+swept over the little craft blurred the glass with green water and
+obscured everything outside. But on the _Peacemaker_ this condition did
+not matter. The contingency had been provided for.
+
+The long arm of the periscope with its "eye" on top had been raised, and
+it reached far above the biggest combers. In front of the helmsman, who
+happened to be Mr. Barr, was a big plate of ground glass on which every
+object outside was plainly shown, although of course in miniature.
+Those of my readers who have ever seen a "camera obscura" will recognize
+what I mean.
+
+Upon the ground glass, as within a picture frame, was reproduced the
+motion of the furious seas, the scurrying clouds and the angry storm
+wrack. It was an inspiring marine painting, with the motion and sweep
+that an actual painting could never possess. It thrilled Rob as he gazed
+at it and realized that it was through this pandemonium of the storm
+that the _Peacemaker_ was bravely fighting her way.
+
+"Better slow down a bit, hadn't I?" asked Mr. Barr as the _Peacemaker_,
+urged by her powerful engines, ploughed right through a mountainous sea.
+
+As she bored her way through the mighty wall of green water, a roar like
+that of a railroad train resounded and the craft pitched as if she were
+going to plunge to the bottom of the sea. This latter, in fact, Rob
+rather wished she would do. He knew that in the depths all would be
+quiet and undisturbed.
+
+In reply to Mr. Barr's question, the ensign nodded.
+
+"The strain is already pretty strong," he said; "we don't want to force
+her too hard."
+
+Accordingly the inventor, utilizing the auto control device, cut down
+the speed till, instead of ploughing through the waves, the _Peacemaker_
+skimmed over them. Unlike most submarines, which cannot do otherwise
+than plunge into heavy seas, the _Peacemaker's_ hull was so constructed
+that she rode the waves like a duck.
+
+After a while the sensation of heaving and falling began to get upon Mr.
+Barr's nerves.
+
+"I'm feeling a bit squeamish," he declared; "let's dive and get out of
+this."
+
+The ensign nodded and laughed.
+
+"Our friend Rob here is getting a bit pale, too," he said; "and as we
+don't want a sea-sick crew, maybe we had better seek the seclusion of
+Davy Jones' locker."
+
+An instant later the _Peacemaker_ was plunging downward. At a depth of
+twenty feet the angry motion of the waves was unfelt. In those dim
+depths all was as quiet and undisturbed as if the elements were at
+perfect peace above.
+
+Down, down dropped the submarine till her depth indicator showed that
+she was submerged five hundred fathoms.
+
+"The chart gives seven hundred hereabouts," commented Ensign Hargreaves,
+glancing at it; "so I guess we are safe for forty miles more before the
+floor of the ocean slopes upward. We must go up a bit higher then."
+
+The inventor nodded.
+
+"I understand," he said, and then, "we are now running at what speed?"
+
+The ensign turned to the speed indicator.
+
+"A trifle under twenty miles an hour," he said.
+
+Mr. Barr glanced at the clock before him, which was illuminated by a
+tiny shaded electric bulb.
+
+"I'll keep on this course at this speed for about two hours then," he
+determined.
+
+"That will be all right, I imagine," was the rejoinder, "but don't keep
+on too long. The bed of the sea, according to the chart, rises up very
+rapidly further on. It must be almost cliff-like in its sudden
+elevation."
+
+"I'll be on the lookout," the inventor assured him.
+
+Rob descended the ladder once more and reëntered the engine room to find
+out how Merritt was getting along. He found the young engineer seated on
+the leather lounge alongside the engines watching them lovingly.
+
+"Work smoothly, don't they?" he said.
+
+"They sure do," was the other's response; "smoothly as a Geneva watch."
+
+The boys sat chatting on various matters, and the time flew along
+rapidly till Rob suddenly looked at his watch.
+
+"Almost two hours. It's time we were rising," he said.
+
+"What do we want to rise for? It's deep enough here, isn't it?"
+
+"That's just it. The ensign says that the chart shows that a sort of
+submarine cliff looms up right ahead of us somewhere hereabouts."
+
+"Great ginger snaps! I thought the bottom of the sea was as level as a
+floor."
+
+"Not a bit of it. It's as full of mountainous regions and flat,
+depressed plains and valleys as the Rockies themselves."
+
+"Gee whiz! I'd hate to hit one of them. I----"
+
+Merritt stopped short. A terrific crash shook the submarine from stem to
+stern. Rob saved himself from falling into the machinery by seizing a
+rail.
+
+For an instant the vibration lasted, and then the diving craft came to a
+dead stop.
+
+The boys gazed at each other with blanched faces.
+
+Did the crash mean that they had actually struck one of the submerged
+ranges that make deep sea traveling full of dangers? Had Mr. Barr
+delayed too long in rising?
+
+On the answer to these questions both boys felt that their lives
+depended.
+
+They were still regarding each other with consternation when the ensign
+burst into the cabin.
+
+"Shut off the engines instantly!" he ordered.
+
+"What have we struck? That submerged cliff that you feared?" Rob managed
+to gasp out, while Merritt hastened to obey the officer's command.
+
+"I--I don't know," was the reply, "but I fear that we are in serious
+danger!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+THE SUPREME TEST.
+
+
+"Open the side window panel and turn on the searchlight!"
+
+The order came from Mr. Barr five minutes after the _Peacemaker_ struck.
+Naturally enough, everyone on board was seriously alarmed; but in the
+face of danger the Boy Scouts took their example for action from the
+naval officer and the inventor.
+
+Although deadly pale, Mr. Barr kept his voice as cool as an icicle.
+Ensign Hargreaves, while fully realizing the danger, yet steeled himself
+to calmness; and both Rob and Merritt simulated the courage of their
+elders.
+
+Rob hastened to obey Mr. Barr's command. After a few seconds of
+manipulation the slide drew back, exposing the large plate glass panel.
+To bring the powerful searchlight into play was the work of but a
+moment.
+
+As its white rays pierced the gloomy depths of the ocean like a scimitar
+of light, all on board peered intently from the panel and strove to make
+out what it was that the diving boat had struck.
+
+At first nothing could be seen but the dark water with myriads of fish
+swarming about the bright light, which appeared to attract them as moths
+are attracted to an arc light.
+
+"Swing the light," ordered Mr. Barr; "bring it to bear a little more
+forward."
+
+Rob obeyed, and the ray of light swung in an arc through the obscurity
+outside of the _Peacemaker_. All at once, with a sharp exclamation, Rob
+stopped it.
+
+"Look! look!" he cried, pointing from the window.
+
+They looked and saw before them what appeared to be a steep acclivity,
+ribbed and rocky as a mountain side. It was against this submerged cliff
+that the _Peacemaker_ had struck.
+
+"That submarine cliff appears to be of a soft formation," declared the
+ensign after a brief scrutiny; "our bow has driven into it."
+
+"Then we are doomed to remain here?" asked Merritt with a bit of a
+quiver in his voice.
+
+"Not necessarily. It's up to us now to do all we can to extricate
+ourselves."
+
+"But how?"
+
+The question came from Rob, whose voice, try as he would, persisted in
+faltering. It was an awful feeling to experience, this of being penned
+scores of fathoms beneath the ocean's surface in a diving boat.
+
+"Well, I have a plan in mind. It is a desperate one, but possibly it may
+work."
+
+"What do you propose to do?"
+
+This time it was the inventor who propounded the query. Clearly enough
+Mr. Barr himself could think of no way out of the quandary.
+
+"I don't care to say just yet," responded the naval officer.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because it is a sort of forlorn hope that I don't care to advocate
+until absolute necessity arises."
+
+In the dire extremity into which they were plunged, not one of them
+cared just then to waste time by asking questions. Clearly Uncle Sam's
+officer was at the head of affairs. In silence they awaited his next
+word.
+
+"Rob, you must reverse the engines. Give them all the power they will
+stand. It's just possible that we may be able to back out without
+injury, although I fear that we are pretty deeply buried in this cliff."
+
+Rob, accompanied by Merritt, hastened to obey. Together the two boys
+entered the engine room, and Rob at once operated the mechanism which
+caused the _Peacemaker_ to go backward.
+
+As he pulled over the lever and the engines began to whirr and buzz,
+everyone on the boat waited breathlessly for the result. But the
+_Peacemaker_ did not move. Under the strain of her laboring engines the
+steel fabric shook and chattered, but not an inch did the diving boat
+budge.
+
+Rob and Merritt exchanged despairing glances.
+
+"Can't you get any more power out of her?" asked Merritt anxiously.
+
+Rob shook his head.
+
+"Not a bit more, old man. She's running at her utmost now."
+
+"Then we're stuck?"
+
+"It looks that way."
+
+"And we're doomed to die right here unless the nose of the boat can be
+got out of that cliff!"
+
+"Never say, 'die,' Merritt. We've done the best we can, and remember the
+ensign said that he had a plan if all else failed."
+
+"Yes, 'a forlorn hope' he called it."
+
+"In a case like this we can endure anything. Desperate situations
+require desperate means to solve them."
+
+As the young Scout leader spoke, Ensign Hargreaves burst into the engine
+room.
+
+The engines were still whirring and buzzing, and the hull of the
+_Peacemaker_ was quivering under their powerful stress.
+
+"Have you developed every ounce of power they are capable of?" asked the
+naval officer.
+
+"Yes, sir," responded Rob respectfully; "they can't do another
+revolution."
+
+The officer looked anxious.
+
+"In that case, we shall have to resort to my forlorn hope," he said.
+
+"And what is that, sir?" asked Rob, his heart beating uncomfortably
+fast.
+
+"Come forward and you shall see."
+
+The ensign turned and swung out of the engine room, followed closely by
+two anxious boys, Rob having waited only to shut off the engines.
+
+In the main cabin Mr. Barr, his face white and strained, sat on one of
+the leather divans.
+
+He looked up as the boys and the naval officer entered.
+
+"The engines won't back her out?" he asked in a voice harsh and rough
+from anxiety.
+
+"No. I'm sorry, Barr, but we're in a mighty bad fix. This submarine
+cliff must be of a sort of blue clay formation that is common off this
+coast. We have apparently driven into it so far that nothing short of an
+earthquake would dislodge us."
+
+"An earthquake?"
+
+"Yes; such a spasm of nature alone can set us free."
+
+"Then we are doomed to remain here."
+
+"Not of necessity; we have still a chance of escape."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"That my plan offers a mere chance."
+
+"Then let us not delay in putting it into execution."
+
+"But it is a dangerous one!"
+
+"Never mind that. Nothing could be more serious than our present
+predicament."
+
+"Very well then, we will try out my idea. It's our last chance."
+
+"Our last chance!" The words sounded to the boys almost like a requiem.
+Plainly enough, whatever Ensign Hargreaves' plan might be, there were
+dangers attached to it, and no light dangers, either, to judge from his
+grave tones. Eagerly they awaited his next words.
+
+"My plan is nothing more nor less than this," he said; "I propose to
+create an earthquake."
+
+"To _create_ an earthquake!" Mr. Barr echoed the words, staring at the
+ensign as if he thought he had gone suddenly insane.
+
+"Precisely. I intend to produce by artificial means an eruption which
+will destroy enough of this cliff to set us free, or else blow the
+_Peacemaker_ herself into atoms."
+
+Mr. Barr buried his head in his hands. Skillful inventor and scientific
+expert though he was, the last words of the naval officer had sapped
+even his iron courage.
+
+"Is there no other way?"
+
+"No other way. It's a gamble for our lives."
+
+"What do you propose doing?" asked Mr. Barr in a strange, broken voice.
+
+"As I said, to create an artificial earthquake."
+
+"I am unable to follow you."
+
+"Then I'll make it clearer. In the torpedo compartment forward you have
+six Red Head torpedoes fully charged with gun cotton?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+The inventor was regarding the naval officer with intense interest now,
+and the boys also stood transfixed, their eyes riveted on the ensign as
+he unfolded his plan.
+
+"What I propose to do," he continued, "is to discharge from the side
+torpedo tubes two torpedoes. They will be aimed at the cliff and, of
+course, when they strike it, will explode."
+
+"But in that case our bow would be blown off also, and we should perish
+almost instantly," declared Mr. Barr.
+
+"Wait a minute. I didn't say we would discharge them _directly_ at the
+cliff. What I propose doing is this: We will aim one on each side of the
+spot where our bow drove in, taking care to train the tubes so that the
+torpedoes will not strike too near."
+
+"Yes, the tubes are movable. That is one of the features of the
+_Peacemaker_."
+
+"Very well, then, they will be as easy to train in any desired direction
+as a rapid fire gun."
+
+"Exactly. But I never thought when I designed them that I might some day
+owe my life to that very feature."
+
+"Well, we are by no means out of the woods yet," responded the ensign
+drily.
+
+He led the way to the forward torpedo room. This was right in the bow of
+the boat and most of the space was occupied by odd-looking machinery.
+Wheels, worm gears and strange-looking levers were everywhere. At the
+farthest end of the steel-walled chamber was a sort of derrick
+contrivance. This was the piece of machinery used to raise the torpedoes
+and swing them into the tubes.
+
+Like the other machinery on the _Peacemaker_, the derrick was operated
+by electricity. A pull of a lever and Mr. Barr had set its machinery in
+motion. The torpedoes were placed on racks so that it was a simple
+matter to secure them to the lifting chain of the derrick. First one and
+then another of the polished steel implements of deadly warfare were
+raised to the mouths of the torpedo tubes which projected into the
+chamber.
+
+Despite their immense weight, the torpedoes were placed within the tubes
+with no more difficulty than a sportsman experiences in shoving two
+cartridges into the breech of his gun.
+
+In ten minutes from the time the party entered the torpedo chamber, the
+steel implements of death had been "rammed home" and the breech of the
+tubes clamped and fastened. On the _Peacemaker_ type of submarine
+compressed air at an enormous pressure was used to give the torpedoes a
+start, although, of course, they contained the usual machinery within
+themselves to drive them through the water after they left the tubes.
+
+There followed a moment of suspense as the compressed air, with a
+hissing sound, rushed into the tubes.
+
+Mr. Barr, deadly pale but without a tremor in his voice, announced that
+all was ready.
+
+The ensign merely nodded and began to operate a worm gear which swung
+the tubes at an acuter angle to the body of the submarine vessel.
+
+"I think we are all right now," he said presently.
+
+"Very well," spoke the inventor, his hand on a lever, "when you say the
+word, I'll discharge the torpedoes."
+
+"You might as well do it right now," was the response.
+
+The inventor, with hands that shook, swung the lever back.
+
+There was a hissing sound and a slight tremor as the compressed air shot
+the torpedoes from the tubes. Less than a second later, simultaneously
+it seemed, the submarine was rocked and swayed by a terrific convulsion.
+The boys and their elders were thrown right and left with a force that
+almost knocked them senseless.
+
+It was but a few moments after the explosion of the two torpedoes that
+Ensign Hargreaves uttered a shout that thrilled them all.
+
+"We're rising!" he cried. "My plan succeeded after all!"
+
+"I think that we ought to give thanks to Providence," said Mr. Barr
+reverently. "As the ensign has said, the plan succeeded, but it was
+taking one chance in a thousand. Had that cliff not been shaken so as to
+release us, we might have perished miserably and left our fate a
+mystery."
+
+The boys were in the conning tower by the conclusion of Mr. Barr's
+words. The barograph showed them to be rising a hundred feet a minute.
+No words were exchanged between the two young Scouts, but each grasped
+the other's hand in a firm grip and gazed into the other's eyes. There
+was no necessity of speech. Both realized that they had passed through
+the gravest peril that even they had experienced in all their
+adventurous lives.
+
+When the _Peacemaker_ reached the surface once more, the storm had
+subsided. With their hearts full of deep gratitude for the miraculous
+chance that had saved their lives, her occupants headed the speedy
+diving craft back for the island at top speed. The _Peacemaker_ had been
+through the supreme test and had not been found lacking.
+
+"I tell you what, Barr," declared Ensign Hargreaves, as they neared the
+familiar island, "you have the most wonderful boat on earth, and Uncle
+Sam has _got_ to have it. My report goes in to Washington to-morrow and
+you can guess what it will contain."
+
+"Thank you," said the inventor simply, extending his hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH.
+
+
+"That's queer, Rob!"
+
+"What's queer, Merritt, the way you've been sitting and staring for the
+last ten minutes?"
+
+"No; that odd noise. Don't you hear it?"
+
+The two lads were seated in the cabin of the submarine on "night guard
+duty," as it was called. Following the anxious days when Berghoff had
+made affairs on the island so filled with uneasiness for the Scouts and
+their friends, this sentry duty had been regularly maintained.
+
+On this particular night the task had fallen to Rob and Merritt. There
+was nothing very arduous about it, the only duty involved being to keep
+ears and eyes open. Both lads had been engrossed in books dealing with
+their favorite subjects when Merritt called Rob's attention to the odd
+sound he had noticed.
+
+"Maybe my ears are not quite so sharp as yours, old boy," said Rob,
+after an interval of listening. "I've got a slight cold, anyhow, and
+perhaps that's why I don't hear so readily."
+
+"Possibly so."
+
+"You are sure you weren't mistaken?"
+
+"Think I'm hearing things?" indignantly responded Merritt. "No, siree,
+I'm willing to bet. Hark! There it is again!"
+
+"By Hookey! I heard it that time, too. What can it be?"
+
+"Hush!"
+
+The noise was a most peculiar one. It seemed to be a sort of scraping on
+the outside of the submarine's hull. The diving craft was anchored at
+some distance from the shore, so as to be more readily prepared for a
+projected run the following day. This made the noise all the more
+inexplicable, as, had the craft been in the shed, it might have been
+caused by the inventor or the ensign paying a night visit to see that
+all was well, which they sometimes did.
+
+"Perhaps it's a log bumping against the side."
+
+"No; it appears to come from under the water."
+
+"That's so," agreed Rob; "tell you what, Merritt, it's up to us to
+investigate."
+
+"Yes, let's go on deck and see what we can find out."
+
+Together the two lads climbed the steel stairway leading to the conning
+tower, and presently emerged on the rounded steel back of the diving
+craft. They stood here for a minute or two, trying to get their eyes
+used to the sudden change from the bright light of the cabin to the inky
+darkness of the night. It was overcast and starless, and it was
+impossible under any condition to see more than a few yards about them.
+
+Suddenly Rob clasped Merritt's arm with a grip that made the other lad
+wince.
+
+"Look! Look there!" he cried. "Off there. It's gone now. It only showed
+up for an instant."
+
+"It's your turn to be nervous," rejoined Merritt; "blessed if I saw
+anything!"
+
+"My eyes must be as sharp as your ears, then. I'd swear I saw a shadowy
+thing sneak away from us across the water."
+
+"What sort of a thing?"
+
+"A boat. I only saw it an instant, of course; but I'm sure I wasn't
+mistaken."
+
+"You think that somebody in that boat was monkeying with the
+_Peacemaker_?"
+
+"That's the only reasonable explanation."
+
+"But what could they have been doing?"
+
+"That remains to be seen; but it's our duty to try to find out."
+
+"What's your plan?"
+
+"Well, that scraping noise appeared to me to come from the under side of
+the hull."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then that's the place to look for mischief."
+
+"But how are you going to get at it?"
+
+"Dive over and feel around at about the place where we heard the sound."
+
+"That was on the port side and apparently right under the cabin floor."
+
+"Then that's the place to look."
+
+As he spoke, the young leader of the Eagles stripped off his shirt, for
+the night was warm and he was coatless, and then divested himself in
+turn of his shoes and trousers.
+
+This done, he turned to Merritt.
+
+"I don't know just why, old fellow," he said, "but I've got an idea in
+my head, somehow, that there's some sort of dirty trick being put up
+to-night."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+Merritt asked the question looking into his comrade's eyes as he clasped
+Rob's extended hand. For some reason he felt a cold shudder run through
+him. What the danger was that Rob dreaded he did not know, but there
+was something in the hand-shake that his leader gave him that almost
+seemed like a farewell clasp.
+
+Before his inquiry was fairly out of Merritt's mouth, Rob had disengaged
+his palm and slipped silently over the side of the submarine. As the
+waters closed above him, Merritt almost cried out aloud. The same
+mysterious sense of a danger, terrible and imminent, had run through his
+brain like a warning flash. But it was too late to recall his comrade
+now.
+
+Whatever peril Rob was facing, he was called upon to brave it out alone.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Earlier that evening a small, but fast and high-powered motor boat had
+glided almost silently out of Bellport, a fishing village on the coast,
+and, waiting till darkness had descended, made at top speed for the
+vicinity of the submarine island.
+
+The men who had chartered the craft were two in number. Both were
+strangers in Bellport, having driven over there that afternoon from the
+adjacent railway station of Farmington. One was an old man,
+stoop-shouldered and bleary-eyed. The other was an individual of about
+thirty, tall, emaciated, and with a wild light dancing in his crafty
+eyes, which darted back and forth as if constantly on the lookout for
+something.
+
+Going directly to the Bellport Hotel, they had inquired of Enos
+Hardcastle, the proprietor, where they could hire a motor boat.
+
+"A fast one?" croaked the old man.
+
+"The faster the better," supplemented his companion, in a queer, rasping
+voice.
+
+Enos scratched his head.
+
+"Wa'al, motor boat's is scarce around here, though some of ther boys
+uses 'em in fishing," he said finally.
+
+"Good!" exclaimed the younger of the pair of strangers. "Direct us to
+the man who has the fastest one."
+
+"That's Lem Higgins; but Lem drives a hard bargain. It'll cost ye----"
+
+"Never mind the cost; never mind the cost," croaked the old man
+impatiently. "Come, Ivan, let's find this Higgins."
+
+"You go ter ther foot of this street and you'll find Lem down on ther
+wharf," directed the landlord of the Bellport Hotel, whose curiosity was
+by this time aroused. There was something odd about the two strangers,
+almost as odd as the large black bag the younger one carried. This
+receptacle he held as gingerly as if it contained some article of the
+most fragile description.
+
+"Beg pardon, strangers," spoke up Enos, "but what might you be after
+havin' in that bag?"
+
+The slender man turned a pair of blazing orbs on him.
+
+"What business is that of yours?" he snapped out, his queer eyes
+appearing to emit sparks of malignant fury.
+
+Enos hastened to extend the olive branch.
+
+"Oh, no harm, no harm," he hurriedly exclaimed. "I thought thet you two
+might be sellin' suthin' the wife 'ud have a use fer, thet's all. Wanted
+to give you a chancet ter drive a trade."
+
+"I reckon your wife wouldn't care much for what's in this bag," snarled
+the old man viciously; "and let me give you a bit of advice, my friend:
+Don't ask questions and you'll be told no lies."
+
+So saying, the two oddly assorted strangers made off down the street,
+the tall one still carrying the black bag with precise care.
+
+Enos reëntered his hotel, wagging his head sententiously.
+
+"Suthin' queer about them two fellers," he muttered to himself; "ain't
+sellin' nuthin' an' they don't look as if they was on a pleasure trip.
+Wa'al, it's none of my business, but if Lem makes a dicker with 'em
+he'll hev ter come across to me with a commission, an' that's all I care
+about."
+
+Lem Higgins was sitting on the wharf, swinging his legs and regarding
+with interest an imminent fight between two dogs of the "yaller"
+variety, when the old man and his tall companion came up.
+
+"Your name is Lem Higgins?" asked the old man sharply.
+
+"That's what they usually say when they want me," responded Lem. "Do you
+want me?"
+
+"We want your boat."
+
+Lem's eyes lightened. Fishing had been poor, and perhaps here was a
+chance to make some easy money. He scrambled to his feet, showing
+unusual animation.
+
+"You want my boat? You want ter hire her, you mean?"
+
+"Yes. What's your figure?"
+
+The old man was doing all the talking now. His tall companion stood
+silently by. At his side was the black bag, which he had deposited on
+the ground with the same curious care that had marked all his dealings
+with the mysterious article.
+
+Lem ruminated a minute, looked seaward, ejected a small fountain of
+tobacco juice, and then asked, with his head cocked on one side:
+
+"Where might you be a-goin'?"
+
+"Never mind that, my friend. That is none of your business."
+
+The old man spoke sharply. Lem regarded him blankly.
+
+"None o' my business! Then how in Sam Hill am I a-goin' ter run the
+boat?"
+
+"You are not going to run it."
+
+"I ain't, eh?"
+
+Lem was all "taken back," as he would have put it. He had been figuring
+on a good price for the hire of the boat and a further fee for himself
+as skipper. Certainly neither of the pair before him looked capable of
+handling a power boat.
+
+"No; if we take your boat we shall run it ourselves."
+
+"You will?"
+
+The astonished Lem gazed at the stooped figure before him. He was almost
+bereft of words.
+
+"Yes, I will; does that satisfy you?"
+
+"Wa'al, I'll be plumb dummed," choked out the fisherman; "I should think
+you'd know more about crutches an' arm-chairs than about running
+gasoline boats."
+
+"Your opinion is not of the slightest interest to me. How much do you
+want for the boat?"
+
+"Fer how long?"
+
+"From about sunset till daylight to-morrow."
+
+"Fer all night, you mean?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"That's a queer time to go out."
+
+"Possibly; but we choose to do it. If you don't want to let your boat,
+say so, and have done with it. We'll find another."
+
+"Oh, as far as thet's consarned, ef you kin run her I don't mind ef you
+go out any old time. But I'd like ter see ef you kin, afore we go any
+further."
+
+"Where is she?"
+
+"Right out there. I'll row you out to her. Come on down this ladder;
+easy, now. You're pretty old for this sort of work."
+
+But, despite the old man's apparent decrepitude, he stepped down the
+steep and rather rickety ladder, at the foot of which lay a dory, with
+the agility of a youth. His companion declared that he would remain on
+the dock.
+
+Guessing that he didn't want to leave the bag, of which he seemed so
+careful, Lem hailed him.
+
+"Come on and bring your grip, ef ye scared o' leavin' it," he said.
+
+But the other shook his head, and Lem pulled out toward his launch with
+only the old man as passenger. The launch was a black, rakish-looking
+craft, and once on board the old man expressed approval of the powerful,
+two-cylindered engine with which she was equipped.
+
+"Say, you do know suthin' about ingines, don't yer?" admired Lem, after
+a few sharp questions had shown him that the queer old man really knew
+what he was talking about.
+
+A muttered grunt was the only reply. The old man was spinning the
+fly-wheel over, after making a few adjustments of the gasoline and spark
+supply. A moment later the motor was sputtering and coughing, and the
+launch was struggling at her moorings.
+
+Lem cast off and ran the craft about the harbor for a while. At the
+conclusion of the test he was satisfied that the old man actually did
+understand the workings of gasoline motors. Returning to the wharf, it
+only remained for a bargain to be struck, and this was speedily done.
+But Lem still held out for something more.
+
+"Seein' as I don't know you an' you're takin' ther boat out alone, I
+ought ter hev a deposit or suthin'," he declared, his eyes narrowing.
+
+"What's your boat worth?" demanded the old man.
+
+"Wa'al, I paid a thousand fer her," rejoined Lem, who had only doubled
+the actual sum the launch cost him.
+
+"Here you are."
+
+The old man reached into a recess of his black coat and produced a roll
+of currency, which Lem later declared to his cronies would have "choked
+a horse." Rapidly peeling off several bills of large denomination, he
+paid the exorbitant deposit, plus the price agreed upon for the hire of
+the boat for the night. Lem, too astonished to do more than stutter,
+pocketed the money without a word.
+
+"One thing more," said the old man; "we shall need a small boat to tow
+along."
+
+"Oh, then yer goin' ter land some place?"
+
+Lem, having recovered the use of his voice, had also regained his rural
+curiosity.
+
+The old man regarded him angrily, and then, in his peculiar, snarling
+voice, he whipped out:
+
+"What's that to you? We've paid you too much for your boat, and you know
+it. Here's fifty dollars more. That's not to ask any questions and not
+to answer any."
+
+"Oh, I'll keep mum," Lem assured him, pocketing the extra money with
+sparkling eyes. "When you're ready to go, I'll have a small boat ready
+for you, never fear."
+
+"Good. We'll be here at five o'clock sharp."
+
+The old man and his companion sauntered off up the street. Lem watched
+them till they entered the Bellport Hotel. Then, to himself, he
+exclaimed in tones that fairly burst out of him:
+
+"Wa'al, what d'ye know about that? Them chaps is either lunatics or
+millionaires, or both. Wa'al, it's none of my affair, an' there might be
+things I wouldn't do for fifty dollars, but keepin' my mouth shut for a
+while ain't one of 'em. What a yarn I'll have ter tell when them two
+chaps gets out of town! Kain't get over thet old feller, though. Fer all
+his years, he's spry as a boy; suthin' mighty funny about both on 'em."
+
+With this, Lem resumed his seat on the edge of the wharf and dismissed
+the matter from his mind as far as was possibly consistent with the
+knowledge of the--to him--gigantic sum reposing in his blue jeans.
+
+Yet, had he known it, he was letting slip through his fingers the
+possibility of earning a far larger sum. For the man with the queer eyes
+was Ivan Karloff, a notorious anarchist, for whom a reward of five
+thousand dollars was offered, following a bomb outrage in New York, and
+his companion was Berghoff himself.
+
+What were these two men doing in Bellport? Why did they want a fast boat
+for a mysterious night trip?
+
+The answers to these questions would have held a burning interest for
+our friends on the submarine island. Like a vicious snake, Berghoff was
+preparing to strike what he hoped would be a vital blow at the
+_Peacemaker_ and her guardians. Crafty and unscrupulous, he had invested
+in his services Ivan Karloff, whose price for dangerous undertakings
+was high, but whose skill in his nefarious line of endeavor was supreme.
+
+It was about midnight when Lem Higgins' motor boat crept up to a spot
+not far from where the _Peacemaker_ lay at anchor. Behind her she towed
+the promised small boat. Berghoff, as we must now call the old man, was
+at the engines. His companion was steering.
+
+"Is this near enough?" inquired Karloff, in a low tone, as Berghoff
+slowed up the engines.
+
+"Yes. We want to run no chances. It would not be pleasant for either of
+us to be nipped now."
+
+No more words were exchanged till the anchor was noiselessly let drop.
+
+Then Berghoff spoke.
+
+"Have you got everything?"
+
+"Yes; it's all in the bag--the wire, the batteries, and all. Wonder what
+those farmers would have done if they could have guessed what else we
+had in there?"
+
+"Gone through the ceiling, I reckon," chuckled Berghoff grimly; "but
+come on, let's get to work. We may have a long job to find the
+submarine."
+
+"Yes, and we've no time to lose. After the job's done the quicker we put
+the Atlantic between us and Uncle Sam, the better," was the reply.
+
+"You're not nervous, are you?"
+
+"Nervous! My friend, I have done more dangerous jobs than this."
+
+Depositing the bag carefully in the small boat, the two men rowed off.
+They made absolutely no noise as they proceeded, the reason for this
+being that the oars had been carefully muffled soon after they left
+Bellport, and felt free from observation.
+
+After ten minutes or so of rowing, Berghoff laid a hand on his
+companion's arm.
+
+"What is it?" asked Karloff, who was rowing.
+
+"Look right ahead. What's that?"
+
+"The glow of a light. Can that be it?"
+
+"It must be. That light is reflected from the conning tower. There is
+somebody on board."
+
+"That matters not, if they are not on deck. Even so, we can take care of
+them."
+
+"You mean to hurl it?"
+
+"Yes; but I'd rather fasten it to the craft itself. It's safer for us
+and more effective."
+
+A diabolical grin stole over the anarchist's face as he spoke. He
+resumed his cautious rowing.
+
+"There's no one on deck," declared Berghoff, as they crept closer to the
+dark outlines of the anchored submarine.
+
+"Good; then we can do our work quickly. Have you everything ready?"
+
+"Yes; we'll be alongside in a minute. Don't make a failure of it."
+
+"I have never failed yet," was the quiet reply, spoken in a voice so
+menacing and evil that it would have caused a shudder to run through any
+one less hardened than the man to whom it was addressed.
+
+Rob flashed to the surface after a longer interval than Merritt would
+have believed it possible for anybody to remain submerged. As he
+appeared, Merritt rushed to aid him upon the slippery deck of the
+_Peacemaker_.
+
+Rob shook his head, as Merritt tried to draw him up. Instead, he choked
+out:
+
+"A pair of pliers. Quick! Our lives depend upon it."
+
+Merritt, who had been working on the engine, happened to have the
+required tool in his pocket. Without a word, he handed it to Rob. From
+his leader's manner he knew that down there under the water the boy had
+discovered some deadly hidden peril. Breathlessly, he watched for his
+reappearance, for the instant he received the pliers Rob had dived.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the rowboat which they had towed out from Bellport, Berghoff and his
+companion sat bending over some object. Had it been daylight it could
+have been seen that this object was a battery box.
+
+Also, daylight would have revealed Berghoff's face as being white and
+drawn under his disguise; but his companion's evil countenance never
+changed an iota, as his long fingers sought and found the button of the
+battery box which lay before him on a thwart.
+
+From this box two wires led off into the darkness. When the button was
+pressed a flash of electricity would pass through those wires and the
+climax of a fiendishly ingenious plot would be reached. In the tense
+silence that preceded the pressing of the button, Berghoff's breath
+could be heard coming gaspingly. His companion, on the other hand,
+appeared as cool as an icicle.
+
+"Are you certain we are far enough away?" stammered Berghoff.
+
+"Absolutely. I have no desire to be hoisted by my own petard. Now then,
+if you are ready, say the word."
+
+"I--I----" stammered Berghoff.
+
+"Bah! You are a coward; come, I am all ready."
+
+"I don't mind the submarine, curse it; but it's the thought of the lives
+on board her."
+
+"My friend, you are too sensitive. Come, are you ready?"
+
+"Ye-es," choked out Berghoff, his teeth chattering, and the sweat
+pouring off his face. The man was shaking like a leaf, and his breath
+came raspingly from between his half-opened lips.
+
+"Now!"
+
+He steeled himself to utter the signal firmly, but it was merely a harsh
+whisper that issued from his dry throat.
+
+The long fingers pressed down. Berghoff, swaying like a stricken thing,
+placed his hands before his eyes. But the sound that both had been
+expecting did not come. No roaring explosion followed the pressing of
+the button, no flash of livid flame and shattering of the wonderful
+structure of steel they had hoped to destroy. A death-like stillness
+prevailed.
+
+"You've failed!" choked out Berghoff.
+
+His companion's eyes flashed in the darkness like a cat's. He swallowed
+convulsively.
+
+"There is only one explanation," he snarled.
+
+"And that is?"
+
+"That they have discovered the mine. My friend, we had better be leaving
+as soon as possible. It will not be good for us to be found in this
+vicinity."
+
+At that very moment two boys were standing with horror-stricken eyes on
+the deck of the submarine. In his hands Rob held a peculiar looking
+cylinder of steel. From one end of it hung two severed wires. It was so
+weighted and balanced as to float a distance of about five feet under
+the surface of the water.
+
+"If I hadn't found those wires and cut them," Rob said, in an
+awe-stricken voice.
+
+But Merritt did not answer. He could only clasp his companion's hand.
+The realization of the fearfully narrow limit by which they had escaped
+death almost overcame him. The night was hot, but both boys shivered as
+if stricken with the ague. It was some minutes before they could give
+the alarm to those on shore. Then the rapid blowing of the whistle used
+by the submarine when on the surface signalled their companions.
+
+Some fifteen minutes later two pale-faced, wild-eyed lads were
+explaining to an absorbed group the foiling of the diabolical plot
+against Uncle Sam's diving boat. It was not long after, that the
+submarine was rushing through the water for the nearest harbor.
+
+"If we can arouse the police along the coast we may yet be able to
+capture the authors of this outrage," exclaimed the ensign, as at full
+speed the _Peacemaker_ clove through the waters.
+
+"Yes; it's hardly probable that they had as swift a boat as this,"
+agreed Mr. Barr. "If we can get ashore ahead of them, we can cause a
+police net to be spread that they can scarcely break through."
+
+But it was decreed that the fate of Berghoff and his companion should be
+a different one. Suddenly, off to port of the _Peacemaker_, the night
+was split by a roar and a red flash of flame.
+
+"Great Scott! What was that?" gasped out Ensign Hargreaves.
+
+"The searchlight--quick!" cried Mr. Barr.
+
+In an instant the great beam of white light was cutting the night like a
+fiery sword. Suddenly its rays concentrated on a dark object not far
+distant from the _Peacemaker_.
+
+Within the radiant circle was limned a strange picture. Two men were
+struggling in the water, while beside them the outline of a boat showed
+for an instant and then vanished forever.
+
+At top speed the _Peacemaker_ was rushed to the scene. She reached it in
+time for those on board to see one of the two men struggling in the
+water throw up his arms. The next instant, with a shuddering cry, that
+might have been either defiance or agony, he vanished as had the boat.
+
+The other man was picked up. He was an old man, seemingly, and almost
+exhausted from his struggle with the waves. But, as he was being dragged
+on board, a strange thing occurred. The salt water, with which he was
+drenched, had likewise soaked his beard and hair. As he was hauled over
+the sloping deck of the submarine his beard and hair slipped away, and
+there before them lay Berghoff, seemingly dead or dying.
+
+As soon as they had recovered from their amazement, he was carried below
+and made as comfortable as possible; for it was found that he was
+shockingly burned. The chart was consulted, and it was reckoned that
+Bellport was the closest place at which to land. And so it came about,
+that Berghoff--or the wreck of the man--was brought back to the very
+spot from which he and his ill-fated companion had set out on their
+diabolical trip.
+
+Under close police guard the injured man was carried to the local
+hospital, and with his first conscious breath he cried aloud for
+Karloff. He was told of the man's fate, and then made a full confession
+of the plot to blow up the submarine. As for the accident that had
+destroyed their own craft, he explained that Karloff, stooping to light
+a cigarette, had ignited some leaked gasoline in the bilge. In a flash
+the flames had reached the fuel tank, and an explosion that ripped the
+boat apart followed.
+
+For days the man lingered in the hospital, apparently contrite and
+suffering great pain. But one night a drowsy nurse and an open window
+aided him in a plan of escape that must have formed itself in his mind
+some time before. In a weak voice he begged his police guard to get him
+a drink of water. When the man came back, Berghoff had gone. Nor was he
+ever heard of again. Whether he managed in some way to communicate with
+his friends, or whether he gained financial resources to aid his escape
+by robbery or other means, will never be known.
+
+"Wa'al, I'm glad I stuck to that thousand," said Lem Higgins, when he
+heard of the escape. "I'll git another boat now."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And so ends the tale of the Boy Scouts' services for Uncle Sam. Of
+course, they remained on the island till the conclusion of the tests.
+But they were molested no more, and so far as they were concerned
+Berghoff and his evil designs ceased to exist. Their experiences had
+proved of much value to them, and broadened and developed their
+characters to a marked extent.
+
+We shall meet our friends and fellow Scouts again in a succeeding volume
+of this series, for strong, healthy lads like these cannot seem to help
+meeting with adventures. When they face them in the true Scout spirit,
+that of bravery mixed with brains, it is a combination hard to beat.
+This new volume will be called "THE BOY SCOUTS AT THE PANAMA CANAL," and
+will relate their experiences at the "Big Ditch," that remarkable
+engineering achievement that is holding the interest and attention of
+the entire world. The book will contain authentic photographs of the
+canal in process of construction and include accurate descriptions of
+the engineering feats.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+The Boy Scout Series
+
+BY HERBERT CARTER
+
+[Illustration: The BOY SCOUTS' FIRST CAMPFIRE]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          For Boys 12 to 16 Years
+          All Cloth Bound      Copyright Titles
+          PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH
+          Postage 10c Extra
+          New Stories of Camp Life
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS' FIRST CAMPFIRE; or, Scouting with
+          the Silver Fox Patrol.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS IN THE BLUE RIDGE; or, Marooned
+          Among the Moonshiners.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS ON THE TRAIL; or, Scouting through
+          the Big Game Country.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS IN THE MAINE WOODS; or, The New
+          Test for the Silver Fox Patrol.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS THROUGH THE BIG TIMBER; or, The
+          Search for the Lost Tenderfoot.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS IN THE ROCKIES; or, The Secret of
+          the Hidden Silver Mine.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS ON STURGEON ISLAND; or, Marooned
+          Among the Game-Fish Poachers.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS DOWN IN DIXIE; or, The Strange
+          Secret of Alligator Swamp.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS AT THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA; A story
+          of Burgoyne's Defeat in 1777.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA; or, The
+          Silver Fox Patrol Caught in a Flood.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS ON WAR TRAILS IN BELGIUM; or,
+          Caught Between Hostile Armies.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS AFOOT IN FRANCE; or, With The Red
+          Cross Corps at the Marne.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by
+                         the Publishers
+      A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Boy Allies
+
+          (Registered in the United States
+          Patent Office)
+
+With the Army
+
+BY CLAIR W. HAYES
+
+[Illustration: THE BOY ALLIES IN GREAT PERU]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          For Boys 12 to 16 Years.
+          All Cloth Bound      Copyright Titles
+          PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH
+          Postage 10c extra.
+
+In this series we follow the fortunes of two American lads unable to
+leave Europe after war is declared. They meet the soldiers of the
+Allies, and decide to cast their lot with them. Their experiences and
+escapes are many, and furnish plenty of good, healthy action that every
+boy loves.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES AT LIEGE; or, Through Lines of
+          Steel.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES ON THE FIRING LINE; or, Twelve Days
+          Battle Along the Marne.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE COSSACKS; or, A Wild Dash
+          Over the Carpathians.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES IN THE TRENCHES; or, Midst Shot and
+          Shell Along the Aisne.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES IN GREAT PERIL; or, With the
+          Italian Army in the Alps.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALKAN CAMPAIGN; or, The
+          Struggle to Save a Nation.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES ON THE SOMME; or, Courage and
+          Bravery Rewarded.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES AT VERDUN; or, Saving France from
+          the Enemy.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES; or,
+          Leading the American Troops to the Firing Line.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH HAIG IN FLANDERS; or, The
+          Fighting Canadians of Vimy Ridge.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH PERSHING IN FRANCE; or, Over
+          the Top at Chateau Thierry.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH MARSHAL FOCH; or, The Closing
+          Days of the Great World War.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by
+                         the Publishers
+      A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Boy Allies
+
+          (Registered in the United States
+          Patent Office)
+
+With the Navy
+
+BY
+
+ENSIGN ROBERT L. DRAKE
+
+[Illustration: THE BOY ALLIES ON THE NORTH SEA PATROL]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          For Boys 12 to 16 Years.
+          All Cloth Bound      Copyright Titles
+          PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH
+          Postage 10c Extra
+
+Frank Chadwick and Jack Templeton, young American lads, meet each other
+in an unusual way soon after the declaration of war. Circumstances place
+them on board the British cruiser, "The Sylph," and from there on, they
+share adventures with the sailors of the Allies. Ensign Robert L. Drake,
+the author, is an experienced naval officer, and he describes admirably
+the many exciting adventures of the two boys.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES ON THE NORTH SEA PATROL; or,
+          Striking the First Blow at the German Fleet.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES UNDER TWO FLAGS; or, Sweeping the
+          Enemy from the Sea.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE FLYING SQUADRON; or, The
+          Naval Raiders of the Great War.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE TERROR OF THE SEA; or, The
+          Last Shot of Submarine D-16.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES UNDER THE SEA; or, The Vanishing
+          Submarine.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALTIC; or, Through Fields
+          of Ice to Aid the Czar.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES AT JUTLAND; or, The Greatest Naval
+          Battle of History.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH UNCLE SAM'S CRUISERS; or,
+          Convoying the American Army Across the Atlantic.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE SUBMARINE D-32; or, The
+          Fall of the Russian Empire.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE VICTORIOUS FLEETS; or, The
+          Fall of the German Navy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by
+                         the Publishers
+      A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Golden Boys Series
+
+          BY L. P. WYMAN, PH.D.
+          Dean of Pennsylvania Military College.
+
+[Illustration: The GOLDEN BOYS IN THE MAIN WOODS]
+
+A new series of instructive copyright stories for boys of High School
+Age.
+
+          Handsome Cloth Binding.
+
+          PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH
+
+          POSTAGE 10c EXTRA
+
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS AND THEIR NEW ELECTRIC CELL
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS AT THE FORTRESS
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS IN THE MAINE WOODS
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS WITH THE LUMBER JACKS
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS RESCUED BY RADIO
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS ALONG THE RIVER ALLAGASH
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS AT THE HAUNTED CAMP
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS ON THE RIVER DRIVE
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS SAVE THE CHAMBERLAIN DAM
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS ON THE TRAIL
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by
+                         the Publishers
+      A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUTS FOR UNCLE SAM***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 32460-8.txt or 32460-8.zip *******
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+<body>
+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam, by John Henry
+Goldfrap</h1>
+<pre>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre>
+<p>Title: The Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam</p>
+<p>Author: John Henry Goldfrap</p>
+<p>Release Date: May 20, 2010  [eBook #32460]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUTS FOR UNCLE SAM***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h4>E-text prepared by David Edwards<br />
+    and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
+    (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net/c/">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br />
+    from page images generously made available by<br />
+    Internet Archive/American Libraries<br />
+    (<a href="http://www.archive.org/details/americana">http://www.archive.org/details/americana</a>)</h4>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;" cellpadding="10">
+  <tr>
+    <td valign="top">
+      Note:
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive/American Libraries. See
+      <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/boyscoutsforuncl00pays">
+      http://www.archive.org/details/boyscoutsforuncl00pays</a>
+	</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 319px;">
+<img src="images/i001.jpg" width="319" height="500" alt="Every eye watched the distant yacht anxiously. (Page 75) (The Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam)" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Every eye watched the distant yacht anxiously.<br />(<i><a href="#Page_75">Page 75</a></i>) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (<i>The Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>
+<h1>THE BOY SCOUTS<br />
+FOR UNCLE SAM</h1>
+
+<h2>By LIEUT. HOWARD PAYSON</h2>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<span class="smcap"><b>Author of</b></span><br />
+<br />
+"The Boy Scouts of the Eagle Patrol," "The Boy Scouts<br />
+on the Range," "The Boy Scouts and the Army<br />
+Airship," "The Boy Scouts' Mountain Camp,"<br />
+"The Boy Scouts at the Panama Canal,"<br />
+etc.<br />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 202px;">
+<img src="images/title.png" width="202" height="250" alt="In the jungle" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class='center'>
+A. L. BURT COMPANY<br />
+Publishers &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;    New York<br />
+<small>Printed in U. S. A.</small><br />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class='copyright'>
+Copyright, 1912,<br />
+BY<br />
+HURST &amp; COMPANY<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+MADE IN U. S. A<br />
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents">
+<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'><small>CHAPTER</small></td><td align='right'><small>PAGE</small></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>I.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Eagles at Home</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>II.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Face at the Transom</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>III.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">An Ocean Derelict</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IV.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Mystery of the Sea</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>V.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Message from the Past</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VI.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Startling Adventure</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VII.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Trapped by Flames</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VIII.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Boy Scout Signal</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IX.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Boys Meet a "Wolf"</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>X.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A New Recruit</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XI.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Barton the Machinist</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XII.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Submarine Island</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIII.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Down to the Depths</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIV.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Facing Death</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XV.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Strange Flag</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XVI.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span><span class="smcap">Scouting for Uncle Sam</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_138">138</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XVII.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Rob's Brave Act</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XVIII.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Island Hut</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_154">154</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIX.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Chase in the Night</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XX.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">On Board a Strange Craft</span>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXI.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Off on a Sea Trail</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_182">182</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXII.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Midnight Adventure</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_190">190</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXIII.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Depths of Old Ocean</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXIV.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Rob Makes a Discovery</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_209">209</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXV.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Dead Man's Hoard</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_217">217</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXVI.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Which Will Win?</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_228">228</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXVII.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Endurance Run</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_238">238</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXVIII.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Supreme Test</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_248">248</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXIX.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Into the Jaws of Death</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_263">263</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p>
+<h2>The Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE EAGLES AT HOME.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"After all, fellows, it's good to be back home
+again."</p>
+
+<p>The speaker, Rob Blake, leader of the Eagle
+Patrol of Boy Scouts, spoke with conviction. He
+was a "rangy," sun-burned lad of about eighteen,
+clear-eyed, confident and wiry. His Boy
+Scout training, too, had made him resourceful
+beyond his years.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and it's also good to know that we each
+have a good substantial sum of money in the
+bank as the result of the finding of the Dangerfield
+fortune," agreed Merritt Crawford, his second<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>
+in command, a sunny-faced, good-natured
+looking youth a little younger than Rob and
+crowned with a tousled mass of wavy brown
+hair.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, at any rate we've had plenty to eat since
+we've been back," chimed in Tubby Hopkins, a
+corpulent youth who owed his nickname to his
+fleshiness.</p>
+
+<p>"That's right, Tubby," laughed Paul Perkins,
+another bright-eyed young "Eagle"; "that's
+something we didn't always get in the Adirondacks.
+I thought at one time that you'd fade
+away to a shadow."</p>
+
+<p>"Humph! Pretty substantial sort of shadow,"
+grinned Hiram Nelson, who, besides Paul Perkins,
+was the inventive genius of the Eagles.</p>
+
+<p>The scene of these reminiscences was the comfortably
+furnished patrol room of the Eagles,
+situated over the bank of the little town of
+Hampton on the south shore of Long Island.
+Rob Blake's father, the president of the bank,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>
+was a patron of the Eagles, and had donated the
+room to the boys some time before.</p>
+
+<p>Boxing gloves, foils, baseball bats and other
+athletic apparatus dear to a boy's heart lay scattered
+about the room in orderly confusion. On
+the walls were diagrams of the "wig-wag code"
+and the "Morse code simplified," with other illustrations
+of Scout activities.</p>
+
+<p>But it was above the door that there was
+perched the particular pride of the Eagles' hearts&mdash;a
+huge American eagle, a bird fast disappearing
+from its native haunts. With outstretched
+wings and defiant attitude it stood there, typifying
+the spirit of its young namesakes. The eagle
+had been a present to the lads from Lieutenant
+Duvall, of the United States Army, whom they
+had materially aided some time before in various
+aerial intrigues and adventures. What these
+were was related in full in the "The Boy Scouts
+and the Army Airship."</p>
+
+<p>In the first volume of this series, "The Boy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>
+Scouts of the Eagle Patrol," it was told how the
+boys came to organize, and how they succeeded
+in unravelling a kidnapping mystery, involving
+one of their number. In the second volume,
+"The Boy Scouts on the Range," we followed the
+boys' adventures in the far southwest. Here they
+encountered Moqui Indians and renegade cow-punchers.
+But through all their hardships and
+adventures they conducted themselves according
+to the Scout laws.</p>
+
+<p>The third volume was "The Boy Scouts and
+the Army Airship," referred to in connection
+with Lieutenant Duvall. In this book a military
+biplane played an important part, as did the theft
+of a series of plans of a gyroscope invention of
+Lieutenant Duvall's, who was an all-around mechanical
+genius.</p>
+
+<p>In the story that preceded the present account
+of the Eagle Patrol the lads found themselves
+in the Adirondacks on a strange mission. With
+a certain Major Dangerfield, a retired army officer,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>
+they searched for a lost cave in which an
+old-time pirate, one of the Major's ancestors, had
+hidden his loot when Indians threatened him.
+How the cave was located and the startling discovery
+made there, we have not space to describe
+here. But in the wildest part of the "land of
+woods and lakes" the boys encountered some
+thrilling adventures, not the least of which was
+Rob's battle with the moonshining gang that infested
+a lonely canyon.</p>
+
+<p>From this trip they had returned not more than
+two weeks before the scene in the meeting-room,
+which we have described, took place. Bronzed,
+clear-eyed and alert, they were already longing
+for action of some sort. How soon they were to
+be plunged into adventures of a variety even
+more exciting than any they had yet encountered
+they little dreamed at the moment.<br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+
+
+<p>They were still laughing over the idea of the
+substantial Tubby's rotund form being compared<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>
+to a shadow when there came a tap at the door
+of the room in which they were assembled.</p>
+
+<p>"Guess that's Andy Bowles," said Rob, referring
+to the only member of the Patrol who was
+not present; "wonder why he's so late."</p>
+
+<p>Then, in a louder voice, he cried:</p>
+
+<p>"Come in, Andy."</p>
+
+<p>But the voice that answered as the door was
+flung open was not Andy's. Instead, it was a
+deep, resounding bass one.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not Andy; but I'll accept the invitation."</p>
+
+<p>As the owner of the voice, a tall, well-set-up
+man with a military bearing, stepped into the
+room all the Scouts sprang erect at attention, and
+gave the Scout salute. Then they broke into
+three cheers.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Lieutenant Duvall, what are you doing
+here?" exclaimed Rob, coming forward.</p>
+
+<p>The young officer shook hands warmly with
+the leader of the Boy Scouts. Then, while the
+others pressed closer to the lieutenant&mdash;the same<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
+officer who had conducted the aviation tests at
+the "tunnelled house"&mdash;he addressed Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"The fact is, I came down here to see if you
+are willing to tackle some more adventures," he
+said.</p>
+
+<p>"Are we&mdash;" began Rob; but a roar from the
+Scouts interrupted him.</p>
+
+<p>"Just you try us, Lieutenant."</p>
+
+<p>"More adventures? Great stuff!"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm ready right now."</p>
+
+<p>"You can count on me."</p>
+
+<p>The air fairly bubbled with confusion and excitement.</p>
+
+<p>The Lieutenant roared with laughter.</p>
+
+<p>"I do believe if you boys were told to lead a
+forlorn hope up to a row of machine guns you'd
+do it," he exclaimed; "but all this time I've been
+leaving my friend outside. May I bring him in?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why ask the question?" exclaimed Rob.
+"This room is at the disposal of the United States
+Army at any time."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, in this case it must be at the disposal
+of the Navy also," smiled the officer. Then,
+turning his head, he called to someone outside in
+the hallway, "Dan, the Eagles are prepared to
+receive the Navy."</p>
+
+<p>At the word, a stalwart young man of about
+Lieutenant Duvall's age, stepped into the room.
+He was deeply sun-burned, and had an alert, upright
+carriage that stamped him as belonging to
+Uncle Sam's service.</p>
+
+<p>"Scouts of the Eagle Patrol," said Lieutenant
+Duvall, with becoming formality, "allow me to
+present to you Ensign Daniel Hargreaves, of the
+United States Navy, just now detailed on special
+service."</p>
+
+<p>Once more came the Scout salute, and then,
+given with a will, the long drawn "Kr-e-e-ee"
+of the Eagles.</p>
+
+<p>The naval officer's eyes twinkled.</p>
+
+<p>"These are Eagles that can scream with a
+vengeance," he exclaimed to his companion.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes; and they can show their talons on occasion,
+I can assure you," declared Lieutenant
+Duvall. "But 'heave ahead,' as you say in the
+Navy, Dan, and put your proposition before
+them."</p>
+
+<p>The boys greeted this announcement with
+wide-open eyes. Somehow or other they felt impressed
+immediately that they were on the verge
+of another series of important adventures; that
+the unexpected visit of the officers had something
+to do with their immediate future. And in this
+they were not the least bit out of the way, as
+will be seen.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE FACE AT THE TRANSOM.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"Of course what I am going to say will be held
+strictly confidential?" began Ensign Hargreaves,
+looking about him at the bright, eager faces of
+the young Eagles.</p>
+
+<p>"We are Boy Scouts, sir," responded Rob
+proudly.</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon; but what I am going to
+say is so important to the nation that one word
+of it breathed abroad might cause endless complications
+and the ruin of certain plans. I have
+come to see you because my friend, Lieutenant
+Duvall, told me that he did not know anywhere
+in the country of a band of boys of similar resourcefulness,
+courage and high training."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"That's going some," whispered Tubby,
+behind a plump hand, to Merritt Crawford.</p>
+
+<p>"I said no more than they deserved, Dan," observed
+Lieutenant Duvall.</p>
+
+<p>"So I should imagine from what you told me
+about the part they played in the matter of the
+biplane and the tunnelled house," responded the
+young officer. "I came to you for another reason,
+also," he went on reverting to the subject in
+hand; "I have heard that as well as being land
+scouts you are thoroughly at home on the
+water."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Rob, "we've all of us been
+brought up here on the south shore. I guess we
+are all fair sailors and know something about
+sea-scouting as well as the land variety."</p>
+
+<p>"It is mainly for that reason that I came to
+you," rejoined the naval officer. "For the mission
+which I am desirous to have you undertake
+a knowledge of sea conditions is essential."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Gee! He's a long time coming to the point,"
+mumbled Tubby impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>"Have any of you boys ever heard of the
+'Peacemaker submarine'?"</p>
+
+<p>"So called because the nation possessing it
+would be so formidable as to insure naval peace
+with other countries?" exclaimed Rob quickly.
+"Yes, sir, I've heard of it."</p>
+
+<p>"What has reached your ears about it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, a week ago the papers said that a submarine
+of that type had been sold to Russia and
+shipped for that country from the factory of the
+inventor at Bridgeport, Connecticut," said Rob,
+with growing wonder as to what all this could be
+leading.</p>
+
+<p>"Correct. But that submarine never reached
+Russia!"</p>
+
+<p>"Did the ship that was carrying it sink?"
+asked Tubby innocently.</p>
+
+<p>"No," smiled the ensign, amused at the fat
+boy's goggling eyes and intent expression; "the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
+<i>Long Island</i>, the freighter conveying it, did not
+sink. Instead, it hung about the coast, and then,
+under cover of fog, slipped into the harbor of
+Snug Haven on the South Carolina coast. Snug
+Haven is a small place and a sleepy one. Under
+the blanket of fog the <i>Long Island</i> slipped in, as
+I have said. Then the submarine was hoisted
+overboard by means of a derrick, and under her
+own power run to anchorage off a small island
+not far from Snug Haven. The captain and
+crew of the <i>Long Island</i> were sworn to secrecy,
+and so far as we know not a soul, but those directly
+interested, is aware of the present location
+of the <i>Peacemaker</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"But why, if the submarine was sold to Russia,
+was she not sent there?" inquired the mystified
+Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"For the excellent reason that she was <i>not</i>
+sold to Russia at all," was the naval officer's rejoinder;
+"that was simply announced for the
+benefit of inquisitive newspapers who have been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
+trying for a long time to get at the details of
+the 'Peacemaker submarine.' But it is not alone
+the newspapers we have had trouble with. Foreign
+spies, anxious to secure the <i>Peacemaker</i>
+for their governments, have harassed us
+at Bridgeport ever since the keel plates were
+laid."</p>
+
+<p>"Then the United States has bought the
+submarine?" asked Merritt Crawford.</p>
+
+<p>"Not yet. But the construction and principles
+of it are so efficient that Uncle Sam wishes to
+have first call on the craft."</p>
+
+<p>"And you are going to test it at this lonely
+island in South Carolina?" cried Rob, guessing
+the truth.</p>
+
+<p>"Perfectly right, my boy," was the response.
+"Off that little-frequented coast, beset with islands
+and shoals, we hope to carry out our tests
+unobserved. At Bridgeport this would have
+been an impossibility, and for that reason the
+story of the sale to Russia was concocted. Russia,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>
+I may add, was about the only country not
+represented by spy service at Bridgeport."</p>
+
+<p>"And you say that nobody but the officials directly
+connected with the craft has any knowledge
+of its whereabouts?" asked Rob with deep
+interest.</p>
+
+<p>"As far as it is humanly possible to be certain,
+such is our positive belief."</p>
+
+<p>"But where do we fit into all this?" sputtered
+Tubby, acutely coming to the main point.</p>
+
+<p>"I am coming to that," was the response.
+"From what I have told you, you will have gathered
+that no ordinary class of watchmen could
+be trusted to keep quiet about what is to go forward
+on the island. Yet it is necessary to have
+sentries of some sort to keep constant watch that
+no one approaches unexpectedly. For that purpose
+we have adopted various mechanical precautions,
+such as submarine detector bells, etc. But
+our main reliance must be on human intelligence."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I see," said Rob, nodding. The object
+of the officer's visit was beginning to dawn on
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"To come straight to the point," went on the
+officer, "how would you boys like to take a camping
+trip to the South Carolina coast on Uncle
+Sam's service?"</p>
+
+<p>"You mean to act as guards to the submarine?"
+almost shouted Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Just that," responded the officer. "I
+have&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>But a roar of cheers drowned any further remarks
+he might have had to make.</p>
+
+<p>"I knew it would happen," cried Merritt when
+the riot had, in a measure, subsided.</p>
+
+<p>"What?" demanded Tubby.</p>
+
+<p>"Action!" responded Merritt briefly.</p>
+
+<p>The hubbub grew tumultuous. All the Eagles
+were trying to talk at once. The wonderful prospect
+opened up before them of fresh adventures
+fairly set them wild.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At last, above the turmoil, Ensign Hargreaves
+managed to make his voice heard.</p>
+
+<p>"Boys! Boys!" he exclaimed, "one minute till
+I outline the plans."</p>
+
+<p>A respectful silence at once ensued in which
+each Scout was prompt to join.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, it will be necessary for you to obtain
+written consent of your parents," spoke the
+naval officer.</p>
+
+<p>At this some of the faces in the room fell several
+degrees.</p>
+
+<p>"The government will absolutely require such
+authority," he continued. "The service on Barren
+Island, as it is called, while not necessarily
+hazardous, may prove dangerous, and each boy's
+parents must be so informed."</p>
+
+<p>"We'll get plenty to eat, I suppose?" inquired
+Tubby anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, of course," laughed the officer; "moreover,
+I forgot to inform you that there is a wireless<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>
+plant on the Island, and other conveniences
+unusual in so remote a situation."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, so long as the grub holds out, I'm satisfied,"
+muttered Tubby in a contented tone.</p>
+
+<p>"How soon will we start, supposing our parents
+allow us to go?" asked Rob, as soon as
+the laughter over Tubby's remark had subsided.</p>
+
+<p>"At the end of this week if possible. Mr. Danbury
+Barr, the inventor of the <i>Peacemaker</i>, will
+meet us in New York. We shall voyage south on
+the U. S. Derelict Destroyer <i>Seneca</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Derelict Destroyer," repeated Rob. "Those
+are the craft that Uncle Sam sends out to destroy
+drifting wrecks that might prove a menace
+to navigation, aren't they?"</p>
+
+<p>"Correct, my boy," rejoined the officer. "Our
+reason for making the voyage on the <i>Seneca</i>,"
+he continued, "is that no regular passenger
+steamer makes a stop near Barren Island.
+Furthermore, if we went down on a naval vessel
+some of these sharp reporters would be sure to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>
+make inquiries, with the result that our retreat
+might be discovered."</p>
+
+<p>"And that would be a serious matter?" put in
+Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, very serious. Several nations are on
+the <i>qui vive</i> to discover just what the <i>Barr Peacemaker</i>
+is. They have sent shrewd, cunning men,
+versed in the art of espionage, to this country on
+that mission. These men will stick at nothing to
+ferret out the secret if they can. Mr. Barr has
+been approached with all sorts of offers. But
+he is a staunch American to the backbone, as you
+will discover when you meet him. If anyone is
+to have the <i>Peacemaker</i> it is to be Uncle Sam,
+first, foremost and all the time."</p>
+
+<p>"Kree-e-ee-ee!" shrilled the Boy Scouts of the
+Eagle Patrol in unison.</p>
+
+<p>The sharp, screaming note of the Eagle was
+still resounding when Merritt uttered a startled
+cry, and pointed to the open transom above the
+door. The others were still staring at him when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
+he darted toward it and flung the portal open.
+The passage beyond was empty, and the boy
+turned to his companions with a puzzled look on
+his face.</p>
+
+<p>"What's up, Merritt?" asked Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Seeing spooks?" inquired Tubby.</p>
+
+<p>"Seeing nothing," snapped out Merritt; "I
+<i>saw</i>&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Saw what?" demanded Lieutenant Duvall.</p>
+
+<p>"A face peering at us over that transom. It
+dodged into the darkness as I looked up, but I
+saw it as plain as daylight."</p>
+
+<p>Both officers bent forward almost breathlessly.
+Merritt's communication appeared to affect them
+strangely.</p>
+
+<p>"What kind of a face was it?" demanded Ensign
+Hargreaves.</p>
+
+<p>"A wild looking one. Very pale, and fringed
+with dark whiskers."</p>
+
+<p>The effect on the officers was electrical. They<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>
+both sprang up and made for the door followed
+by the puzzled Scouts.</p>
+
+<p>"Was&mdash;was it anyone you know?" demanded
+Rob, as he paced beside Lieutenant Duvall.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. From the description it was Berghoff,
+the spy of a powerful European nation whose
+ambition it is to outgeneral all other powers on
+the sea. We must apprehend him if possible. It
+is only too clear that he followed us here from
+Washington and must have heard a great part of
+our conversation."</p>
+
+<p>"Phew! This is action with a capital A!"
+gasped Rob as they ran down the stairway and
+out into the lighted street.</p>
+
+<p>But although a rigorous search was made and
+all trains watched, no trace was found of Nordstrom
+Berghoff, the naval spy. It was surmised
+that he must have made good his escape in a
+speedy "roadster" car in which he had crept into
+Hampton earlier in the evening.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>AN OCEAN DERELICT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"What's that object off on the starboard bow,
+sir?"</p>
+
+<p>It was a week after the events narrated in the
+preceding chapters, and the <i>Seneca</i>, a converted
+gun-boat fitted with torpedo tubes for the destruction
+of derelicts, was plowing her way
+southward through an azure sea under a cloudless
+sky.</p>
+
+<p>Rob Blake asked the question. In full Boy
+Scout Leader's uniform, and wearing the different
+badges to which he was entitled, the young
+chief of the Eagles stood on the <i>Seneca's</i> bridge
+with Ensign Hargreaves and Lieutenant Murray,
+who were in command of the destroyer.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Jove, lad, you have sharp eyes!" exclaimed
+Lieutenant Murray. "Even the lookout has not
+yet spied it. Let's see what it may be. Possibly
+it's our 'meat'&mdash;food for our torpedoes."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case the boys are in for a bit of excitement,"
+said Ensign Hargreaves.</p>
+
+<p>"You think it is a derelict!" exclaimed Rob.
+"Oh, boys!" he called down to the shady deck
+below, where the other lads lay reading or writing
+letters or studying the Scout Manual, "we've
+sighted a derelict."</p>
+
+<p>"An ocean hobo, eh?" hailed back Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"Hold on! Hold on! Not so fast!" laughed
+Lieutenant Murray.</p>
+
+<p>He took his powerful naval binoculars from
+their case and carefully focussed them on the dot
+which Rob's sharp eyes had espied at so great a
+distance.</p>
+
+<p>"You are right, Master Rob," he exclaimed the
+next instant; "it <i>is</i> a derelict, and a big one, too."</p>
+
+<p>"And you are going to blow it up?" asked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
+Rob, his voice quivering with excitement.</p>
+
+<p>"That's our business, lad."</p>
+
+<p>"Hooray! Boys, stand by for the fireworks!"
+shouted the delighted Rob.</p>
+
+<p>The Boy Scouts, who had pretty well the run
+of the ship and were favored alike by officers
+and men, came swarming upon the bridge.
+Lieutenant Murray was adjusting the range
+finders and directing the quartermaster at the
+wheel to change his course so as to bear down on
+the drifting hulk. As they drew closer to the
+dismantled derelict they saw that, as Lieutenant
+Murray had declared, she had been a large vessel.
+Stumps of three masts rose from her decks above
+the broken bulwarks. Ends of bleached and
+frayed-out shrouds hung from her fore, main,
+and mizzen chains. From the look of her, she
+had been a considerable time adrift.</p>
+
+<p>As she rolled slowly on the gentle swell they
+could see that her underbody was green with seaweed
+and slime, the accumulation of years.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
+Amidships stood a small deck house, and at the
+bow a broken bowsprit pointed heavenward as if
+invoking mercy on her forlorn condition.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, she might have been drifting about
+since the time of Noah, to judge by her looks,"
+exclaimed Merritt, gazing at the odd sight.</p>
+
+<p>"I have heard of derelicts that have followed
+the ocean currents for fifty years and more," declared
+the Lieutenant. "This craft looks as if
+she might date back that far. Certainly she has
+been a long time adrift. Sailors sometimes become
+panic-stricken and leave their ships when
+there is no real necessity for so doing. A case in
+point is that of Captain Larsen of the <i>Two Sisters</i>,
+which sailed from Bath, Maine, for a West
+Indian port. She was abandoned in a hurry after
+a hurricane, and the captain and crew took to the
+boats. After drifting for weeks&mdash;they had had
+time to provision the boats well&mdash;they arrived in
+Kingston, Jamaica, and the first sight that
+greeted the captain's eyes was the hulk of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
+<i>Two Sisters</i>. She had drifted close to the island
+and had been towed in, arriving ahead of the
+crew that had forsaken her!"</p>
+
+<p>"Hark!" cried Merritt, while they were still
+commenting on the Lieutenant's story, "what
+was that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sounded like a bell tolling," exclaimed Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a bell!" cried Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>Sure enough, borne over the gently heaving
+water, there came to their ears the melancholy
+ding-dong of a deep-toned bell. Coming as it
+did from the abandoned sea-riven hulk it cast a
+gloom over them.</p>
+
+<p>"Who can be ringing it?" cried Tubby, in
+what was for him, an awe-stricken voice.</p>
+
+<p>"No mystery about it, I guess," said Lieutenant
+Murray; "it is the ship's bell, and as the craft
+rolls it is ringing a requiem for the dead."</p>
+
+<p>"Ugh! It gives me the shudders!" exclaimed
+Hiram.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"It's not a cheerful sound certainly," agreed
+Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Bom-boom; bom-boom," chimed the bell,
+waxing now faint, now loud, as the wind rose
+and fell.</p>
+
+<p>"I'd like to go aboard that boat and explore
+her," declared Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"That's an opportunity you shall have," said
+the Lieutenant. "It is our rule to explore all
+such derelicts for a hint as to the fate of their
+crew before we consign them to the deep."</p>
+
+<p>Orders were given to check the speed of the
+<i>Seneca</i> and to prepare to lower a boat.</p>
+
+<p>"Are we to go?" chorused the Scouts eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course. Mr. Hargreaves will accompany
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"Aren't you going?" asked Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"No. It's an old story with me. While we
+are waiting for you, I will work out our position,
+which must go in with my report of the derelict's
+destruction."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Five minutes later, in one of the <i>Seneca's</i>
+whale boats, the boys were skimming over the sea
+toward the melancholy old derelict. As they
+glided along, the bell kept up its monotonous
+booming with the regularity of a shore bell summoning
+worshippers to church.</p>
+
+<p>As the whaleboat was pulled around the derelict's
+stern they could see a name painted on the
+square counter, surrounded with many a scroll
+and flourish in the antique manner. These flourishes
+had once been gilded and painted, but the
+gilt and color had long since worn off them.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Good Hope of Portland, Me.</i>," read out Rob.
+"What a contrast between her name and her
+fate!"</p>
+
+<p>"Bom-boom," tolled the bell as if in answer to
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"She must have been one of those old-time
+clippers that sailed round the Horn with Yankee
+notions for the Spice Islands and China, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
+came back with tea and other Oriental goods,"
+opined Ensign Hargreaves.</p>
+
+<p>"She was a fine ship in her day, sir," ventured
+the old quartermaster who pulled stroke oar.</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, aye, Tarbox; in those days the American
+mercantile marine was a thing to be proud
+of," agreed the ensign. "To-day not one-tenth
+of the craft that used to fly the Stars and Stripes
+remain afloat. They have vanished and their
+keels sweep the sea no more."</p>
+
+<p>By this time they had arrived below the derelict's
+port main chains. From these several
+bleached ropes hung down, but all proved too
+rotten to support the weight of a Boy Scout, let
+alone a man. But by good fortune a chain, rusty,
+but still strong seemingly, depended from the
+bows of the old craft. This withstood a test, and,
+led by Ensign Hargreaves, the boys clambered
+on deck. Quartermaster Tarbox and the four
+sailors who had manned the oars were left in the
+boat.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The boys' hearts beat a little faster as they
+stood on the forecastle of the abandoned <i>Good
+Hope</i>. Nor was this caused by the exertion of
+the climb altogether. There was something uncanny
+in standing upon that long-untrodden
+deck, while right below the break in the forecastle
+the bell kept up its doomsday-like tolling.</p>
+
+<p>The ensign's first task was to make fast a lanyard
+to the clapper of the dismal thing, and
+thereafter their nerves felt steadier. With the
+dying out of the clamor of the bell, a death-like
+hush fell over the abandoned ship. Only the
+rippling complaint of the water as she rolled to
+and fro broke the stillness. The boys actually
+found themselves talking in whispers under the
+spell that hung above the decks of the ill-fated
+<i>Good Hope</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us explore that deck house first," said
+Ensign Hargreaves, and, followed by the boys,
+he started for the small structure which stood
+just aft of the wreck of the foremast.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Little dreaming of the surprise that awaited
+them within, the boys followed, on tip-toe with
+curiosity and excitement.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>A MYSTERY OF THE SEA.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The door of the deck house was closed. But
+the ensign opened it without difficulty, and with
+the boys pressing close on his heels he entered
+the place.</p>
+
+<p>Hardly had he done so before he fell back
+with a sharp exclamation. The next instant the
+boys echoed his interjection with a tone in which
+horror mingled with surprise. Seated at a table
+in the cabin was what at first appeared to be a
+man. But a second glance showed that, in
+reality, the figure was a grim skeleton upheld by
+its posture and still bearing mildewed and mouldy
+sea clothes.</p>
+
+<p>"What a dreadful sight!" cried Rob, shivering,
+although the day was hot.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Poor fellow!" exclaimed the naval officer.
+"He must have perished just as he sat. See,
+there is a paper under his hand, and there lies
+the pen with which he had been writing."</p>
+
+<p>He stepped forward to make a further examination,
+and the boys, mastering their instinctive
+dread of the uncanny scene, also approached
+the table.</p>
+
+<p>The writing beneath the dead man's hand was
+on a fragment of paper, yellowed with age and
+covered with scrawlings grown brown from the
+same cause. Mastering his repugnance, the ensign
+took the paper from under the skeleton's
+fingers that still rested upon it.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" demanded Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Look at it for yourself," returned the officer
+after scrutinizing the document.</p>
+
+<p>Thus addressed, Rob took the mouldy screed
+while his chums looked over his shoulder curiously.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Why, it's nothing but a mass of figures," he
+exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>"That is certainly so. Some sort of cipher, I
+suppose," struck in Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"That's what it is, I imagine," agreed the ensign;
+"but see this cross marked in red ink in the
+midst of the figures! What can that be intended
+for?"</p>
+
+<p>"If you don't mind, I'll try to figure this out
+sometime," said Rob. "I'm rather fond of working
+cryptograms and such things. It will serve
+to pass the time, too, when we reach the Island."</p>
+
+<p>"That is perfectly agreeable to me," returned
+the officer. "If you can make anything of it, it
+may serve to solve the mystery of this ship. For
+that a mystery there is about the whole thing, I
+feel certain."</p>
+
+<p>"It does seem uncanny, somehow," agreed
+Rob; "the posture of this man, this strange writing!
+I wonder how he died?"</p>
+
+<p>"Impossible to say," rejoined the officer; "but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
+let us investigate further. We may make some
+more discoveries."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope we don't make any more finds of this
+character," rejoined Rob with deep feeling.</p>
+
+<p>Reverently and quietly they made their way
+out of the presence of the dead mariner.</p>
+
+<p>Their next objective point was the poop of the
+vessel, where a high, old-fashioned quarter-deck
+upreared itself above the main deck. Port holes
+looked out from this, and the party of explorers
+rightly judged that here had been the living-quarters
+of the ship's officers. A door of heavily
+carved mahogany gave access to the space below
+the lofty poop-deck. Pressing through this, they
+found themselves in a dark, dingy-looking cuddy.
+The cushions of the lockers, which ranged along
+each side, were green with mould and in the air
+hung the odor of decay.</p>
+
+<p>A skylight above gave light to this chamber,
+and at its sides four doors, two to a side, opened
+off.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Those doors must lead to the staterooms of
+the former officers," declared the ensign, and a
+tour of inspection of the rooms was begun at
+once. In the first three, after a thorough ransacking
+nothing more interesting was to be
+found than some old sea chests, containing garments
+and nautical instruments of antique pattern.
+In the last, however, which bore traces of
+having been better furnished than the others,
+there hung a crudely painted picture of a grizzled-looking
+seaman, on whose breast hung conspicuously
+a gold image of a whale. Apparently
+this was some sort of an emblem. But to Rob
+the portrait presented a clew.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, that same emblem hung on the uniform
+of the dead man in the deckhouse!" he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>"So it did," cried the ensign. "Boys, from
+the looks of it, this was the cabin of the master
+of the ship, and yonder body, it is my firm belief,
+is his."</p>
+
+<p>But Merritt had stumbled upon another discovery.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
+This was nothing more than a large
+book, bound in leather. But to the ensign it
+seemed to be apparently a highly important find.</p>
+
+<p>"It's the ship's log-book," he exclaimed, pointing
+to the embossed words on the cover. "Now
+perhaps we may light on a partial solution of this
+mystery."</p>
+
+<p>He opened the book at the first page, and
+learned from the crabbed writing with which
+it was covered, that the <i>Good Hope</i>, Ezekial T.
+Daniels, master, had set sail from New Bedford
+for the South Pacific whaling ground in
+April, 1879.</p>
+
+<p>"Gracious, that was about thirty-three years
+ago," stammered Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"I have heard of derelicts that drifted longer
+than that," said the naval officer calmly.</p>
+
+<p>He began turning over the leaves of the
+log book. It was an epic of the sea. Every
+incident that had befallen the <i>Good Hope</i> on
+her long voyage was faithfully set down. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>
+skimmed through the records, reading the most
+interesting bits of information out aloud for the
+benefit of his youthful companions.</p>
+
+<p>From the log book it was learned that the <i>Good
+Hope</i> had met with indifferent luck on her long
+three years' cruise, but had suddenly run into
+a most extraordinary bit of good fortune.</p>
+
+<p>"Listen to this, boys," exclaimed the ensign
+with what, for one of his self-contained nature,
+was strong excitement, "it reads like a bit of
+wild romance."</p>
+
+<p>Without further preface he began reading:</p>
+
+<p>"'May, 1883&mdash;This day encountered the strangest
+thing in all my experience. As set down,
+we have drifted into the Antarctic ice pack. This
+day sighted a berg within which was a dark,
+shadowy object. On going in the ship boats to
+investigate we saw to our amazement that the
+said object was a ship. The ice surrounding
+it was thin, mostly having melted.</p>
+
+<p>"'From what I knew of such craft I decided,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
+incredible as the idea might seem, that the craft
+within the berg was a long frozen up Viking
+ship. Not knowing just what her recovery might
+mean, I undertook to blast her free of her
+prison. We had plenty of dynamite on board
+for the very purpose of ice-blasting. By three
+of this p. m. we had the ship blasted open. I
+and my officers at once entered the hole the explosive
+had made in the craft's side. We expected
+to find strange things, but none of us
+was prepared for what followed. The hold of the
+imprisoned ship was full of ivory.</p>
+
+<p>"'My first officer, William Clydesdale, an
+Englishman, and a college man before strong
+drink ruined him, pronounced the ivory to be that
+of the tusks of the extinct mammoths which
+scientists say formerly inhabited these regions.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Phew! This is romance with a vengeance!"
+exclaimed Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Did they get the ivory?" asked the practical
+Paul Perkins.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes," rejoined the officer, rapidly skimming
+over the further pages of the log, "and they estimated
+the stuff roughly at about five hundred
+thousand dollars' worth of exceptional quality."</p>
+
+<p>"How did the ship get frozen in the ice?"
+asked Hiram. "The Viking ship, I mean."</p>
+
+<p>"Who can tell," returned the ensign. "I have
+heard of such things at the North Pole. Several
+explorers have even brought back fragments
+of the Norseman's lost craft; but I never heard
+of such an occurrence transpiring in the Antarctic
+regions. But let's read on."</p>
+
+<p>The log continued to tell of hardships encountered
+in beating back around the Horn with the
+valuable cargo; of discontent of the crew; of
+their constant demand to have the hoard divided
+equally among the officers and men, and of the
+captain's refusal to accede to their requests.
+Finally the entries began to grow short and disconnected,
+as if whoever was writing up the log<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
+was on constant watch and had little time to
+spare. Indeed, one entry read:</p>
+
+<p>"Mutiny threatens constantly. The men mean
+to seize the ivory and take to the boats."</p>
+
+<p>Following that no entries were made for several
+days. Then came a startling announcement,
+both in its brevity and suggestiveness of tragedy.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3>A MESSAGE FROM THE PAST</h3>
+
+
+<p>"'What I dreaded has come to pass,'" read
+out the ensign; "'the men mutinied, but thanks
+be to Providence, we are safe. But a fearful
+catastrophe overtook the misguided fellows.
+Short handed as we were, having lost ten hands
+by scurvy and drowning in the South Seas, the
+crew mustered but eight men. Thus, with my
+two officers, we were three against them. The
+attack came at midnight on July 27th, 1883.
+Luckily we were on the watch, and as the men
+came aft we met them with firearms. Four went
+down at the first volley. Three died shortly, the
+other the next day.</p>
+
+<p>"'The remainder fled, but before I could stop<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+them my officers had shot down three, leaving
+only the cook alive. I saved his life. But as we
+were examining the injured, one of them whipped
+out a knife and killed my first officer. The next
+day we buried the dead and worked the ship as
+best we could with three hands. Luckily the
+breeze was light, for in a brisk blow we could
+not have handled the ship.</p>
+
+<p>"'Finding ourselves off the coast of the Carolinas,
+and despairing of navigating the ship to
+port, we ran in and anchored off a small desolate
+island. On it grew a few scrub trees, but
+not much else. After a consultation we decided
+to abandon the ship; but first we agreed, while
+the weather was fair, to bury the ivory on one of
+the islands. It was a long, tedious task, but
+at last it was done, and the spot where it had
+been secreted, marked.</p>
+
+<p>"'This done, we rowed back to the ship to
+obtain my chronometers, papers, and so forth.
+I should have explained that we had but one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
+boat, heavy seas off the Horn having smashed
+four of them, and a fifth was broken in a fight
+with a whale. I was some time below, getting
+papers, when suddenly I heard a splash of oars.
+By some inspiration, I guessed what had happened.
+Rushing on deck I was in time to behold
+my rascally second mate and the cook rowing
+from the ship with might and main.</p>
+
+<p>"'I shouted, entreated, and raged. But it was
+all in vain. All the rascals did was to laugh at
+me. I might have guessed their terrible purpose
+to maroon me on my own ship, but I had paid no
+heed to some whispering I had observed between
+them while on the island working at the burial
+of the ivory. All this has been written since
+they abandoned me in so cowardly a fashion for
+the sake of the ivory. Their intent, I readily
+guessed. They would reach the shore ahead of
+me. Find some capital, get a ship and seize the
+whole cache. I count myself lucky that they did
+not kill me outright.'"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>By this time the boys were leaning forward,
+all else forgotten in the thrilling interest of the
+extraordinary narrative.</p>
+
+<p>The ensign read on.</p>
+
+<p>"I find no more entries till several days later,"
+he said, "then comes this one:</p>
+
+<p>"'Since last I wrote I have encountered a fearful
+experience. The night succeeding the occasion
+on which the two villains left the ship, a
+terrific gale came up off shore. Unable to reef
+sail single-handed, I was compelled to cut the
+cable and head out for sea. For three days we
+scudded before the gale. The canvas was torn
+to ribbons, and one after another my masts went.
+I managed to cut the wreckage free with an
+axe.</p>
+
+<div class='center'><big><b>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.</b></big></div>
+
+<p>"'Some days later. What is happening to the
+ship? She is being drawn by some strong but invisible
+current. There is no wind, but she is
+moving fairly fast. What can be going to happen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
+to me? One thing is sure, I am out of the
+track of ocean vessels. Heaven help me, for I
+fear I am beyond human aid!'"</p>
+
+<p>"The poor fellow's mind evidently gave way
+soon after this," said the ensign; "the entries
+grow disjointed and wild. He declares the cabin
+is haunted. That the ghosts of the dead mutineers
+haunt the ship. At last they cease abruptly
+with the words, 'God be merciful to me, I am
+going mad.'"</p>
+
+<p>A silence fell over the party in the dead
+mariner's cabin. The mystery, the spell of the
+horror of it all, was strong upon them. In each
+lad's mind was a vivid picture of the unfortunate
+captain held in the grip of a strange current,
+being driven day by day further from the
+track of ships, while his fevered mind pictured
+ghostly forms all about him.</p>
+
+<p>"How do you suppose his death came?" asked
+Rob, after the silence had endured some moments.</p>
+
+<p>"I have an ugly suspicion which I shall soon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>
+verify," said the ensign; "you boys wait here for
+a time."</p>
+
+<p>Alone he re&euml;ntered the deck-house, where sat
+the dead seaman. When he returned his face
+was very grave.</p>
+
+<p>"Boys, my suspicions were correct," he said;
+"by the man's side I found a pistol. Undoubtedly,
+crazed by despair, he ended his life."</p>
+
+<p>"After writing this strange paper?" asked
+Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Evidently. To judge from the jumble of
+figures, it was the product of his poor, demented
+brain."</p>
+
+<p>"If you don't mind, I'll keep it, though," said
+Rob. "I've an idea about it."</p>
+
+<p>"In what way?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, that it may not be what you think, after
+all. It bears the earmarks of an orderly cipher
+and is not scrawled at all as are the final entries
+in the log book."</p>
+
+<p>"That's right," agreed the ensign admiringly,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>
+"you Boy Scouts have mighty keen minds. Well,
+my boy, keep it and study it at your leisure, although
+I am free to confess that I cannot think
+of it otherwise than in the way mentioned."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps you are right," said Rob, "but I'll
+have a try at puzzling it out, when I get time."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<h3>A STARTLING ADVENTURE.</h3>
+
+
+<p>During the conversation recorded none of the
+party had given much thought to conditions outside.
+Now, when he stepped to the door of the
+cabin, the ensign uttered a sharp cry of consternation.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter?" asked Rob, as he approached.</p>
+
+<p>"Matter enough. Look there!" was the rejoinder.</p>
+
+<p>A dense white fog had come softly rolling up,
+and now the derelict <i>Good Hope</i> lay enwrapped
+in fleecy white clouds, thick and impenetrable.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we'll have to wait here in the boat till
+this clears off," declared Bob; "we could never
+find the <i>Seneca</i> in this mess."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"That's the worst of it," rejoined the lieutenant,
+"there is no boat."</p>
+
+<p>"No boat," echoed Rob uncomprehendingly;
+"but we came in one. It will be waiting for us."</p>
+
+<p>"No. I gave orders for the men to return to
+the <i>Seneca</i> and bring over a destructive mine, for
+I had determined to blow up this dangerous menace
+to navigation. They have not returned, that
+is evident, or I would have been notified. Boys,
+we are in a bad fix. I don't know how fast this
+old hulk is drifting; but I imagine that if this
+keeps up much longer, we shall fetch up a long
+way from the <i>Seneca's</i> whereabouts."</p>
+
+<p>"Can't they cruise about and find us?" asked
+Merritt rather piteously. He was not a lad to
+underestimate the real seriousness of their position
+on board the old hulk in the impenetrable
+fog that hung in blanket-like wreaths everywhere
+about them.</p>
+
+<p>In reply to the boy's question the ensign declared
+that it would be impossible for the <i>Seneca</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>
+to pick them up until the weather cleared,
+if then.</p>
+
+<p>"It would be risking the vessel to cruise about
+in this smother," he said; "why, she'd be as likely
+to strike the <i>Good Hope</i> as not!"</p>
+
+<p>Rob's face grew long, though he did his best
+to make light of the situation.</p>
+
+<p>"Then we've got to picnic here till the fog
+clears off," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"That's the case exactly, Rob," was the officer's
+rejoinder.</p>
+
+<p>"But what are we going to picnic on?" inquired
+Tubby anxiously. "There's no food or
+water on board, and we haven't brought any."</p>
+
+<p>"There you go again. Always thinking of
+that precious tummy of yours," cried Hiram.
+"A little starving won't hurt you."</p>
+
+<p>"Huh, just because you look like a human bean
+pole, you don't think anyone has a right to be fat.
+You're jealous, that's what you are," was the
+indignant reply of the fat youth.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Under other conditions there might have ensued
+a rough and tumble battle; but just at this
+instant, through the fog, there came the booming
+sound of a vessel's whistle.</p>
+
+<p>"Waugh-gh-gh-gh!"</p>
+
+<p>The long bellow sounded through the white,
+all-enveloping mist surrounding the old hulk and
+its young company of castaways.</p>
+
+<p>"That's the <i>Seneca's</i> whistle," exclaimed the
+ensign anxiously. "She's calling for us."</p>
+
+<p>"Gee! She must know that we can't come to
+her," exclaimed Paul Perkins.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess she's 'standing by' till the fog lifts,"
+rejoined the officer. "We'll release the bell.
+That may help to locate us."</p>
+
+<p>But instead of standing by, it became apparent,
+before long, that the <i>Seneca</i> was cruising about.
+The reason for supposing this was that the next
+time they heard the hoot of the siren it sounded
+much further off.</p>
+
+<p>The boys exchanged glances.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"How long do these fogs last, as a rule?" enquired
+Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"Impossible to say!" was the quick reply, with
+an anxious look about. "If only we could get
+a slant of wind!"</p>
+
+<p>But there was not a breath stirring. Only the
+<i>Good Hope</i> swung to the soft swells, lifting and
+falling with a hopeless, helpless sort of motion.
+In fact, an experienced seaman could have told
+her waterlogged condition by the very "heft and
+heave" of her, which was sluggish to a degree.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I suppose we must make up our minds
+to spend some time here," said Rob, with another
+attempt to treat the matter lightly. "Goodness,
+our adventures are surely beginning early this
+trip!"</p>
+
+<p>The others could not help but agree with the
+young leader of the Eagles, although they could
+hardly foresee the still more thrilling experiences
+that lay just ahead of them.</p>
+
+<p>"I would suggest," began the ensign presently,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
+"I would suggest that we search for some trace
+of food."</p>
+
+<p>"Humph; mouldy ship's biscuits!" grunted
+Tubby half under his breath. "Even if there
+are any on board, they must be rotten by this
+time. This is a fine fix! Maybe we won't get
+any supper at all," and the fat boy looked positively
+tragic over the dire prospect.</p>
+
+<p>But although Tubby had spoken in a low tone,
+more to himself than to anybody else, the ensign's
+sharp ears had overheard him.</p>
+
+<p>"Young man," he said somewhat sternly, "if
+you want to be a good Boy Scout you must learn
+to take hardships as they come."</p>
+
+<p>"Even missing meals?" asked Tubby, in an injured
+voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, even that," repeated the young officer
+with a smile, which in the Eagles' case was a
+perfect roar of laughter at Tubby's keen distress.
+The fat boy strode off sullenly by himself, gazing
+at the fog as he went in a very knowing way.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>They searched the ship over for something
+that it would be possible to eat; but not so much
+as a crumb of edible supplies did they find. In
+one hold was discovered a number of barrels of
+"salt horse and pork," but they were all dried
+up and unfit for human food. The same thing
+applied to the biscuit kegs, and all the other supplies.
+It was out of the question to think of
+touching any of them.</p>
+
+<p>"Whatever are we going to do?" gasped Rob,
+a note of real alarm in his voice for the first
+time.</p>
+
+<p>The ensign's calmness served to steady all the
+boys a bit.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't worry; everything will come out all
+right," he said; "we are in the track of ships,
+and&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"But in this dense fog, that fact make it all
+the more dangerous," declared Rob, and the
+young officer could not but answer him with a
+nod in the affirmative.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I can't help admitting that, my boy," was
+his further rejoinder; "all we can do is to trust
+to Providence and hope that the fog will disappear
+before long."</p>
+
+<p>"Let's whistle for a wind," suggested Rob,
+who had heard of sailors doing such a thing.</p>
+
+<p>"Better than doing nothing. It will fill the
+time in, anyway," agreed the ensign.</p>
+
+<p>The boys squatted in a circle.</p>
+
+<p>"What will we whistle?" asked Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"'Wait Till the Clouds Roll By,' of course,"
+rejoined Rob.</p>
+
+<p>As the plaintive notes came from the whistlers'
+puckered lips, Tubby sauntered up, his hands in
+his tunic pockets.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you doing?" he asked, staring at
+them, "gone crazy with the heat, or what?"</p>
+
+<p>"We're whistling for a wind," answered Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"Huh; why don't you whistle for grub?" demanded
+Tubby, turning on his heel, and striding
+gloomily off once more.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<h3>TRAPPED BY FLAMES.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Night fell and found them still in the same
+plight. The fog had shut in closer if anything.
+Since the last time they had caught the diminishing
+sound of the <i>Seneca's</i> siren, they had
+heard no sound from any vessel. Others besides
+Tubby were hungry on board the <i>Good
+Hope</i> that night. Then, too, the thought of the
+tragedy that had been consummated on board the
+derelict, and the gloom-inspiring presence of the
+silent figure in the forward deck house, were not
+calculated to inspire cheerful thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>One thing they did have, and that was light.
+For in the course of their investigation of the
+old hulk they had stumbled across several old<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
+candle lanterns, the candles in which were still
+capable of burning. One of these lanterns was
+lashed to the stump of the forward mast, but the
+other was hung up in the cabin below. For it was
+in this latter place that the little party of castaways
+gathered and tried, by telling stories and
+cracking jokes, to keep their spirits in the ascendent.</p>
+
+<p>But their efforts were not very successful. As
+the Scotch say, "It's ill jesting on an empty
+stomach," and that is the malady from which they
+all were suffering. Thirst did not as yet trouble
+them much, but they knew that if they were not
+speedily picked up by some vessel, that would also
+be added to their ordeal.</p>
+
+<p>So the night passed away, with the castaways
+watching in turn for some ray of hope of the
+fog lifting. It was soon after midnight, and in
+Rob's watch, that a startling thing happened&mdash;something
+that brought his heart into his mouths,
+and set his every nerve on vibrant edge.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The boy was sitting up forward, pondering
+the strangeness of the day's happenings, when
+suddenly, right ahead of him, as it seemed, the
+fog was split by the hoarse shriek of a steamer's
+whistle.</p>
+
+<p>Rob's scalp tightened from alarm as he leaped
+for the lantern.</p>
+
+<p>"Look out!" he shouted at the top of his voice;
+"look out!"</p>
+
+<p>But for reply there only came back out of the
+dense smother ahead another raucous call of the
+big steam whistle.</p>
+
+<p>"Gracious! We'll be run down! We'll be
+sunk!" cried the boy, half wild with alarm.</p>
+
+<p>He shouted to his companions to come on deck;
+but before they could obey, a huge, black bulk
+loomed up right above the derelict. Rob shouted
+at the top of his voice. It seemed as if the
+<i>Good Hope</i> would be cut in two and that the
+steamer was also doomed to disaster if she struck.</p>
+
+<p>Through the blackness flashed a green side-light,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
+and then came the rushing by of the great
+hull, with its rows of illuminated portholes. Rob
+stood stock still. He was fairly rooted to the
+spot with panic. But the big steamer raced by
+in the blackness and fog without anyone on board
+her ever dreaming that she had been in such close
+proximity to the drifting derelict.</p>
+
+<p>As her stern lights flashed for an instant and
+then were shut out in the fog, Rob's companions
+came rushing on deck.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it? What has happened?" demanded
+the ensign, readily perceiving that something
+very serious had occurred.</p>
+
+<p>Rob, still shaky from his experience, related,
+as briefly as possible, just what had caused his
+cry of alarm.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, those liners take desperate chances,"
+commented the officer; "had they struck us, not
+only we, but they, would have been seriously injured."</p>
+
+<p>"Gee! I wish you could have found time to
+ask 'em to throw us some sandwiches," said<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>
+Tubby, rubbing his stomach; "I'm as empty as a
+dry gourd."</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon we could all do with something to
+eat," chorused the other young "Eagles".</p>
+
+<p>The ensign bade them cheer up.</p>
+
+<p>"By daylight we may have a wind, and then,
+with the fog gone, it won't take long for some
+vessel to pick us up."</p>
+
+<p>He spoke with a cheerfulness he was actually
+far from feeling. In fact, his boyish listeners
+were not inclined to look hopefully on the situation.
+By this time every one of them would
+have given almost all he possessed for a big
+pitcher of cool ice water.</p>
+
+<p>"I will take the remainder of your watch,
+Rob," said the ensign, with a glance at his
+watch. "You only had a few minutes to serve
+anyway, and the next round of duty is mine."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said Rob; "to tell the truth, a
+nap would feel pretty good. I hope things will
+have cleared by the time I wake up."</p>
+
+<p>The boys went below, leaving the officer on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>
+fog-circled deck. The mist gleamed on everything,
+the rays of the candle-lamp making them
+glisten as if water had been newly poured on
+them. Far off the hoarse hooting of the ship
+that had so nearly run them down was to be
+heard.</p>
+
+<p>"Narrow escape, that! Narrower than I quite
+care to admit, even to myself," mused the young
+officer. "I wonder if those lads realize how bad
+a fix we are in. I must confess I don't like the
+look of things at all."</p>
+
+<p>He fell to pacing the deck, and then decided
+to have a cigar. For this purpose he produced a
+perfecto from his pocket and lighted it. Then
+he fell to pacing the deck once more, thinking
+deeply. His cigar finished, he tossed it aside.
+Possibly it was his worry over their predicament
+that made him absent-minded in this regard, but
+instead of observing the rule of the sea to cast all
+such things overboard, he threw it to the deck.
+A lurch of the <i>Good Hope</i> caused the glowing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
+butt of the cigar to go rolling across the deck and
+to drop into the hold below.</p>
+
+<p>It was some time later that Paul Perkins came
+on deck to take his turn at the night vigil.</p>
+
+<p>As he came forward he was startled to see
+what appeared to be a ghostly figure, slightly
+darker than the fog, slip from the forward hold
+and glide across the deck toward the ensign,
+who was pacing up and down. Much startled,
+Paul called out aloud, and at the same instant
+a peculiar acrid odor came to his nostrils.</p>
+
+<p>"Something's burning!" he cried.</p>
+
+<p>Simultaneously he had come up to the side of
+the hatch and saw that smoke was pouring from
+it. What he had taken for a ghostly figure was
+a whirl of smoke.</p>
+
+<p>"Fire! Something's on fire below!" cried the
+boy, dashing forward.</p>
+
+<p>The ensign reached the edge of the hold as
+quickly. Together they peered over into the
+great open space below. Both involuntarily recoiled<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>
+with a cry of horror and alarm at what
+they saw.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Good Hope's</i> hold was a mass of flames!
+To gaze into them was like looking into a red
+hot furnace.</p>
+
+<p>Adrift in a blinding fog, on a burning ship,
+and without boats, was a predicament the like
+of which their adventurous lives had never before
+encountered!</p>
+
+<p>The cigar so carelessly cast aside by the ensign
+had fallen upon a pile of sacking, grease-soaked
+and inflammable, lying in the former whaler's
+hold. Like all whale ships the timbers of the
+<i>Good Hope</i> were literally soaked with grease,
+the result of whale oil and blubber. Such timbers
+burn like matchwood.</p>
+
+<p>Small wonder that, brave man as he was, and
+schooled against emotional display in the stern
+school of the Navy, the ensign should yet cry out:</p>
+
+<p>"If help does not arrive, we are doomed to die
+like rats!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>A BOY SCOUT SIGNAL.</h3>
+
+
+<p>It was five minutes later that the whole company
+of castaways was gathered around the
+hatchway. A red glare from below shone on
+their faces, illuminating expressions of dismay
+and apprehension.</p>
+
+<p>"What can we do?" gasped out Rob. "There
+are no boats, no means of escape!"</p>
+
+<p>"We'll be burned to death," shuddered Paul
+Perkins.</p>
+
+<p>All looked to the ensign for some suggestion.
+His tightly compressed lips and drawn features
+suggested that he was thinking deeply, thinking
+as men think whose very lives depend upon quick
+decision.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"We must put on the hatches," he said decisively;
+"there they lie yonder. That will deprive
+the fire of oxygen and give us at least a few
+hours before we have to vacate."</p>
+
+<p>The coverings of the hatch, big, thick planks,
+lay not far away. Evidently they lay just as they
+did on the day that the cargo of mammoth tusks
+had been taken from the <i>Good Hope</i> and hidden.
+Working with feverish energy, the boys soon had
+the hatch covered tightly. But the work had
+almost exhausted their strength. The fumes of
+the blazing hold and the suffocating black smoke
+that rolled out, had almost caused them to succumb.</p>
+
+<p>Their desperate task accomplished, they lay
+panting on the deck, incapable, for the time
+being, of further effort. However, with the
+hatch in place and tightly dovetailed, there was
+a gleam of hope that the flames might be
+smothered, or at least held in check till the fog
+cleared and they could sight a vessel.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The first faint glimmering of dawn, shown by
+an increasing transparence in the fog, found the
+derelict still lying inert. But a second later the
+boys were on their feet with a cheer. A light
+breeze had sprung up and the fog was agitated
+by it like drifting steam. Little by little the
+breeze increased and the fog thinned out to mere
+wisps. The sun shone through and disclosed
+a glimmering expanse of sea stretched all about.
+But, to their bitter disappointment, the great
+heaving expanse was empty of life. Not a sail
+or a sign of a steamer marred its lonely surface.</p>
+
+<p>They exchanged dismayed looks. There was
+no knowing at what moment the fiery, seething
+furnace beneath their very feet might break
+through and force them to fight for their existence.</p>
+
+<p>Already the decks were hot. Aside from this,
+however, so well did the hatch fit that not even
+a wisp of smoke escaped. Except the extreme
+heat, there was nothing to indicate that the interior<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
+of the <i>Good Hope's</i> hull was a fiery furnace.</p>
+
+<p>The hours wore on, the little company of castaways
+dreading every moment that what they
+feared might happen. Still no indication that
+the fire was about to break through occurred.
+But their sufferings from thirst were terrible.
+One after another the Boy Scouts sank to the
+decks in a sort of coma. Rob, Merritt, and the
+ensign himself alone retained their strength.</p>
+
+<p>"If some vessel doesn't appear before long
+we are doomed."</p>
+
+<p>It was Rob who spoke, and the mere fact that
+the others were silent indicated plainly that they
+shared his opinion.</p>
+
+<p>Despite their sufferings and anxiety a bright
+lookout was kept. It was Rob who electrified
+them by a sudden shout:</p>
+
+<p>"Look! Look out there to the north!"</p>
+
+<p>"A sail!" shouted the ensign, springing to his
+feet.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes. A steam yacht, rather! She's coming
+this way, too!"</p>
+
+<p>"That's what. But how can we signal her?
+If she doesn't hurry she may be too late!"</p>
+
+<p>"We can wave and shout!"</p>
+
+<p>The ensign shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"She is too far off to see or hear us. Is there
+no other way to attract her?"</p>
+
+<p>A dozen plans were thought of and discarded.
+Then Rob spoke:</p>
+
+<p>"I've thought of a way, but it's a desperate
+one."</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind, what is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"We will signal her in Boy Scout fashion.
+Maybe there is someone on board who understands
+it."</p>
+
+<p>The others looked puzzled. Rob hastened to
+explain.</p>
+
+<p>"You all know the smoke column system of
+signalling?"</p>
+
+<p>"I see what you mean!" shouted Merritt.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
+"You mean to send up two columns of smoke
+meaning 'Help! We are lost!'"</p>
+
+<p>Rob nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"But how is that possible?" demanded the ensign,
+with a puzzled inflection in his tones.
+"We've got a whole ship full of smoke under
+us, of course, but I don't see how we are going
+to utilize it in the way you suggest."</p>
+
+<p>"I've thought it out," declared Rob modestly.</p>
+
+<p>He produced his heavy-bladed scouting knife.</p>
+
+<p>"Merritt, you take your knife and we'll cut
+two holes in the top of the hatch. That will
+make two smoke columns, and if anyone on that
+yacht is a Scout, they will come rushing at top
+speed toward us!"</p>
+
+<p>"Jove! You boys are resourceful, indeed!"
+cried the ensign admiringly.</p>
+
+<p>Without more ado the boys fell to work on
+their task. They cut the holes about ten feet
+apart. It was hard work, but they stuck to it
+perseveringly, and at last, from the two holes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
+two columns of black smoke spouted up. Luckily
+for their plans the wind had, by this time, moderated
+so much as to have fallen almost flat.</p>
+
+<p>High into the heavens soared the two black
+columns of smoke like two pillars of inky vapor.</p>
+
+<p>Every eye watched the distant yacht anxiously.
+For five minutes the anxiety was so intense that
+no one spoke. The pitch of expectancy was
+painful.</p>
+
+<p>Then came a great cry.</p>
+
+<p>"They've seen our signal!" shouted Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; look, she's changing her course. Look
+at the black smoke coming from her funnel.
+She's making top speed to our rescue!" cried
+Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"Let's hope that she won't be too late," murmured
+the ensign under his breath, and then
+aloud he cried:</p>
+
+<p>"Three cheers for the Boy Scouts of the Eagle
+Patrol!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE BOYS MEET A "WOLF."</h3>
+
+
+<p>Faster and faster came the yacht. She was
+a large white craft, with a yellow funnel and
+two rakish-looking masts, with light spidery rigging.
+Between her masts was suspended a parallel
+sort of "antenn&aelig;," wires betokening that she
+carried wireless. At her bow the foam creamed
+up as she rushed through the water on her errand
+of mercy.</p>
+
+<p>With what anxiety those on the <i>Good Hope</i>
+watched her, may be imagined. Their eyes fairly
+burned as they regarded the race of their rescuers
+against the fire which raged below them.
+For the two holes cut by Rob and Merritt, while
+they had had the good effect of attracting aid,
+had also had a less gratifying result.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Through them the air had been transmitted
+to the flaming mass below, and flames were now
+shooting up through them and enlarging the
+openings every instant. The air grew so fearfully
+hot that all were compelled to beat a retreat
+to the extreme stern of the <i>Good Hope</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Little was said as the yacht rounded up as
+close to the burning ship as she dared, and
+lowered a boat. By this time clouds of black
+smoke, shot with livid flames, were shooting skyward
+above the doomed craft. It was a fortunate
+thing for the castaways that no wind was
+stirring or this story might have had a different
+termination.</p>
+
+<p>The boat was manned by sailors in white duck
+clothes and was guided by a lad wearing the
+Boy Scout uniform. As soon as they saw this
+the boys gave the cry of the Eagle Patrol. As
+the long drawn "Kree-ee-ee!" died out, the boy
+in the stern stood erect and gave the Scout salute.
+Then followed a long-drawn, growling shout:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"How-oo-oo-oo!"</p>
+
+<p>"That's the cry of one of the Wolf Patrols!"
+cried Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; and that boy is a Wolf," declared Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, at all events he comes in sheep's clothing,"
+the ensign could not resist saying.</p>
+
+<p>The next instant the boat was under the stern
+and the rescued castaways were sliding down a
+rope into it. Hardly a word was spoken while
+this was going on; the work in hand was too important.</p>
+
+<p>But hardly had they all found places before, in
+an earnest voice, the ensign exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Pull for your lives, men; spare no time."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you are safe enough now," declared the
+Wolf Scout.</p>
+
+<p>"Far from it," declared the young officer
+seriously, "the log book of that craft spoke of
+dynamite on board. They used it to blast their
+way out of the polar ice. I think&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>A terrific concussion that threw them all from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
+their seats interrupted him. Then came a blinding
+flash, and this in turn was followed by an
+explosion that seemed to shake the sea.</p>
+
+<p>"Pull for your lives!" shouted the ensign to
+the alarmed sailors.</p>
+
+<p>Dazed as they were, they lost no time in doing
+so, but even then fragments of blazing wood and
+red-hot metal rained about them in a downpour
+of great danger.</p>
+
+<p>Luckily, however, none of the blazing fragments
+struck the boat. As soon as they recovered
+their faculties, the boys gazed back at the spot
+where the <i>Good Hope</i> had last been seen. There
+was not a trace of her. The dynamite had literally
+blown the ill-fated whaler out of existence.
+Only oily pools remained on the surface to show
+the spot of her vanishing.</p>
+
+<p>"I can easily see that you chaps have been
+through some thrilling experiences," remarked
+the Wolf boy, whose name proved to be Donald
+Grant, attached to the Wolf Patrol of the 14th
+New York City Troop.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"We have, indeed," rejoined Rob, "but we
+would rather defer the telling of them till we
+arrive on board your yacht. What's her name?"</p>
+
+<p>"The <i>Brigand</i>," was the reply; "we are on a
+cruise through the West Indies."</p>
+
+<p>"The <i>Brigand</i>," echoed the ensign. "Isn't that
+J. P. Grant, the great financier's yacht?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, he's my father," rejoined Donald
+simply; "he's on board. You'll be glad to meet
+him, and I know he'll be delighted to welcome you
+and hear your story."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you recognize our signal as soon as you
+saw it?" inquired Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"I sure did," responded Donald; "lucky you
+sent it up, too, as we were on another course,
+and would not have passed near enough to see
+that there was anyone on board what we thought
+was just an old hulk drifting about the ocean."</p>
+
+<p>"You'll be more interested still when you hear
+how we made the signals," spoke up Hiram.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I knew that the call meant that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>
+necessity was urgent, and although we were
+going slowly at the time we soon got under full
+speed. Dad has been a bit sceptical about scouting,
+but I guess he'll admit there's some good in
+it now."</p>
+
+<p>"It was Scout lore that saved our lives," said
+the ensign quietly.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a doubt of that," agreed Donald; "but
+here we are, almost alongside the <i>Brigand</i>."</p>
+
+<p>The boys gazed up at the towering sides of
+the big yacht, at her glittering brass work, and
+crowds of white-jacketed sailors gazing over the
+side curiously. Astern a big bronzed man leaned
+over the rail gazing down with equal interest.
+Rob recognized him instantly from pictures he
+had seen of him in the papers, as Junius P.
+Grant, the "Wall Street King," as he was called.</p>
+
+<p>He greeted them with a wave of his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Welcome to the <i>Brigand</i>, young men," he
+hailed in a hearty tone; "you have the Boy Scout
+idea to thank for your lives. Had my lad there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
+been five minutes later we'd have been too late
+to save you."</p>
+
+<p>"That's true enough, sir," hailed back the ensign;
+"we all thank you from the bottom of our
+hearts for your prompt relief work."</p>
+
+<p>"The best thanks you can give me will be to
+come on board at once and get washed up and
+partake of the best the <i>Brigand</i> can provide,"
+was the pleasant reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; get on board, quick," urged Donald, as
+the gangway was lowered and the boatmen
+shipped their oars, "you look about all in."</p>
+
+<p>"We look like a lot of tramps, I guess you
+mean," laughed Rob, but for all that he felt a
+bit ashamed of their appearance. They were covered
+with grime from their fire-fighting experiences.
+Loss of sleep, hunger, and exposure had
+drawn their cheeks and reddened their eyes.
+Altogether, they looked very unlike the trim crew
+that had set out from the Derelict Destroyer
+<i>Seneca</i> only a comparatively short time before.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As soon as they arrived on board, they were
+turned over to the steward, who provided them
+with quarters in which to spruce up. Everything
+on the <i>Brigand</i> was appointed as luxuriously
+as could be possible. This fact rather added
+to the boys' embarrassment. But when half an
+hour after their arrival they gathered about a
+splendidly appointed luncheon table, their embarrassment
+turned to positive bashfulness. Never
+had any of them felt so out of place. The ensign
+alone retained his self-possession.</p>
+
+<p>It was not till Mr. Grant had tactfully interested
+them in relating their adventures, that they
+forgot their self-consciousness and ate and drank
+during the narrative, like famished wolves&mdash;or
+Eagles.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<h3>A NEW RECRUIT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>It was about an hour after luncheon, which,
+naturally enough, with all that had to be related,
+had been a rather protracted meal. The party
+of which the Boy Scouts and their naval friend
+had so unexpectedly become members was foregathered
+beneath the stern awning in comfortable
+wicker chairs.</p>
+
+<p>The ensign was relating to Mr. Grant, under
+pledge of secrecy, some details of the work which
+was expected to be accomplished on the lonely
+island. Mr. Grant, who was intensely interested,
+agreed to put the officer and his young charges
+ashore at Charleston or some convenient port,
+provided the <i>Seneca</i> could not be reached by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>
+wireless. The boys were secretly hoping that this
+would prove impossible, that they might protract
+their cruise on the <i>Brigand</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Donald and the boys had instinctively become
+chums. The millionaire's son was a manly, self-reliant
+sort of chap, with crisp, curly hair, and
+blue eyes that could be merry or determined.
+Then, too, he was a first-class Scout and deeply
+versed in Scout lore. In fact, the Eagles were
+no more than a match for the knowledge of this
+young Wolf.</p>
+
+<p>While the ensign and Mr. Grant chatted, they
+watched the youngsters with interest. When
+Donald had carried them off to show them the
+<i>Brigand</i> from stem to stern, as he expressed it,
+Mr. Grant laid down his cigar and, turning to
+the ensign, said, with his customary abruptness:</p>
+
+<p>"Could you use another Boy Scout on this
+work?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well&mdash;I&mdash;really, I've hardly considered it,"
+was the astonished rejoinder.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"If you could, I have one for you."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean your son Donald?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. He is a manly, fine lad, but he has been
+a little bit coddled by his mother and sisters.
+Now he and these other boys appear to get along
+famously, and they are just the sort of lads I
+should like my boy to associate with."</p>
+
+<p>The naval officer nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"I never saw or heard of such another lot of
+lads as those comprising the Eagle Patrol," he
+said with emphasis; "although, of course," he
+continued, "there are probably many such enrolled
+in the ranks of the Boy Scouts."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't doubt it. Donald is a different lad
+already since he joined the Wolf Patrol. Now
+this cruise of mine will be dull at best to the lad.
+You see I am combining business with pleasure,
+and he will be thrown much on his own resources.
+He has seen the West Indies before, so there
+would not be much that is novel to him in the
+scenery or the people. What do you say to my
+proposal?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Cigar in hand, the great man of Wall Street
+paused for an answer, knitting his famous black
+eyebrows as he did so.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, if Donald is anxious to go, I don't see
+why it could not be arranged," was the ensign's
+reply; "but why not ask the lad himself?"</p>
+
+<p>"And your boys, too, of course," was the rejoinder;
+"they might object to adding an outsider
+to their number."</p>
+
+<p>"Not much fear of that," smiled the officer;
+"why, you would think they had been lifelong
+friends. Hark at that!"</p>
+
+<p>A merry peal of laughter came ringing from
+somewhere about the ship.</p>
+
+<p>At this juncture, a young man in a natty uniform
+came hastening up. He bore a slip of
+yellow paper which he respectfully handed to
+the Wall Street magnate.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, Collins,&mdash;Mr. Hargreaves, this is our
+wireless operator."</p>
+
+<p>The ensign nodded while Mr. Grant gazed over
+the message.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"So you picked her up, eh, Collins?" he said,
+handing the message he had just perused over
+to the ensign.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir. It appears that after missing the
+derelict in the fog the <i>Seneca</i> cruised in circles
+looking for her. She is now within ten miles
+of us."</p>
+
+<p>"So I see by this message," struck in the ensign;
+"we are fortunate not to have drifted
+further."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you wish to do?" inquired Mr.
+Grant.</p>
+
+<p>"Naturally, to be transferred to my own ship,
+if you will be so kind."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Grant nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"Collins, get our exact position from the captain,
+signal it to the <i>Seneca</i>, and tell her we will
+lay off and on here till she arrives."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, sir," said the man of the wireless,
+with a bow.</p>
+
+<p>He had hardly withdrawn when the boys<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>
+came up, fresh from their inspection of the
+<i>Brigand</i>. All were loud in praise of the craft,
+especially Rob and Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"Would you rather cruise on this craft or go
+on the duty for Uncle Sam which lies before
+you?" asked Mr. Grant quizzically.</p>
+
+<p>The Boy Scouts drew themselves up.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, sir, our duty to our country comes before
+pleasure," declared Rob, acting as spokesman.
+"Cruising about is all right, but we Boy
+Scouts like to be doing something useful for
+somebody else, but most of all for Uncle Sam."</p>
+
+<p>Rob paused, rather alarmed at his temerity at
+thus addressing one of the richest men in the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>"So you think I am wasting my time cruising,
+eh?" said Mr. Grant amusedly glancing at the
+upright, slender boy before him from under his
+heavy brows.</p>
+
+<p>It was impossible to tell whether he was displeased
+or not. But Rob decided not to recede<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>
+from his position. He knew that the Boy Scouts
+were supposed to be manly, self-reliant, and upright
+under all conditions. So putting his fears
+of offending the man before him aside, he spoke
+up boldly:</p>
+
+<p>"It's different for you, sir. Your life work
+has raised your monument; but I think, and I
+guess my Patrol agrees with me, that it is better
+for boys to be on active duty and," he added,
+his eyes flashing and his cheeks glowing, "especially
+such service as we are now going on. It's&mdash;it's
+glorious," he concluded breathlessly.</p>
+
+<p>"I think you are quite right, my boy," was
+the magnate's reply, a very different one from
+the rejoinder Rob had dreaded.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope you don't think me presumptuous or
+impudent," replied Rob, "but you asked my
+opinion, and you know, sir, we Boy Scouts must
+always tell the truth. Perhaps it seems a poor
+return after you saved our lives, to&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>But Mr. Grant cut the boy short with a wave
+of the hand.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense, all I did was to stand by and
+watch. If Donald had not understood those
+smoke signals, you might not be on earth now.
+But in return, I want to ask you to do something
+for him."</p>
+
+<p>Rob nodded respectfully but said nothing. He
+wondered greatly what could be coming next.</p>
+
+<p>"I want you to take Donald with you on this
+duty for Uncle Sam. The ensign here has
+agreed. Are you willing to make my son one of
+your party?"</p>
+
+<p>"Are we willing?" stammered out Rob. "Why,
+sir, we've just been discussing what a shame it
+was that he had to go on a stupid old cruise&mdash;I
+beg your pardon, on a cruise&mdash;when real work
+lay ahead, and&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>But Donald had danced up to his father cheering
+and throwing his hat in the air. Then he
+rushed up to his newly-found comrades and a
+hand-shaking and "bear hugging" match ensued,
+such as is rarely seen except among lads who are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>
+real companions, bound together by a common
+bond.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly above the tumult Rob's voice
+sounded.</p>
+
+<p>"Boys, let's give the cry of the Wolf Patrol!"</p>
+
+<p>Instantly savage growls resounded, and after
+that the Eagles joined hands, formed a circle
+about Donald, and danced a sort of war dance of
+joy, concluding with the screaming cry of their
+Patrol.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Grant and Ensign Hargreaves smilingly
+watched this scene.</p>
+
+<p>When something like order had been restored,
+the latter announced the closeness of the <i>Seneca</i>.</p>
+
+<p>This, too, was greeted with a cheer, which was
+cut short by the reappearance of Collins.</p>
+
+<p>"I've been talking with the <i>Seneca</i>, sir, and he
+says that they are proceeding here at full speed."</p>
+
+<p>"Good. That will do, unless you have any
+communications to make," said Mr. Grant, turning
+to the ensign.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, none whatever," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>It was ten minutes later when Rob's sharp
+eye descried a trail of smoke on the horizon. A
+short time after, by the aid of glasses, the craft
+was made out to be the <i>Seneca</i>, bound at full
+speed for the yacht. On the latter's signal-halliards
+up went a gaudy string of signal flags
+announcing her identity. The signal was
+answered from the Derelict Destroyer, which
+also fired a gun in honor of the recovery of the
+castaways.</p>
+
+<p>By midafternoon good-byes, warm and hearty,
+had been said, three ringing cheers exchanged
+between the crews of both craft, and the <i>Brigand</i>
+was headed due south, while the <i>Seneca</i> made in
+toward the coast. Long before sunset both craft
+had vanished from each other's sight.</p>
+
+<p>"So that was one derelict that Uncle Sam did
+not have to destroy," laughed Ensign Hargreaves
+to Lieutenant Murray as they stood side by side
+on the bridge.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"No," rejoined the other, "she committed suicide;
+but if it hadn't been for our young recruit,
+Donald, she wouldn't have gone to her grave
+alone!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<h3>BARTON THE MACHINIST.</h3>
+
+
+<p>An island, a sandy, scantily grown spot of
+land, shaped like a splash of gravy on a plate,
+loomed up over the <i>Seneca's</i> bow. On it stood a
+shed, two naked masts with wireless antenn&aelig;
+strung between them, and some tents, and that
+was all, except that, removed from the shed mentioned
+above, was a similar and larger structure.
+This second structure was built on piles right
+out over the sea, and as the coast of the island
+declined abruptly at this point, there was considerable
+water under its corrugated iron roof.</p>
+
+<p>"So that's Barren Island?" asked Rob, who,
+with the boys and the two officers, was standing
+on the bridge of the <i>Seneca</i> regarding with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
+most intense interest that desolate spot of land.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond it lay other islands equally barren, so
+that applicability of the name was not quite clear,
+while in the dim distance a faint blue line betokened
+the Carolina coast.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that is Barren Island," nodded Lieutenant
+Murray; "and strange as it may seem, the
+hopes of the Naval Department are centered right
+at this moment on that sandy patch yonder."</p>
+
+<p>"Seems queer, doesn't it?" commented Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"Queer but safe," smiled Ensign Hargreaves.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm aching to get ashore," exploded Donald
+eagerly. "Is that a powerful wireless?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is capable of sending up to three hundred
+miles on an average, and more under favorable
+conditions," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"What's in that big shed?" demanded someone.</p>
+
+<p>"That houses the <i>Peacemaker</i>. The shore
+shelves off abruptly and the submarine is housed
+under that roof in more than forty feet of water."</p>
+
+<p>"And the other building?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"A combination cook house and dining room."</p>
+
+<p>"Shall we have lots to eat?" asked Tubby, his
+eyes glistening as he heard.</p>
+
+<p>"Plenty, I hope," rejoined the ensign smiling.
+"There is an ample stock of provisions, and they
+will be received from the mainland as occasion
+requires."</p>
+
+<p>"But how shall we reach the mainland?"</p>
+
+<p>"In a powerful motor boat," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, this is going to be a regular picnic. I
+thought you chaps said hard work lay ahead of
+us," complained Donald.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't worry," laughed Rob; "I guess we'll
+find lots to do."</p>
+
+<p>"Never fear," struck in the ensign. "Besides
+the inventor of the <i>Peacemaker</i>, Mr. Danbury
+Barr, and ourselves, there will be only three
+trusted sailors, familiar with submarine work,
+to conduct the tests; so you see that you boys
+will have your time well occupied."</p>
+
+<p>"Are those tents for us?" asked Paul Perkins
+interestedly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Why, no. You brought your own camping
+outfits with you. I shall sleep in one, Mr. Barr
+in another, while the third will be occupied by the
+sailor assistants."</p>
+
+<p>"And they are already there?" asked Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Watch," smiled Lieutenant Murray.</p>
+
+<p>He seized the whistle cord and blew three resounding
+blasts.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly, from the large shed referred to as
+housing the submarine, four figures appeared,
+three wore sailor garb and the fourth, it could
+be seen, was in overalls and shirt sleeves.</p>
+
+<p>They waved and the boys cheered.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess we'll drop anchor right here and
+take you ashore in a boat," said Lieutenant
+Murray.</p>
+
+<p>The necessary orders were given, the chain
+roared out, and the <i>Seneca</i> swung at anchor off
+Barren Island in twenty fathoms of water.</p>
+
+<p>"Can we go down as deep as that in the <i>Peacemaker?</i>"
+inquired Rob.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Deeper, much deeper," was the rejoinder;
+"we hope to go deeper than any submarine has
+ever been before."</p>
+
+<p>"Whoof!" exclaimed Donald.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the trouble?" inquired Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, nothing; only it makes a fellow feel kind
+of creepy, that's all," was the rejoinder.</p>
+
+<p>No sooner had the anchor been dropped, than
+a scene of great activity ensued. The wireless
+operator of the <i>Seneca</i> was flashing signals back
+and forth with the shore station, and sailors were
+piling Boy Scout equipment into one of the boats
+while another was lowered for the passengers.
+Donald had his own outfit, it having been on
+board the <i>Brigand</i> when he transferred to the
+<i>Seneca</i>. Although he was the son of one of the
+richest men in the world, it in no wise differed
+from the other lads' outfits, except that it had
+not seen such hard service as theirs had been
+through.</p>
+
+<p>At last all was ready, good-byes were said, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
+not without some regret the Boy Scouts left their
+kind friends of the <i>Seneca</i> behind. Ashore a
+warm welcome greeted them. Mr. Danbury
+Barr proved to be a tall, lean individual with a
+prominent, thin-bridged nose, and sharp, gray
+eyes with all the keenness of a hawk in them.
+His skin was burned a deep golden brown by his
+sojourn on the island while getting his craft in
+readiness for the tests. Like most inventors he
+had not much to say, but seemed to be agreeable
+and glad to see the newcomers.</p>
+
+<p>The three sailors, as became them in the presence
+of an officer, stood respectfully back without
+saying anything, only drawing up and saluting.
+But this was not the case with a man who has
+not yet been mentioned. This was an individual
+named Luke Barton. He was Mr. Barr's expert
+machinist and mechanical superintendent.
+Rob took an instinctive dislike to the fellow. Not
+that there was anything actually repulsive about
+him. On the contrary, he was a well-set-up chap<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
+of about thirty-five, dark haired and mustached;
+but it was something shifty in the fellow's eyes
+that made Rob distrust him. This impression
+was not removed when he asked of Mr. Barr,
+in a voice by no means an undertone:</p>
+
+<p>"What's this parcel of kids doing here? Looks
+like a Sunday school picnic."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Barr explained.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, a bunch of kid tin soldiers," he sneered,
+and strode off swinging a big monkey wrench.
+Right then and there Rob's instinctive dislike of
+the man crystallized into a feeling of distrust.
+He felt sure that the fellow had some reason to
+resent the presence of the Boy Scouts.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Barr made no comment on his assistant's
+remarks, doubtless not thinking that they had been
+overheard. In fact, the rest of the party, except
+Rob, had been standing at some little distance
+when the fellow uttered his sneering jibes.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE SUBMARINE ISLAND.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Under Mr. Barr's guidance the party toured
+the island. It was about half a mile across and
+slightly longer than its width. Coarse grass
+grew almost to the water's edge, and in the
+centre, where it rose in a cone-shaped formation,
+some stunted, wind-twisted bushes grew. Also
+on the summit was a driven well, which was
+formed of galvanized piping, and went down, so
+the boys were informed, for more than two hundred
+feet.</p>
+
+<p>But to the lads of the Eagle Patrol the most
+interesting thing on the island was, of course,
+the shed that housed the submarine. This shed
+was open at both ends, and under its iron roof<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>
+lay the submarine craft. Lying as it did, with
+only its rounded back showing above the surface
+of the water, it reminded the boys of a sleeping
+whale.</p>
+
+<p>On the top of it, amidships, was the conning
+tower, with thick glass lenses for observation.
+From the conning tower also protruded the periscope,
+an instrument which enabled the operators
+of the craft to see the ocean about them even
+when submerged some twenty feet below the
+surface.</p>
+
+<p>A stout rail ran around the top of the hull so
+as to allow the crew to walk along the slippery
+decks without danger of going overboard. But
+it was the interior that the boys were most
+anxious to see, and a glad rush followed when
+Mr. Barr invited them on board. Access to
+the conning tower was gained by a gang plank
+running from the side of the shed. Reaching
+the conning tower, with a press of eager lads
+about him, Mr. Barr threw open a metal door in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>
+the top of the observation post, and climbed inside.
+The boys needed no invitation to follow
+him.</p>
+
+<p>Inside they found themselves in a compartment
+much resembling the wheelhouse of an ordinary
+surface craft, except that there were various
+instruments to show submergence, and the quality
+and pressure of the air, and devices for
+handling the engines; for one of the features of
+Mr. Barr's invention was that it could be handled
+by one man once the engines were going.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving the conning tower, they descended a
+steel ladder into the heart of the submarine.
+The centre was occupied by a comfortably fitted-up
+room which contained, among other things,
+a small library and a phonograph. The inventor
+switched on a button and the "cabin," as it
+may be called, was instantaneously flooded with
+a soft light, bright but not glaring. In the bulkheads
+at either end of this compartment were
+doors, steel riveted and solid looking. The inventor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
+explained that beyond the stern one were
+located the engine room and crew's quarters,
+while on the other side of the forward portal
+lay the sleeping quarters, galley or kitchen, and
+bathroom. Beyond these again came the torpedo
+room, which contained the machinery for launching
+the death-dealers. Each of these was inspected
+in turn, the boys being delighted with
+the compactness and neatness of everything.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," said the inventor, "we will visit the
+engine room." Paul Perkins and Hiram looked
+interested; machinery was one of their hobbies.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Peacemaker</i> carried two sets of engines,
+electrical for running under the surface, and
+gasoline for use above water. The engines were
+fitted tandem-wise, and to their shafts were attached
+twin screws of a novel design that gave
+great speed and controlled the submarine easily.
+The gasoline engines were of fifteen hundred
+horse-power each, and the electrical had a trifle
+lower capacity.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In the engine room, too, were the powerful
+pumps used for emptying or filling the submarine's
+submergence tanks as it was desired to
+rise or descend. Aft of the engine room came
+the gasoline tanks, the storage batteries, and
+some minor machinery, such as an ice-making
+plant, air compressor, and so on. In the engine
+room, too, was a comfortable upholstered lounge
+for the engineer on duty to rest upon. Several
+dials and gauges were on the walls of this compartment,
+enabling the engineer to know at all
+times under just what conditions the submarine
+was proceeding.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the engines themselves that the inventor
+had excelled all other types of submarines,
+as well as in the peculiar attributes of the hull.
+Extra tanks were provided whereby, in the event
+of the main supply of gasoline giving out at any
+time, the <i>Peacemaker</i> could be run quite a distance
+on those alone.</p>
+
+<p>"How long could you stay below the surface?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>
+asked Rob, as they came back into the main cabin
+once more. There they took their seats on broad
+leather divans which at night time could be converted
+into beds or bunks by pulling a lever which
+caused them to turn over and reveal a snug resting
+place.</p>
+
+<p>"I have not yet made an exhaustive test of
+that," rejoined Mr. Barr, "but I estimate that
+we could remain below, if necessary, forty-eight
+hours."</p>
+
+<p>"Forty-eight hours!" gasped Rob incredulously.</p>
+
+<p>The inventor nodded calmly.</p>
+
+<p>"My air purifying device makes this supposable.
+I have a plan by which fresh, pure air is
+almost manufactured. At the same time the foul
+air is forced out."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose you boys are aching to take a trip,"
+laughed Ensign Hargreaves.</p>
+
+<p>"Aching is no word for it," Rob assured him.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you may have a chance to-morrow,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
+said Mr. Barr; "I am going to test out the whole
+craft thoroughly, and you boys can come along if
+I go."</p>
+
+<p>For the next five minutes nothing could be
+heard but enthusiastic shouts. The boys fairly
+went wild with delight at the prospect of a trip
+below the ocean's surface. Soon afterward the
+party emerged from the submarine in time to see
+the <i>Seneca</i> making out to sea on her return
+journey. She carried letters from the boys to
+their families, as they were by no means sure
+when they would get the next opportunity of
+sending a letter north.</p>
+
+<p>The next hour was occupied in making camp.
+Then the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle banner
+went up. Donald had no Wolf banner with
+him, but above his tent he hung up something
+that resembled a wolf's head, painted on a bit of
+canvas.</p>
+
+<p>"Looks more like a chicken than a wolf,"
+scornfully sniffed Tubby when he saw it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You couldn't think of anything but something
+good to eat, could you?" was Donald's
+crushing reply.</p>
+
+<p>By the time camp had been made and everything
+placed neatly in order, Andy Bowles, on
+Ensign Hargreaves' order, sounded the dinner
+call.</p>
+
+<p>"That's the call that Tubby never forgets,"
+laughed Rob, as the stout lad cantered off in the
+direction of the combination dining hall and cook
+house above mentioned.</p>
+
+<p>They found a bare, pine table, scrubbed
+scrupulously clean and set with metal plates and
+cups. Lieutenant Hargreaves showed each boy
+to his seat, while he and the inventor sat at
+opposite ends of the board. The sailors, and the
+machinist who had impressed Rob so unfavorably,
+ate later.</p>
+
+<p>The cook, a stout, good-natured looking negro,
+came bustling in with a huge bucket-like pan full
+of steaming soup. Tubby's eyes glistened as he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>
+saw it, and soon he was piling in prodigious
+quantities of it. The soup was followed by salt
+beef, potatoes, and other vegetables, and then
+came a big wedge of cocoanut pie.</p>
+
+<p>"We get fresh meat fairly often," explained
+Mr. Barr, "but the launch has not been to the
+mainland recently, so we have to get along on
+what sailors call 'Willie'."</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't there game of any kind hereabouts?"
+asked Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes. There are several shore birds of
+different varieties, but we have really been too
+busy of late to go after them. Now that you
+boys have come, however, you can take out my
+shot guns&mdash;I have three of them&mdash;and see what
+you can do as hunters."</p>
+
+<p>"Are the shore birds good eating?" inquired
+Tubby with his mouth full of pie.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Master Hopkins. Epicures, in fact, declare
+that there is no better dish than roasted
+plovers."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I'll take one of the guns," declared Tubby,
+his eyes glistening, as, even his appetite satisfied
+for the while, he sank back in his chair.</p>
+
+<p>As they filed out of the dining hall the negro
+cook announced to the sailors and the mechanic,
+by means of a big bell, that it was time for them
+to eat.</p>
+
+<p>Rob, on his way to the camp, happened to pass
+by Luke Barton. He greeted the latter with a
+cheery nod.</p>
+
+<p>"Going to eat, Barton?" he inquired.</p>
+
+<p>The man glowered at him a minute, and then
+muttering something about "fresh kids eating up
+everything," he strode on toward the eating
+place.</p>
+
+<p>"My gracious," exclaimed Tubby, who had
+witnessed the whole proceeding, "you and that
+fellow get along like a pair of panthers, don't
+you?"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>DOWN TO THE DEPTHS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>It was the following morning, a bright, clear
+day, with a clean swept sky overhead, and seaward,
+the waves whipping up into smart little
+whitecaps under a brisk breeze. Breakfast was
+over, the Boy Scouts' bugle had sounded an assembly
+call, and now all were eagerly mustered
+about the submarine shed awaiting Mr. Barr's
+arrival and permission to go on board the <i>Peacemaker</i>.</p>
+
+<p>True to his promise, the inventor had decided
+to make the boys participants in the trial trip of
+the slate-colored diving boat. Presently he appeared,
+accompanied by Ensign Hargreaves.
+Ten minutes later the chatting, laughing party<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
+was on board the <i>Peacemaker</i>, and half an hour
+after that she was pronounced ready for the
+start. Mr. Barr took his place in the conning
+tower with Ensign Hargreaves beside him.
+Barton was in the engine room, sullen and uncommunicative
+as usual. Rob and Merritt were
+on deck with one of the sailors, delegated to the
+duty of casting off the diving boat's lines.</p>
+
+<p>At last came the word from the conning tower:</p>
+
+<p>"Cast off."</p>
+
+<p>Rob seized a rope and cast off from the stern
+bitts, while the sailor performed the same operation
+at the bow.</p>
+
+<p>"Must we come inside now?" inquired Rob,
+through the open hatch of the conning tower.</p>
+
+<p>"Not yet; unless you wish to. I will notify you
+before we dive," was Mr. Barr's reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Goodness, I hope he doesn't forget," said Rob
+laughingly, as the inventor turned on a switch
+and started the engines. The cigar-shaped form
+of the craft trembled as the powerful twin propellers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>
+beat the water. Then, handling as perfectly
+as a catboat, she backed slowly out of the
+shed and on to the open sea.</p>
+
+<p>Once outside the shed, her helmsman headed
+the craft about and made directly east. To Rob
+and Merritt, standing on the deck, the sensation
+was a thrilling one. Faster and faster the craft
+was driven till great clouds of spray compelled
+the two lads to seek refuge in the conning tower.</p>
+
+<p>Inside the boat the hum of machinery and the
+vibration of the powerful engines could be plainly
+distinguished. Rob glanced at the speed indicator
+on the steel wall of the "pilot house."</p>
+
+<p>"Twenty-five knots! Phew! that's going
+some," he gasped.</p>
+
+<p>"She can make thirty-two on the surface and
+twenty-one under water," said the inventor
+calmly.</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke, he drew a lever toward him and
+the <i>Peacemaker</i> appeared to leap forward like
+a horse under the lash.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Rob watched the handle of the indicator as it
+sped slowly around the dial. Up and up it crept
+till it stopped at thirty-two knots and a half.</p>
+
+<p>"Jove! Barr," exclaimed the ensign, "this is
+the wonder craft of the century."</p>
+
+<p>"I think I could get even more speed out of
+her, but I don't wish to strain the engines," was
+the confident reply.</p>
+
+<p>"This is fast enough for me, thank you," said
+Rob to Merritt in an undertone.</p>
+
+<p>From the conning tower lens the <i>Peacemaker</i>
+appeared to be rushing between two solid walls
+of water, so great was the quantity of spray she
+threw as she was remorselessly driven through
+the choppy sea. Yet the vibration was not nearly
+as bad as might have been expected.</p>
+
+<p>"Let's go below and take a look at the engine
+room," said Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"All right; but I'll ask Mr. Barr's permission
+first," was Rob's rejoinder.</p>
+
+<p>This was readily obtained, and the two boys<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>
+went below. They found their comrades gathered
+in the large central cabin, excitedly discussing
+the novelty of their voyage. Passing them,
+the young leader and his lieutenant made their
+way back into the machinery department. Barton
+glowered at them as they entered.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what d'ye want?" he asked gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>"Merely to have a look at the engines," said
+Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Aw, what do you know about engines?"
+growled the man. "You ain't got no business in
+here."</p>
+
+<p>"We have Mr. Barr's permission," rejoined
+Rob in a calm, even tone, determined not to let
+the fellow make him angry.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, take a look around and get out quick,"
+was the ungracious reply of the surly fellow.</p>
+
+<p>Rob thought it best not to answer him, and
+arm in arm he and Merritt wandered among the
+flashing, smoothly working machinery, which,
+despite its size and power, was almost noiseless.
+Whatever his failings might be in the way of politeness,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>
+Barton must have been a good engineer,
+the boys decided, for every bit of metal and paintwork
+about the engines was polished to a brilliant
+finish, and the engine room was as neat as
+a new pin.</p>
+
+<p>Rob was examining the powerful pumps when
+his eye suddenly fell on a bit of paper lying on
+the floor. He picked it up, prompted by he knew
+not what instinct, and found that it was covered
+with minute sketches, apparently of machinery.
+The sketches were numbered and lettered, as if
+they had been "keyed" for the purpose of making
+the diagram clearer.</p>
+
+<p>He was still examining the sketches when
+there was a swift step behind him and a heavy
+hand fell on his shoulder. Rob, facing about,
+looked into Barton's face. The engineer's countenance
+was livid, his eyes fairly blazed.</p>
+
+<p>"Give me that paper, you young jackanapes!"
+he exclaimed, "and then get out of here&mdash;quick!"</p>
+
+<p>"As to giving you the paper, here you are,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
+said Rob, quietly handing the engineer the mechanical
+sketches. "If I'd known they were
+yours, I'd have returned them to you at once.
+I must ask you, however, to be a little less rough
+in your manners. I don't know what harm
+we've ever done you, that you should show such
+a dislike for us."</p>
+
+<p>"Bah!" growled Barton as he turned away,
+thrusting the paper into a pocket of his jumper.</p>
+
+<p>After this incident neither of the boys cared to
+remain in the engine room, and soon joined their
+companions in the main cabin.</p>
+
+<p>They found them chatting and laughing over
+different boyish topics, and Merritt joined in the
+fun.</p>
+
+<p>But Rob, usually talkative and bright, was
+strangely silent. He found himself musing over
+the incident of the scrap of paper covered with
+mechanical sketches. Why had Barton become
+so agitated when the boy picked it up? What
+was there about the affair to excite the man so
+strangely?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Suddenly into the boy's mind there flashed a
+startling suspicion. But so grave was the idea
+that he dismissed it, or rather tried to; but with
+all his efforts the idea kept recurring like a dominant
+note in a piece of music. Rob decided to
+be on the watch and try to verify or disprove his
+suspicion, which was nothing more nor less than
+an idea that Barton was a traitor to his employer,
+and was also in the service of some powerful interests
+striving to get a grip on the secrets of
+the <i>Peacemaker</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"That man will bear watching," decided Rob.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely had he come to this conclusion when
+Mr. Barr shouted down from the conning tower:</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going to dive!"</p>
+
+<p>The hearts of all the lads beat perceptibly
+quicker at the words.</p>
+
+<p>They were about to descend into the unknown
+regions beneath the surface of the ocean, down
+into the dark waters where men's souls are put
+to a supreme test.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<h3>FACING DEATH.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"Ready?" came the cry from the conning
+tower.</p>
+
+<p>"All ready!" shouted back the lads assembled
+in the cabin, waiting for they knew not what.</p>
+
+<p>"Then hold tight, we're going down quick."</p>
+
+<p>S-w-ish-ish-ish! The roar of the water, as the
+powerful pumps sucked it into the submerging
+tanks, filled the interior of the Barr submarine.
+Suddenly she gave a forward plunge, and the
+boys now learned for what purpose several handholds
+were attached to the cabin walls!</p>
+
+<p>"Say, this is a queer sensation, isn't it?"
+gasped Merritt, looking rather alarmed as the
+downward rush could be distinctly felt. In the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
+engine room the electric motors had been connected,
+and in the conning tower the hatch which
+gave entrance and egress when on the surface
+had been clamped tightly down.</p>
+
+<p>"S-s-pose we don't come up again?" exclaimed
+Donald.</p>
+
+<p>"We haven't got an awful lot to eat on board,"
+murmured Tubby anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Gracious, how far down are we going?"
+spoke Merritt, as five minutes passed and still
+the <i>Peacemaker</i> continued her descent into the
+depths of the sea.</p>
+
+<p>All at once the tilting motion ceased, the
+<i>Peacemaker's</i> stern tanks were filled, and she
+floated on an even keel. Leaving the care of the
+wheel to Ensign Hargreaves, who, as we know,
+was familiar with the usual type of submarine,
+Mr. Barr came into the cabin.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, boys, what do you think of it?" he
+asked with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"It's g-g-great," rejoined Tubby, with a notable
+lack of his usual assurance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"And now I suppose you'd like to see what the
+bottom of the sea looks like. We are down some
+two hundred fathoms and about fifty miles off
+the coast. Should you care to see how things
+look down here?"</p>
+
+<p>"How will that be possible?" asked Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>By way of reply Mr. Barr went to the starboard
+wall of the cabin and pulled a lever connecting
+with a worm gear. As he did so, a great
+section of the <i>Peacemaker's</i> steel side drew back
+and revealed a plate glass window set between
+the inner and outer "skins" of the craft.</p>
+
+<p>The boys crowded round the window and
+peered out eagerly. But to their disappointment
+they could see no more of their surroundings
+than if they had been looking out of a train window
+on a dark night. It was as black as a wolfs
+mouth at those unknown depths.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, we can't see anything," came a disgruntled
+chorus.</p>
+
+<p>"Wait a minute," smiled the inventor.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 365px;">
+<img src="images/i003.jpg" width="365" height="450" alt="THE BOYS CROWDED ROUND THE WINDOW AND PEERED OUT EAGERLY." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE BOYS CROWDED ROUND THE WINDOW AND PEERED OUT EAGERLY.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Pressing a button, he extinguished the cabin
+lights. Then he opened a sort of closet in the
+wall alongside the window and swung out a
+powerful, though small, searchlight attached to
+an adaptable arm in the same manner as a desk
+telephone.</p>
+
+<p>There was a clicking sound, and a flood of
+white light pierced the blackness outside. The
+boys broke into delighted exclamations as the
+powerful rays revealed all sorts of fish, many of
+odd shapes and colors, attracted by the light.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly a dark, shadowy form swung into
+view. Instantly the other fish vanished, and the
+boys saw that the newcomer was a large shark
+swimming leisurely along.</p>
+
+<p>No doubt he wondered who the strangers in
+his deep sea abode could be, for he swam up
+close to the window, causing the boys to shrink
+back. They quite forgot that between them and
+the tiger of the deep was a solid plate of glass
+as strong almost as steel.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The shark gazed at the window for an instant
+and then vanished. With its disappearance, the
+other fish reappeared and kept the submarine
+company, for all the world like sea gulls circling
+round a ship entering port.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder if they are hungry and want us to
+throw some food out to them," said Tubby
+stolidly, as he gazed at the finny tribes darting
+here and there in the searchlight's rays.</p>
+
+<p>"Gracious, do you think that the fish have the
+same appetite as you have?" laughed Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"Just the same, some of those fellows would
+taste all right broiled," declared the stout youth,
+at which there was a general laugh.</p>
+
+<p>After an hour spent in this manner the searchlight
+was switched off and the panels slid back
+into place.</p>
+
+<p>"I think we will rise now," said the inventor;
+"you boys had better hold on, for we may go up
+pretty quick."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope we <i>do</i> go up," muttered Tubby, rather<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
+nervously. The stout youth was not particularly
+in love with the dark depths in which they were
+navigating. In fact, all the lads, though they
+did not admit it, experienced a longing for daylight.
+It was an awe-inspiring feeling&mdash;too awe-inspiring
+to be comfortable&mdash;to be in the depths
+of the ocean where no keel had ever before
+plowed.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Barr remounted to the conning tower. A
+minute later a renewal of the swishing sound
+told that the pumps were emptying the tanks at
+the rate of a thousand gallons a minute. The
+submarine could be felt to leap upward toward
+the surface. The boys held on for dear life, exchanging
+rather alarmed glances.</p>
+
+<p>All at once the pace slackened, and the swishing
+sound ceased. Mr. Barr had decided that the
+pace was too swift and had cut off the pumps.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, thank goodness that's over!" gasped
+Donald. "At the rate we were going up we'd
+have bounced clean out of the sea."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I guess we're all right now," remarked Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>The words had hardly left his lips when there
+came a jar and a bump that shook the submarine
+in her every frame and rivet.</p>
+
+<p>The boys were thrown from their feet and
+hurled about the cabin. At the same instant the
+engines stopped and the submarine began to
+back, but slowly, like a stricken animal.</p>
+
+<p>"We've rammed something!"</p>
+
+<p>"We're sinking!"</p>
+
+<p>These and a hundred other exclamations came
+from the alarmed boys.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Barr poked his head down into the cabin.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you all right below?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; but what has happened?"</p>
+
+<p>"Have we been badly damaged?"</p>
+
+<p>"Are we sinking?"</p>
+
+<p>The above questions were all shouted at once
+in the tense excitement.</p>
+
+<p>Barton, his face white as ashes, came out of
+his engine room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What did we hit?" he demanded in a frightened
+voice.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know; but we struck something, possibly
+a sunken wreck, a hard blow," was the inventor's
+reply. Although his face was deadly
+pale, his voice was without a tremor as he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"We must make an examination at once," he
+went on. "Andrews, Higgins, and Ross," addressing
+the three sailors who had appeared from
+forward, "make an examination forward at once
+and see if any of the plates have started. If you
+find a suspicion of a leak report to me at once."</p>
+
+<p>The sailors, trained in naval discipline, saluted,
+and hastened off on their errand.</p>
+
+<p>"If we are leaking, what are we to do?" demanded
+Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Meet death as bravely as we can," was the
+reply in steady tones; "submarines carry no boats
+and we must go to the bottom unless we can find
+some way to stop the leak."</p>
+
+<p>Small wonder that the boys were stricken<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
+aghast. Barton, the machinist, flung himself
+face downward on a couch and began whimpering.</p>
+
+<p>The inventor looked at the man with contempt.</p>
+
+<p>"Stand by your engines, Barton," he commanded
+sternly; "the first man to shirk his duty
+in this emergency will have to settle with me."</p>
+
+<p>Barton rose to his feet unsteadily. He was
+pasty yellow with terror. In his eyes was a wild
+look. But under the inventor's stern gaze he re&euml;ntered
+the engine room, shaking like a leaf.</p>
+
+<p>It was then that Rob noticed that a revolver
+was in the inventor's hand as he stood at the top
+of the cabin ladder.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE STRANGE FLAG.</h3>
+
+
+<p>After ten minutes of the most painful suspense
+that any of the boys had ever known, the
+three sailors returned with the report that while
+one of the forward plates was bent and was leaking
+slightly, there appeared to be no danger.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Barr made no secret of his relief at receiving
+this bit of information. The boys burst
+into a cheer, and Barton, crouching in cowardly
+panic in the engine room, knew by this sound
+that all was well.</p>
+
+<p>"Now we'll get to the surface quick and see
+what happened," declared the inventor.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Peacemaker</i>, which all this time had been
+slowly backing, was sent upward once more. As<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>
+soon as they reached the surface Mr. Barr
+opened the conning tower hatch, and they all
+hastened out on deck. To their amazement the
+water all about was dyed crimson, and the cause
+was almost immediately apparent. Not far off
+lay the carcass of a whale, almost cut in two.
+This was beyond question the obstacle that the
+submarine had struck. Probably the dead cetacean
+could not get out of the way of the steel
+diving craft in time, or else deemed it another
+whale, and so was rammed by the sharp steel
+prow.</p>
+
+<p>"Suppose that had been a solid object, like a
+rock, or a submerged derelict?" asked Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"We shouldn't be here now," rejoined Ensign
+Hargreaves calmly enough, but in his voice there
+was palpable evidence of the relief he felt at their
+narrow escape.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess we'll stay on the surface for a while
+now," decided the inventor. Accordingly, the
+craft was put about and headed for the island at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>
+a good rate of speed. The return voyage was
+made without incident, except that Tubby caused
+much amusement by inquiring if whale flesh was
+edible, and if it was, he should enjoy a broiled
+whale steak for dinner.</p>
+
+<p>When the shed was reached the bow of the
+submarine was elevated by means of powerful
+geared tackle provided for this purpose, and the
+job of substituting a new plate for the damaged
+one was begun. It was finished by sunset.</p>
+
+<p>That afternoon Rob and Merritt took the shotguns
+and started for the other shore of the island
+to see if they could not bring down some
+shore birds. They tramped along the beach and
+met with some success. Their walk brought
+them to the opposite shore of the island, as has
+been said, and they found themselves in a desolate
+stretch of country, nothing but sand and
+brush and coarse shore grass.</p>
+
+<p>They were discussing the odd nature of their
+mission on the island, when Merritt suddenly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>
+grasped his companion's arm and pointed seaward,
+toward another of the islands that have
+been mentioned as being scattered pretty closely
+in the vicinity. Rob was just in time to catch
+sight of a motor boat, seemingly a fast one, slipping
+behind the spot of land.</p>
+
+<p>At the same instant a figure rose from the
+grass almost in front of them. It was Barton
+the machinist. He had apparently been concealed
+in the grass, and had not calculated on the boys
+discovering him.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what are you after now? Spying on
+me again, eh?" he snarled angrily.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know why you should say we were
+spying on you," rejoined Rob, "unless you are
+up to something wrong."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?" asked Barton, stepping
+quickly toward him as if to strike him.</p>
+
+<p>The man's hand was upraised, but the determined
+way in which Rob met his angry glare
+caused him to drop it.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 358px;">
+<img src="images/i004.jpg" width="358" height="400" alt="ROB WAS JUST IN TIME TO CATCH SIGHT OF A MOTOR BOAT, SLIPPING BEHIND THE SPOT OF LAND." title="" />
+<span class="caption">ROB WAS JUST IN TIME TO CATCH SIGHT OF A MOTOR BOAT, SLIPPING BEHIND THE SPOT OF LAND.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I want you to quit followin' me around, that's
+all," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess this island's big enough to hold all
+of us," snapped Merritt, "and as for following
+you around, we have other and better occupations
+on our hands."</p>
+
+<p>The machinist made an angry reply and set
+off across the island at a rapid pace. As he did
+so an odd incident took place on the island behind
+which the motor boat had vanished.</p>
+
+<p>On a staff which the boys had not previously
+noticed a red flag began to glide up and down.
+Sometimes it was hoisted quickly and then again
+slowly.</p>
+
+<p>"What in the world are they doing over
+there?" wondered Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't make out unless they are a party of
+crazy campers amusing themselves," rejoined
+Rob; and then he suddenly burst out: "By Jove,
+I have it; they are signalling."</p>
+
+<p>"But signalling what or who?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I haven't decided yet; but I wonder if the
+same thought has occurred to you as to me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Namely, what?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, that Barton was watching those signals."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean that they were intended for him?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's what."</p>
+
+<p>"But what would they be signalling him for?"</p>
+
+<p>"Only one thing that I can think of. You
+know what the ensign said about spies; well, if
+that fellow Barton isn't up to some crooked
+work, why should he sneak off like this and be so
+anxious to hide from us when we happen along
+accidentally? Then, too, there's that paper covered
+with drawings that I found in the engine
+room."</p>
+
+<p>"By ginger, I see what you are driving at.
+You think that Barton is a traitor, and is in
+league with those spies?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's a grave accusation to make, but I can
+hit on no other explanation of his actions. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>
+is angry at us because he thinks we may see too
+much. Look, they are still signalling."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish we could read what they are saying."</p>
+
+<p>"I think I can," rejoined Rob quietly.</p>
+
+<p>"You can?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"How are you going to do it?"</p>
+
+<p>"By bringing my knowledge of Morse into
+play. I think that when the flag is run up slowly
+it means a dash and a quick run is a dot. Let's
+try it anyway."</p>
+
+<p>Luckily the spot where the two boys were was
+grown with high, coarse grass, and the sand
+dunes rose high in places, affording protection
+for them.</p>
+
+<p>As the flag rose and fell they spelled out a
+word according to the Morse code.</p>
+
+<p>"That's 'Ready'," proclaimed Rob exultingly;
+"we have hit on their code, all right."</p>
+
+<p>"They're still at it," exclaimed Merritt, as the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>
+flag continued its eccentric rises and falls;
+"what's next, I wonder?"</p>
+
+<p>Dash&mdash;dash&mdash;dash&mdash;dash, spelled out the flag.</p>
+
+<p>"That means 'to'," declared Rob.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and there comes 'night'," exclaimed
+Merritt a moment later. "And now they've
+stopped. Let's see what message we've caught."</p>
+
+<p>"Short and sweet," laughed Rob. "I guess we
+came in at the tail end of their confab. All we've
+got is 'Ready to-night'."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, isn't that something?" demanded Merritt.
+"At all events it's a complete sentence and
+tells us that somebody will be ready for something
+to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"Right you are, and that 'somebody' is to be
+Barton, I'll bet a doughnut."</p>
+
+<p>"But ready for what?"</p>
+
+<p>"That remains to be seen. I've always
+thought Barton would bear watching. I'm certain
+of it now, and if the submarine isn't mixed
+up in this tangle somewhere, call me a Chinaman."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Are you going to tell the ensign about this?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not till we have something more tangible to
+go upon. After all, we have proved nothing,
+but to-night we'll keep a close watch on Barton
+and in that way find out if our suspicions are
+correct or not."</p>
+
+<p>And so it was arranged. The boys hunted a
+bit more, but somehow the strange signals and
+the peculiar behavior of Barton had got on
+their minds, and they gave up their sport earlier
+than they had expected and trudged back to camp
+to complete their arrangements for the night's
+work.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+<h3>SCOUTING FOR UNCLE SAM.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"Rob! Rob! Rob!"</p>
+
+<p>Merritt nudged his dozing companion as they
+lay near to the submarine shed, where they had
+taken up their position earlier in the night. Immediately
+after supper the lads had, apparently,
+slipped off to their tents; but as soon as they
+were sure that they were free from observation
+they had, in pursuance of their plans, taken up
+a position close to the sheltering place of the
+<i>Peacemaker</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Rob had dozed off shortly before midnight,
+and the words at the beginning of this chapter
+formed Merritt's notification to him that it was
+time to bestir himself.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The boy, aroused at once from his nap, sat up
+at his comrade's summons.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" he asked in a whisper.</p>
+
+<p>"Look! Look yonder! Don't you see Barton
+sneaking toward the shed?"</p>
+
+<p>There was no moon, but in the starlight
+Rob, thus admonished, could distinctly discern a
+shadowy figure gliding across the sand dunes to
+the submarine shed.</p>
+
+<p>"It <i>is</i> Barton, sure enough!" he exclaimed in
+a low, tense voice. "I guess we were right, Merritt,
+when we read that 'Ready to-night' message."</p>
+
+<p>"We sure were," was the response; "the question
+now is, what is that fellow up to?"</p>
+
+<p>"Some sort of mischief, just as we surmised,"
+was the reply. "Let's do an Indian crawl toward
+the shed and see what we can find out."</p>
+
+<p>The next instant both boys were noiselessly
+wriggling their way on their stomachs toward
+the shed into the interior of which Barton had,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>
+by this time, vanished. It was easy work to make
+a noiseless advance over the soft sand, but so
+thoroughly had both the Boy Scouts practiced
+the maneuver of silent advance that even had the
+ground been different, it is likely that they could
+have approached unheard.</p>
+
+<p>Right up to the very walls of the shed they
+wriggled their way and then, placing their eyes
+to a crack in the timbers, they peered in. By
+the yellow light of a lantern Barton had lighted
+they saw him dive down into the interior of the
+submarine and emerge, ere long, with several
+rolled sheets of paper.</p>
+
+<p>The fellow did not appear to labor under
+anxiety that he was being watched, for he went
+boldly about his business, taking no apparent
+pains to screen the light or to move noiselessly.
+Having emerged from the submarine and
+reached once more the door of the shed, he extinguished
+the light and glided out into the night
+like a half-embodied form.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Merritt half leaped to his feet as he saw the
+fellow making off, but Rob drew his companion
+down into their place of concealment with a
+whispered,</p>
+
+<p>"Hold on. Don't spoil everything now by betraying
+our presence. Let him get a little way
+and we'll follow him."</p>
+
+<p>"But we may lose him in the darkness," objected
+Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"I scarcely think so," was the rejoinder; "in
+fact, I have a pretty good idea where he is bound
+for."</p>
+
+<p>"And where may that be?"</p>
+
+<p>"The place in which he lay this afternoon to
+read those signals from the distant island. Depend
+upon it, he is going to meet the men who
+manipulated that flag!"</p>
+
+<p>"By hooky! That's so, Rob. What a mind
+you have for figuring out things! Of course, it's
+plain enough now that he is betraying Mr. Barr
+by giving drawings and plans of the submarine<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>
+to Mr. Barr's enemies, but I didn't think he'd
+take so bold a method."</p>
+
+<p>"There's nothing very bold about it," retorted
+Rob. "He is a trusted man, and has been given
+every opportunity to be dishonest, if it so suits
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"I guess that's right; but it's our duty to
+thwart him."</p>
+
+<p>"You just bet it is, and we'll do it, too, if
+it's possible. See, there he goes over the top
+of that sand dune. I could see his figure
+silhouetted against the sky. I reckon it's safe
+now to take after him."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, you say when."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll give the word right here. Silently, now;
+remember he is on the outlook for some interference
+with his plans, and a false move may
+spoil everything."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't worry about me. A first class Scout
+should be able to carry through a simple little
+thing like this."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Don't be too sure it's simple," admonished
+Rob, as they silently rose from their crouching
+postures and took after the vague shadow; "this
+thing may turn out to be bigger than we
+thought."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you laid any plans as to what you will
+do if we do apprehend him in the act of transferring
+the plans to Mr. Barr's enemies?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not yet. There's no use crossing a bridge
+till you come to it."</p>
+
+<p>Through the night the boys pursued their
+quarry as silently as two snakes. At times they
+lost sight of him, but always his figure would
+loom up against the star-sprinkled sky as he
+topped a sand dune. At length they saw him
+pause and light the lantern, which he had used
+in the shed, and which he still carried.</p>
+
+<p>This done, he swung the light twice across
+his body, after the fashion of a brakeman signalling
+a train to come ahead.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly, out of the darkness, flashed an answering<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>
+beacon&mdash;a red light. The boys clasped
+each other's arms. That they were on the brink
+of an exciting adventure they did not doubt.
+But in each lad's heart was a firm resolve that,
+come what might, they would do their duty by
+Uncle Sam.</p>
+
+<p>"Was that red light shown from the other
+island?" whispered Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I am inclined to think it came from that
+launch we saw sneaking in behind the island
+this afternoon just before the signalling commenced,"
+was the response.</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, she must be still far out?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; but in any event they would have to
+send a boat ashore. That launch is too large to
+land on the beach directly."</p>
+
+<p>As if in answer to his opinion the watching
+boys presently saw a red light creeping over the
+water toward the island. Undoubtedly it came
+from a small boat, so low on the water was it.</p>
+
+<p>Before long they could detect the splash of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>
+oars, although whoever was rowing the boat
+was trying to make as little noise as possible.</p>
+
+<p>As the light drew close in shore, Merritt seized
+Rob's arm.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the next move?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"It looks as if it were ours," was the quiet,
+but determined, rejoinder.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+
+<h3>ROB'S BRAVE ACT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>While the boys had been watching, Barton had
+lain down, as though tired, on the summit of a
+near-by dune. As the red light came close in
+shore, however, he arose, and once more waved
+his lantern.</p>
+
+<p>At the signal the course of the red light
+shifted and headed directly toward him. The
+boys' hearts beat thickly; the time for action
+was at hand. The bow of the boat they had seen
+approaching grated on the beach, and two figures
+sprang out while Barton advanced to meet
+them.</p>
+
+<p>"Get as close as you can," whispered Rob, as
+he wriggled forward; "we want to get every
+word."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Merritt merely nodded; but his silent advance
+was as rapid as his leader's. Owing to the nature
+of the ground, they were able to run forward
+in an almost upright position when they
+reached the hollows of the dunes, being compelled
+to cast themselves down only when they
+topped a rise. Therefore, they were within ear
+shot when Barton greeted the two men who had
+disembarked from the boat.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said one of the newcomers in a voice
+which plainly betrayed his foreign origin; "well,
+did you do as you said you would?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," responded Barton; "I've got the drawings
+here. They are not complete, however, and
+you will have to give me more time."</p>
+
+<p>"As you were told at Bridgeport, before you
+left for this island, you can have all the time
+you want, only make the job complete."</p>
+
+<p>"You can depend upon me to do that," was the
+response. "So long as I'm well paid, I'll sell out
+all I know, and that's about everything about
+the Barr submarine."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Here another voice, that of the second man
+who had left the boat, struck in:</p>
+
+<p>"What about the models?"</p>
+
+<p>"I've got them hidden up here in the sand,"
+came Barton's voice in reply. "I'd have had
+them ready but two blooming kids trailed me
+here."</p>
+
+<p>"Trailed you? What do you mean?" demanded
+the voice of the man who had first
+spoken and who, with the solitary exception
+noted, had carried on most of the conversation.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, this Ensign Hargreaves, this Navy
+dude, saw fit to bring a band of Boy Scouts down
+here. They're the nosiest kids ever, and I half
+think they suspect me of not being all I appear
+to be."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a good guess," whispered Rob to Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>Merritt could not refrain from a quiet chuckle.</p>
+
+<p>"As a long distance and local guesser, Barton
+takes the palm," he breathed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Hush!" murmured Rob under his breath:
+"What are they up to now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Going to dig up those models, I guess. Barton
+must have stolen them from the workshop
+at odd moments."</p>
+
+<p>Right then something happened that gave
+Merritt a shock. Rob rose to his feet and started
+toward the beach. The men that the two Boy
+Scouts were watching had headed inland, evidently
+to aid Barton in uncovering the hidden
+models.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you gone crazy, Rob? Lie down here,"
+cautioned Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"Not much," was the response; "I'm going to
+do some reconnoitering while I've got the
+chance."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"That I'm going down to have a look at that
+boat, and if I can I'm going to shove her off
+and thus leave those men prisoners on the island."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"By ginger, Rob, you are a great fellow for
+ideas. If only you can cast the boat adrift,
+we'll have those chaps bottled up as securely as
+if they were in a jail."</p>
+
+<p>"Wait here till I come," responded the boy
+leader. "I won't be gone more than ten minutes."</p>
+
+<p>"I'd like to come with you, Rob."</p>
+
+<p>"No; this is a job I can do best alone."</p>
+
+<p>Rob noiselessly slipped away. The boat from
+which the mysterious men had landed was
+plainly discernible as a black blot on the sandy
+beach. Rob tried to make himself as inconspicuous
+as possible, but against the white strip
+of sand he felt as noticeable as an elephant.
+However, he gained the boat without interruption.</p>
+
+<p>Its bow had been built up, apparently, to make
+it more seaworthy, and the boy noticed that a
+small door had been cut leading into the space
+beneath the raised bow. He had hardly discovered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>
+this when he was startled to hear voices
+close at hand.</p>
+
+<p>It was Barton and his crooked accomplices
+coming back. Fortunately for Rob, they were
+behind a dune, so that it was impossible for
+them to observe him. But in a moment, the boy
+realized with a thrill, they would be upon him.</p>
+
+<p>Quick as a flash, and hardly realizing what he
+was doing, Rob sought the only place of concealment
+close at hand&mdash;the space under the raised
+bow of the boat. He had hardly squeezed into
+his cramped quarters before the trio of rascals
+topped the rise.</p>
+
+<p>Rob, with a sinking of the heart, realized at
+that moment that it would have been better for
+him to have taken his chances and run away
+from the scene. But it was too late now. With
+something that was not exactly fear, but very
+like it, Rob recognized the fact that he was a
+concealed passenger, a stowaway, on board a
+boat on which his presence might cost him his
+life.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As these reflections ran through his mind the
+men drew closer, talking about the "clever" work
+they had done.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess Barr and his <i>Peacemaker</i> can say
+good-bye to Uncle Sam now," laughed one of
+them.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and the best of it is that Barton will
+never be suspected," responded the other. "Our
+government will be manufacturing submarines
+of the Barr type, while Barr and the United
+States Government are still in blissful ignorance
+of the fact that all efforts are for nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"You can bet I never put through a job unless
+I do it right," struck in Barton with great self-complacency.</p>
+
+<p>Rob, crouched in his cramped place of concealment,
+flushed with anger. Right then and
+there he determined that, come what might, he
+would see this strange adventure of his through
+to the bitter end. This resolve was still in his
+mind when the two men shoved the boat off,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>
+bade good-night to the rascally Barton, and, all
+unconscious of their secreted passenger, got
+under way.</p>
+
+<p>"If I get out of this alive, I'll be lucky," soliloquized
+Rob as he heard the oars and felt the
+boat moving through the water. "I wonder if
+I've done right? At any rate I'm in it now, and,
+as a Boy Scout, I'm going to see it through."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE ISLAND HUT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Rob, in his place of concealment, could hear
+the two men talking as they rowed.</p>
+
+<p>Their conversation related, in the main, to
+the affairs of the night. Apparently, so far as
+Rob could gather, the stealing of the plans of the
+submarine was not yet complete. It appeared
+that Barton was to remain on the island in his
+capacity as trusted aide to Mr. Barr, and to
+gather up all he could of the details of the new
+submarine, down to the smallest particular.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely daring to breathe, Rob listened with
+all his might to the conversation of the oarsmen.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time the thought was running
+through his mind that he had acted rashly in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>
+taking the step he had. But the boy pluckily
+made up his mind to stick to his resolution of
+discovering just what was going on inimical
+to the plans of the United States Government
+and Mr. Barr.</p>
+
+<p>Before very long the prow of the boat grated
+on a sandy beach, and the two men, gathering
+up some rolls of paper and several bulky-looking
+objects, left the craft, first securing it by an
+anchor and line.</p>
+
+<p>As their footsteps died away, Rob ventured
+to raise his head above the gunwale of the
+boat and follow them with his eyes. He saw
+them ascend the beach and enter the hut, apparently
+a structure once used by fishermen or
+hunters.</p>
+
+<p>After an interval a light shone from the solitary
+window of the hut, and Rob came to a sudden
+resolve to find out just what was going forward.
+With this object in view he clambered
+out of the boat, taking every precaution against<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>
+making unnecessary noise. On hands and knees
+he then approached the lighted window.</p>
+
+<p>The night was dark, and, standing at a fair
+distance from the casement, he did not feel much
+fear of being seen from within. It is hard for
+persons in a brightly lighted chamber to perceive
+what is going on outside.</p>
+
+<p>Seated around a rough table in the hut, which
+consisted of only one room, Rob saw three men.
+Two of them, undoubtedly, were those who had
+unconsciously rowed him to the island. The
+other he recognized with a start as the possessor
+of the face which had peered through the transom
+on the memorable night in Hampton, when
+plans for the experiments on the island were in
+process of being formulated. In other words,
+the third member of the party was none other
+than Nordstrom Berghoff, the spy.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly many things that had been vague to
+Rob crystallized into a clear understanding of
+the situation. The signals from the island, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>
+indignation of Barton over the presence of the
+Boy Scouts, and the stealing of the plans and
+models, all stood out plainly now as being part
+of an elaborate plot of which Berghoff was the
+mainspring.</p>
+
+<p>A wave of indignation swept over the boy as
+he contemplated the rascals within the hut gloating
+over the things they had obtained from the
+treacherous Barton.</p>
+
+<p>"The scoundrels," he thought; "so they think
+they can rob Uncle Sam of one of the greatest
+submarines ever invented, and do so with impunity!
+I don't care what happens, I'll fool them
+if I can."</p>
+
+<p>With this resolve firmly embedded in his mind,
+Rob crept closer to the window. By skillful
+maneuvering he was at last almost under the
+casement. In this position every word uttered
+within the hut was clear to him.</p>
+
+<p>He heard Berghoff chuckling gleefully over
+the manner in which the night's work had been
+carried out.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Undt not a vun of dose Boy Scouts knew
+anting aboudt idt," he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>"No," rejoined one of his companions, a
+swarthy man with a pallid face on which there
+stood out a bristly beard; "those kids were out
+of the game so far as we were concerned. That
+Barton is a slick one, all right."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, he's getting well paid for the job,"
+struck in the third man, who was short and
+stocky, with a crop of rough, reddish hair and
+a protruding chin that gave him a "bull doggy"
+aspect.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, he gedts vell paid," rejoined Berghoff;
+"dis job is vorth de naval supremacy of
+the worldt to der country vot I represent."</p>
+
+<p>"As if we didn't know that as well as you,"
+rejoined the red-haired man. "It was lucky we
+worked in the same machine shop in Bridgeport
+with Barton and knew he was a man who could
+be bought."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, there isn't much that he wouldn't do
+for money," chimed in the pallid-faced man.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Vell, ledt us see if dese plans are all righdt,
+or if ve must get some more of dem," remarked
+Berghoff.</p>
+
+<p>From his manner of examining the intricate
+prints and plans, Rob knew that the man, as
+were most probably his two companions, was an
+engineer of no mean ability. With a small
+pocket scale he went over every scrap of paper
+and then fell to examining the models. From
+his expression, Rob judged that Barton had
+served the rascal well. Berghoff declared the
+plans and the models all that would be required
+to produce a <i>Peacemaker</i> almost the exact duplicate
+of Mr. Barr's diving-boat.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, when do we make our getaway?"
+queried the red-haired man when the examination
+was concluded.</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow ve go," declared Berghoff. "In
+New York I catch der steamer for Europe undt
+you two scatter verefer you like."</p>
+
+<p>Rob felt his face flush with indignation, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>
+at the same time he experienced a sort of hopeless
+feeling of indecision. The plans and the
+models lay there, almost within his reach, but
+so far as the possibility of recovering them was
+concerned, they might as well have been in
+China.</p>
+
+<p>"If only all the boys were here," he thought,
+"it would be possible to 'rush' those scoundrels
+and secure all their loot."</p>
+
+<p>Finally Rob came to the decision to remain
+where he was for the present and see if some
+opportunity would not present itself to recover
+the articles of such vital importance to Uncle
+Sam's Government.</p>
+
+<p>The men talked on, conversing in low tones,
+and presently the red-headed man started to
+prepare some food on an oil stove, which must
+have been brought from the motor boat earlier
+in the day. Till sundry appetizing odors began
+to drift out to him from the plotter's cookery,
+Rob did not realize that he was hungry. Before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>
+long, however, his desire for food became
+almost overwhelming. It was tantalizing to lie
+out there in the dark, tired and hungry, and hear
+within the hut the clatter of knives and forks
+and inhale the odors of what was evidently a
+hearty meal.</p>
+
+<p>At length the men stopped eating, and Rob
+heard them discussing whether they should sleep
+in the hut or on board their motor boat. The
+boy pricked up his ears as he listened. If only
+they decided to sleep on the boat and leave the
+models and plans in the hut, he would have a
+chance to recover the stolen property and make
+away with it in the beached rowboat before
+dawn.</p>
+
+<p>Rob could hardly restrain an exclamation of
+delight when the men came to the decision to
+pass the night on their boat.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you going to do with this stuff?"
+inquired the pallid-faced man with the stubbly
+beard, indicating the mass of papers and models.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, we'll leave that here till morning," was
+Berghoff's response; "dere is no use in taking
+idt by der boat now."</p>
+
+<p>"Goodness," thought Rob, "I sure am in luck!
+It will be no trick at all to get that stuff as soon
+as they have gone, and carry it back to the island.
+I almost wish it was going to be a harder task.
+It's a bit too much like burglary to suit me."</p>
+
+<p>But Rob was not to have such an easy time of
+it as he anticipated.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+
+<h3>A CHASE IN THE NIGHT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The men left the hut, banging the door behind
+them. Rob waited till the sound of their
+voices grew dim in the distance, and then raising
+himself cautiously he crept around to the
+door of the hut.</p>
+
+<p>The light had been extinguished, but as the
+boy had matches in his waterproof case this fact
+did not worry him. Pushing the door open Rob
+entered the place. Before striking a light he did
+all he could to assure himself that he was not
+likely to be interrupted by the sudden return of
+the men.</p>
+
+<p>Having established to his satisfaction that he
+was safe, which was not until he perceived a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>
+light on the motor boat, which lay not far from
+the hut, he proceeded to light up the lantern the
+men had left behind.</p>
+
+<p>Anxious not to lose any time on his risky task,
+he began stuffing papers and plans into his
+pockets at once. The models, or most of them,
+he decided he would have to convey to the boat
+in his arms.</p>
+
+<p>He had hardly completed the task of stowing
+the papers in his pockets, when he was startled
+at hearing footsteps coming toward the hut.
+Hastily he extinguished the light, uttering an
+inward prayer that it had not been seen. Luckily
+for himself he had taken the precaution of closing
+the door as soon as he had the lantern
+lighted.</p>
+
+<p>Just before extinguishing the lamp, he had
+gazed about the place for some spot of concealment.
+But the hut, as has been said, was a crude
+affair, and no closets or cupboards presented a
+chance of hiding. The only thing that Rob<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>
+could think of to do was to slip under the table
+and trust to a miracle that he would not be discovered.
+Hardly had he carried out his intention
+when the door opened and two men entered.</p>
+
+<p>They were the red-headed man and the pallid-faced
+individual, who appeared to act as assistants
+to Berghoff. At any rate, judging by their
+accents, they were foreigners.</p>
+
+<p>Rob had placed the lantern on the table in a
+position as much resembling that in which the
+men had left it as he could. He heard a match
+scratched and then the sputter of the flame.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't see why Berghoff sent us back to get
+that stuff," grumbled one of the men angrily;
+"it's as safe here as it would be anywhere."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, as we're getting good pay fer this job,
+we might as well obey orders," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Gee whillakers!" came a sudden exclamation
+from the man who had attempted to light the
+lantern.</p>
+
+<p>"What's up?" asked the other.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Why, the plagued thing is red hot!"</p>
+
+<p>"Red hot?" exclaimed his companion in tones
+of amazement. "How can that be when it's a
+good half hour since we put it out?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dunno, but it burned my fingers, all right."</p>
+
+<p>"Say, Mike, do you think anyone has been here
+since we left?"</p>
+
+<p>"Who could have been here? And yet, come
+to think of it, it's blamed queer. Tell you what
+we'll do."</p>
+
+<p>"What?"</p>
+
+<p>"Search this place. It won't take long."</p>
+
+<p>"Good for you," rejoined the other, while Rob
+quaked in his place of concealment.</p>
+
+<p>"There ain't many nooks or crannies, so the
+job won't take long."</p>
+
+<p>"That's right. We'll begin by looking under
+the table&mdash;&mdash;Jeehosophat!"</p>
+
+<p>The sudden exclamation was caused by Rob's
+suddenly springing up, upsetting the table and
+planting his fist full in the fellow's face. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>
+lantern was dropped in the excitement and the
+hut was plunged in darkness. Rob had come to
+his sudden decision to act as he did as the only
+way to escape the men.</p>
+
+<p>For a time it looked as if he would be successful.
+Dashing past the man who remained on
+his feet he made for the direction in which he
+knew the door lay. In fact, as the men had not
+closed it, he had no difficulty in locating it by
+the starlight outside.</p>
+
+<p>"Hey! Stop! Stop!" roared the fellow behind
+him.</p>
+
+<p>Rob sped on like the wind, using every ounce
+of running ability he possessed. Straight for the
+beach he made, devoting all his energies to a
+swiftly formed plan to get into the beached boat
+and row to safety. It was a desperate plan, but
+he had no other resources.</p>
+
+<p>He was within a few yards of the beach when
+a dark form loomed suddenly before him. In
+the starlight Rob saw something glittering in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>
+the newcomer's hand. This object was leveled at
+him, and a stern voice commanded him to stop
+or be shot.</p>
+
+<p>Rob, with a throbbing heart, pulled up. He
+recognized the voice as that of Berghoff and
+knew that if he did not obey the order the desperate
+ruffian would have no hesitation in sending
+a bullet into him.</p>
+
+<p>Berghoff, who had been aroused by the cries
+of his aides when Rob escaped from the hut,
+came up to the lad, keeping him covered with his
+wicked-looking "gun."</p>
+
+<p>"Who are you? What you doing here?" he
+demanded sternly.</p>
+
+<p>The next moment, and before Rob could reply,
+the fellow noted the Boy Scout uniform.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, ho!" he exclaimed in a malignant tone.
+"So you are one of dose Boy Scouts, eh? You
+think you pretty smart, eh? You vait. I may
+make you pay for your fun."</p>
+
+<p>There was a cold sort of malice in the man's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>
+way of speaking that actually sent a chill down
+Rob's spine.</p>
+
+<p>But he plucked up courage to make a bold
+reply.</p>
+
+<p>"I know the sort of illegal trafficking you are
+engaged in, Berghoff," he said boldly, "and I
+tell you, you had better leave me alone."</p>
+
+<p>"Is dot so?" sneered the fellow. "You haven't
+seen the last of me for a long time yet."</p>
+
+<p>"My friends will punish you for this," exclaimed
+Rob, in as confident a tone as he could
+assume.</p>
+
+<p>"It vill be a long time alretty before you see
+your friendts again," jeered the other. "Ah,
+here comes Mike and Gyp, now. Now ve findt
+out what you vos doing up by der hut."</p>
+
+<p>As the spy had said, the two men who had been
+in the hut came up at the moment.</p>
+
+<p>Berghoff instantly demanded to know what
+had occurred in the hut.</p>
+
+<p>"By gosh, cap," said the red-headed man who,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>
+it seemed, was "Mike," "it happened so sudden
+I can hardly tell you. We goes up there to get
+them papers as you told us, and the first thing
+you know out jumps this young catamount and
+hits me a swat on the jaw that 'most put me
+out fer the count."</p>
+
+<p>"That's right," corroborated his companion;
+"that's just what he done, cap."</p>
+
+<p>"How did he get here?" demanded Berghoff
+angrily.</p>
+
+<p>"Dunno, unless he flew," rejoined Mike helplessly.
+"Hadn't we better search the young varmint
+and see what he's got in his pockets?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, you had better search him at once."</p>
+
+<p>"My last chance has gone," thought Rob as
+the two fellows seized him roughly and began
+rummaging his pockets.</p>
+
+<p>It would have been worse than useless to resist,
+so Rob submitted to the search, while Berghoff
+stood looking grimly on as the papers were
+extracted from his pockets by the two ruffians.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"If only I'd hurried a little more," thought
+Rob to himself bitterly. "If only I'd hurried,
+I'd not have been in this predicament now."</p>
+
+<p>"So you almost got avay mit vot you came
+after," exclaimed Berghoff as the last of the
+papers was removed from Rob's pockets and
+handed over to the spy; "it voss an inspiration
+dot made me send my men back by der huts."</p>
+
+<p>"What will we do with the kid?" asked the
+man known as Mike.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know yet," was the rejoinder in a
+harsh voice. "Ve ought to throw him in der
+sea. He knows too much aboudt us."</p>
+
+<p>"That's right, cap," came from Gyp, the pallid-faced
+man, "it's just as Barton told us, these
+blamed Boy Scouts are on to us."</p>
+
+<p>"Vell, it don't be goodt to get ridt of him
+righdt now. Better bring him aboard the boat."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, cap. Come on, you young sneak!"
+said the man known as Mike.</p>
+
+<p>He gave Rob's arm a vicious twist, and with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>
+one of the men on either side of him, and Berghoff
+walking close behind with the revolver,
+there was no recourse for Rob but to accept the
+situation as it came. But in mind he was casting
+about desperately for a means of escape.
+None had occurred to him by the time they
+reached the motor boat, which was moored at
+a tumble-down wharf, or jetty.</p>
+
+<p>The motor boat proved to be a sixty-foot affair,
+with a cabin amidships. Into this Rob was
+gruffly ordered.</p>
+
+<p>"Get aboard now, and look slippy about it,"
+was Mike's way of urging the Boy Scout on
+board the craft.</p>
+
+<p>Rob obeyed the order with a sinking heart
+Things looked about as black as they could be,
+so even his optimistic nature was compelled to
+admit.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+
+<h3>ON BOARD A STRANGE CRAFT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Once inside the main cabin Rob was thrust
+into a small stateroom opening off the larger
+apartment. He heard the lock click as the door
+was slammed to, and knew that he was a
+prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>It was dark inside the cabin, but by feeling
+about he discovered a bunk on one side of the
+place. Critical as his situation was, the boy was
+so tired that he flung himself down on this, and,
+before long, while still pondering his quandary,
+he sank into a deep slumber.</p>
+
+<p>When he awakened it was broad daylight. By
+the motion of the craft Rob knew that she was at
+sea. Getting up from the bunk he peered out of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>
+the small porthole of the stateroom. Outside
+nothing but the ocean was to be seen. Of course
+the boy had not the slightest idea where they
+were, or how long the boat had been running.</p>
+
+<p>All he did know was that he was a prisoner,
+ravenously hungry, achingly thirsty and almost
+fagged out. His slumbers had been uneasy and
+had not refreshed him.</p>
+
+<p>Outside he could hear voices in the larger
+cabin. Crawling to the keyhole he listened intently.
+Berghoff was talking. Rob heard
+enough to convince him that the plans of the
+band had been changed.</p>
+
+<p>"There vill be a big hue undt cry ven dey
+findt oudt der boy is gone," declared Berghoff.
+"We must findt some place where we can stop till
+der excitement dies out."</p>
+
+<p>"That's right, cap," agreed one of his companions,
+"but where can we go?"</p>
+
+<p>"There are plenty of small islands further
+down the coast. One of those would suit our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>
+purpose," struck in another voice, which Rob
+recognized as that of the pallid-faced Gyp.</p>
+
+<p>"Dot's a good idea," agreed Berghoff; "gedt
+out der chart and look one up."</p>
+
+<p>The voice sank into inaudibility and Rob threw
+himself back on the bunk. At least he knew
+now what to expect, isolation and captivity with
+three desperate men. It would be wrong to say
+the lad was frightened. Possibly the very nature
+of his predicament had dulled his brain, as
+is sometimes the case.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder if they are looking for me now?"
+he mused, and with the thought came a glad
+realization that Merritt knew of the signals from
+the island and would inform the ensign of them.</p>
+
+<p>"If they only follow me up quickly, maybe
+they can overtake this craft," he said to himself,
+"although she's a fast one."</p>
+
+<p>At this juncture of Rob's cogitations the door
+was thrust open and Gyp entered with some food
+and water.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He placed them on the floor and started to
+leave the room in sullen silence, when Rob
+stopped him.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you going to do with me?" he demanded.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't ask no questions and you'll get told no
+lies," growled the man, slamming the door and
+relocking it on the outside.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," thought Rob, "it's plain that I'm to be
+kept in the dark as to my fate. Well, it's no use
+worrying. I'll tackle this food and take a good
+long drink of water and then see if I can come to
+any conclusion."</p>
+
+<p>The meal brightened Rob up wonderfully.
+After eating it he sat on the edge of the bunk
+casting about for something to keep his mind off
+his troubles, when he suddenly recollected the
+mysterious cipher found on the <i>Good Hope</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Reaching into his pocket he pulled it out and
+began figuring with the stump of a pencil on
+the back of an old envelope. But ingenious as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>
+he was, he found it hard to decipher. He tried
+half a dozen well-known systems on it and was
+about to give up in despair when he recalled the
+"Letter" method of reading cryptic numeral
+ciphers.</p>
+
+<p>This system requires the operator to figure out
+the recurrence of different numerals and the
+order in which they appear. Rob noticed that
+the number 5 occurred most frequently. Now
+E is the most used letter in any bit of English
+writing, so the lad set down 5 as answering
+for E.</p>
+
+<p>After this he figured industriously till he had
+managed to make something like sense out of the
+first paragraph of the old writing.</p>
+
+<p>It would be wearisome to take the matter step
+by step in all its details. Suffice it to say, therefore,
+that Rob found that he had hit on a correct
+system and at the end of two hours had the
+following message before him.</p>
+
+<p>"It is buried twenty-four paces from dead<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>
+cypress and to the west. The island lies in long.
+80 degrees 50 minutes and lat. 33 degrees 24
+minutes. To whoever finds this and reads it, I
+will the ivory. Death is close to me now. Good
+bye to all."</p>
+
+<p>When his task had been completed, Rob sat
+gazing at the paper before him. Unquestionably
+it gave the location of the dead whaler's cache.
+For an instant the boy thought, with a thrill, that
+he was within reach of a fortune. But the next
+moment he recalled where he was, which, in the
+interest of his task, he had forgotten. Then, too,
+he remembered that the dead man's two companions
+who marooned him on his own ship had
+probably carried out their intention of returning
+and carrying off the precious hoard.</p>
+
+<p>"So that's all of that," mused the boy, "but
+just the same, if I ever get out of this scrape, I
+mean to hunt up that island and see if I can
+locate the fate of those mammoth tusks."</p>
+
+<p>All day the boat moved swiftly along, and it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>
+was not till the following morning that anchor
+was dropped, as Rob knew by feeling the motion
+of the craft stopped, and by hearing the rattle
+of the anchor chain.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder what is going to happen to me
+now?" he mused.</p>
+
+<p>He had not long to wait.</p>
+
+<p>"Come out on deck and help us row the dinghy
+ashore," Gyp muttered as he unlocked the door.</p>
+
+<p>Heartily glad to get out of his cramped quarters,
+Rob obeyed.</p>
+
+<p>Coming on deck he found Berghoff and Mike
+already there. The former had a formidable-looking
+revolver strapped on him. The boat was
+lying off a small, sandy island, isolated from the
+others, in one of the groups that are common on
+that part of the coast.</p>
+
+<p>It was wooded and appeared to be a fine spot
+for Berghoff's purpose of remaining in seclusion
+till Rob's friends gave him up for lost, and the
+mystery of his capture blew over.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The dinghy, which hung on the davits astern,
+was lowered, and Rob roughly told to "pile in
+and row us ashore." He obeyed the order, noticing
+that in the boat were tent and camping supplies.
+Evidently these had been placed in it before
+he was called on deck.</p>
+
+<p>His heart sank as he observed these preparations
+for an extended stay on the lonely island.
+Once ashore, he was forced to help in putting
+up the tent, building a fire and doing other jobs
+to make the camp habitable. Then, without food,
+he was set to chopping wood. After a hasty
+meal, Berghoff disappeared, leaving Rob
+guarded by Gyp and Mike, who lay at full
+length smoking lazily while he worked.</p>
+
+<p>When Berghoff returned he announced that
+there was no trace of humanity on the island.
+With this statement vanished Rob's last hope of
+help. He had nourished a secret aspiration that
+there might be some campers or fishermen living
+on the place.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>When the sun set that night Rob's feelings
+were down to zero. The very fact that he was
+not closely watched seemed to prove to him the
+utter impossibility of his escaping. True, there
+was the boat, but that had been drawn up on the
+beach by his wily captors so that it would be impossible
+for him to move it without attracting
+their attention.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+
+<h3>OFF ON A SEA TRAIL.</h3>
+
+
+<p>As minutes and then hours elapsed and Rob
+did not return, Merritt became first anxious, and
+then seriously alarmed. He knew Rob's daring
+nature, and had a keen fear that it might have
+led him into doing something reckless.</p>
+
+<p>It was almost dawn when he at length determined
+to return to the encampment and seek
+out Ensign Hargreaves. By the time he had
+tramped back over the sandy dunes day was
+breaking, and in the camp of the Boy Scouts
+the notes of the morning bugle were ringing out
+cheerily. The first of the Scouts to note Merritt's
+return was Donald Grant.</p>
+
+<p>He came running toward him, and then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>
+stopped short as he noted the other's drawn, tired
+face.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, what in the world's the matter with
+you, Merry?" he gasped out. "You look as if
+you'd been drawn through a knothole. Where's
+Rob? Where have you been all night?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'll explain that later," said Merritt wearily;
+"just now I've got to find Ensign Hargreaves.
+Rob's either been kidnapped or lost."</p>
+
+<p>He hastened on, leaving the other lad rooted
+to the spot with amazement and alarm. He knew
+Merritt well enough already to realize that the
+other was not the sort of lad to overrate a situation.
+If Merritt was as scared and weary as he
+looked, something serious indeed must have
+taken place.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime Merritt hastened to Ensign
+Hargreaves' tent. Hastily arousing him, he
+hurriedly explained the whole matter. The officer
+was out of his cot in an instant.</p>
+
+<p>"You had no business to go off alone like that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>
+without notifying me," he exclaimed rather
+sharply. "Don't you know that the first duty of
+a soldier, a sailor or a scout is to obey orders?"</p>
+
+<p>Merritt crimsoned and hung his head. He
+knew that the officer was right.</p>
+
+<p>"We thought we were doing a good thing,"
+he said, "but I know now that we did wrong in
+not notifying you."</p>
+
+<p>The ensign's hand fell on the lad's shoulder.
+Then kindly enough he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Well, acknowledging that you did wrong is
+a manly thing, my boy, and we'll say no more
+about the matter. But about Rob, something
+must be done right away. Arouse Mr. Barr
+while I am dressing and we'll set about searching
+for him at once. There's little doubt in my
+mind but that he is on that island where you saw
+the signals flying."</p>
+
+<p>"But how could he get there unless he had an
+airship?" inquired Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"Hasn't it occurred to you that he might have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>
+hidden in the boat while the men were out of it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Gracious! In that case he may be their
+prisoner by this time!"</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid that there is little doubt of that.
+We must get after the rascals at once."</p>
+
+<p>By the time the ensign was dressed, Mr. Barr
+was also attired, and the two immediately began
+a discussion of plans for the rescue of Rob. But
+first the ensign wanted to know about Barton.</p>
+
+<p>It was hard for Mr. Barr to believe that the
+man whom he trusted implicitly could have
+proved traitor to him.</p>
+
+<p>"The best way to find that out is to look at
+your papers and models and see if anything is
+missing," was the response.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll do so; but I'm sure the boys must be mistaken
+in Barton. He has worked for me for
+many years."</p>
+
+<p>"Possibly the large price he was offered to
+turn over the plans of the <i>Peacemaker</i> had something
+to do with it," suggested Merritt.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps; but I'll not say anything till I find
+out definitely that something is missing."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Barr hastened off toward the shed, but returned
+before long with a countenance filled with
+apprehension.</p>
+
+<p>"My most important blue prints and models
+are missing!" he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>The ensign made a dry grimace.</p>
+
+<p>"Our young friends were right," he said. "In
+detecting the rascal they have done an excellent
+piece of scouting work. But now let us hurry
+off in search of Rob at once."</p>
+
+<p>"How will you reach that other island?" asked
+Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"We will go in the motor boat. She is fast
+and does not draw much water."</p>
+
+<p>"Can we all go along?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, we'll take one of my sailors, your chum
+Donald, Tubby Hopkins, you and myself. We
+haven't settled accounts with Barton yet, and I
+don't want him left practically alone on the
+island."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Do you think he would try to harm the submarine?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think it likely. He has probably been paid
+to injure it so that the rival power that is working
+against us can construct its submarines
+first."</p>
+
+<p>"But you are going to make him confess?"</p>
+
+<p>"If he will, yes. If not, he faces a long prison
+term, although it will be hard to prove that he
+actually stole the papers and models."</p>
+
+<p>"But we saw him answering those signals, and
+then again, last night we saw him meet the men."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid that wouldn't make very good evidence
+in a court of law," was the rejoinder.
+"But enough of this now. Tell Hawkins (one of
+the sailors) to get the boat ready, and hurry
+through your breakfast We'll start right afterward."</p>
+
+<p>"We can't start too quick for me," was the
+brisk reply. "Poor old Rob, I wonder what has
+happened to him."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>While he ate a hasty meal Merritt outlined to
+the other Scouts what had happened. Following
+this, Ensign Hargreaves announced a change
+of his plans. He had decided, he said, to take
+Barton along, not caring to leave the man on
+the island.</p>
+
+<p>"He is clever and dangerous," he said, "and
+I want him under my eye till I have decided how
+to dispose of his case."</p>
+
+<p>"You are not going to let him know you suspect
+him?" asked Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"For the present, no. As to what I shall do
+in the future, I have not yet made up my mind."</p>
+
+<p>Ten minutes later a black motor boat shot out
+of the little inlet in which she had been moored.
+As she sped seaward, making for the other island,
+those left behind set up the cry of the Eagle
+and Wolf patrols.</p>
+
+<p>Barton, looking sullen and suspicious, was at
+the engines. He knew the object of the trip, but,
+of course, had no knowledge that his part in it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>
+was suspected. Nor did any of the party show
+him by looks or words that so much as a breath
+of suspicion attached to him. This was by the
+orders of Ensign Hargreaves, who had determined
+to give the fellow plenty of rope.</p>
+
+<p>As the <i>Viper</i>, as the black motor boat was
+called, raced over the water, Merritt found himself
+gloomily contemplating the future. If anything
+serious had happened to Rob, he felt that
+he would be in a measure responsible for allowing
+the young leader of the Eagles to go off
+alone.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXII.</h2>
+
+<h3>A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Half an hour after her start, the <i>Viper</i> glided
+alongside the island from which Merritt had
+seen the signals go up the afternoon before. He
+could not forbear to take a glance at Barton as
+the ensign ordered the engines stopped.</p>
+
+<p>The machinist was stooping over the motor to
+hide his agitation; but by the trembling of his
+hands Merritt could tell that the fellow was apprehensive
+of something that might involve himself.
+As soon as the anchor dropped, the motor
+boat's dinghy was drawn up alongside and the
+ensign and Merritt boarded it. The others were
+left on board the <i>Viper</i> with whispered orders
+from the officer to watch Barton's every move.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span>
+The island was a small one, and from its highest
+point it was possible to see all around it. To
+Merritt's bitter disappointment, however, no sign
+of another motor boat was in sight. Their
+quarry had flown.</p>
+
+<p>"There's but one thing to do," declared the
+ensign; "we must make for that small hut over
+yonder and search it thoroughly. It may yield
+a clue of some kind."</p>
+
+<p>A short walk brought them to the hut which
+had been the scene of the stirring events of
+the preceding night. Hardly had they entered
+the door before Merritt gave a start of surprise
+and a swift exclamation.</p>
+
+<p>"Look! Look there!" he cried. "There's
+Rob's hat!"</p>
+
+<p>Sure enough, lying in a corner was the boy
+leader's campaign hat, which he had lost in the
+scuffle with Mike and Gyp.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that shows conclusively enough that he
+was here last night, and from that upset table<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>
+and the general look of things, I should imagine
+there had been a pretty lively scrap here," commented
+the ensign.</p>
+
+<p>"But where can Rob be now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Probably fearing discovery if they remained
+here, the men who have taken the plans and
+the models carried him off, too."</p>
+
+<p>"How will it ever be possible to obtain a clew
+as to where they have gone?"</p>
+
+<p>The ensign's answer appeared enigmatical.</p>
+
+<p>"Could you describe the motor boat you saw
+off here yesterday?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, she was of a very remarkable color&mdash;a
+light green, with a signal mast sticking up
+amidships. Then, too, her cabin was unusually
+high."</p>
+
+<p>"Good. Such a boat as that ought not to be
+very hard to locate."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't quite understand."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then I'll explain. These waters are
+fairly well traveled, and by working our wireless<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>
+we may be able to get into communication
+with some boat similarly equipped, which may
+have seen that green motor boat."</p>
+
+<p>"Cracky, that's a good idea," cried the admiring
+boy; "let's go back and try it at once."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it's small use our waiting about here.
+The rascals overreached us by getting away as
+quick as possible. I suppose they didn't want to
+run any chances of discovery."</p>
+
+<p>The return to the <i>Viper</i> was quickly made,
+and the motor boat was driven back to the Submarine
+Island at top speed. Barton tried with
+all his might to overhear what was said in the
+bow of the boat where the Boy Scouts had gathered;
+but the ensign was careful to keep his voice
+low, and then, too, the noise of the engines precluded
+the machinist from catching a word, hard
+as he strained his ears.</p>
+
+<p>Under the tutoring of Hiram Nelson, the wireless
+scout, the others had all become fair operators.
+It was agreed that day and night one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>
+of them should be at the apparatus, seeking for
+news of the green motor boat.</p>
+
+<p>It was the ensign's opinion that the craft would
+not put into a port immediately, fearing a hue
+and cry, but would cruise about or hide in some
+little frequented part of the coast. But he hoped
+that if the wireless "caught" some vessel that
+had spoken to her, he could at least obtain a line
+on which direction she had taken.</p>
+
+<p>The first "session" at the wireless was taken
+by Hiram, then came the others in rotation; but
+when at ten o'clock that night Donald, who had
+learned wireless on his father's yacht, came on
+duty, there had come no word from the air of
+a green motor boat. Several ships had been
+spoken to, but not one reported anything to give
+the boys hope.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, good-night, old man," said Merritt, as
+Donald, who relieved him, came on duty, "and
+good luck."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll keep a good watch out, all right," was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>
+the earnest response. "It's our only way to get
+poor old Rob back."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid so," sighed Merritt, leaving the
+place with a despondent air. As Donald had said,
+it was a chance&mdash;but what a long, seemingly
+hopeless one!</p>
+
+<p>Donald, left alone, began sending out calls,
+and every little while he paused for an answer
+out of space to his appeals. As he pressed the
+sending key the blue, lithe spark leaped and
+crackled between its points like a fiery snake.
+Then all would become silent again as he listened
+for an answer to his call.</p>
+
+<p>Once he caught a steamer bound north and
+carried on quite a conversation with its operator.
+He felt quite lonesome when he closed down his
+sending apparatus with a parting "good-bye."</p>
+
+<p>It was very still about the encampment. So
+still, in fact, that the boy began to feel more and
+more lonesome. He longed for someone to talk
+to; but he knew that chance would not come till
+Tubby, his relief, appeared.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The stout youth was almost due when Donald
+suddenly got into communication with a steamer
+called the <i>Cambria</i>, bound north from New Orleans
+to New York. He put his customary query
+about the green motor boat.</p>
+
+<p>"A green motor boat?" came back the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," flashed Donald.</p>
+
+<p>"With one signal mast and a high cabin?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes! yes," shot out Donald, pounding the key
+excitedly. "Have you seen such a craft?"</p>
+
+<p>"We sighted her this evening."</p>
+
+<p>The boy's fingers shook as he wrote down the
+reply with flying pencil on the scratch pad at his
+elbow.</p>
+
+<p>"Down off some islands about Lat. 80 deg.,
+Long. 33 deg.," came the answer. "She was
+coming straight toward us and then all of a sudden
+she headed away. Seemed like she didn't
+want to get near us. Is that all?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; good-bye, and thank you," flashed back
+Donald exultantly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>His fingers had hardly left the key before he
+was startled by a soft footfall behind him.</p>
+
+<p>The boy wheeled like a flash and then almost
+fell off his chair. Facing him, with an ugly-looking
+revolver in his hand, was Barton, the
+machinist.</p>
+
+<p>There was a mean sneer on his sinister face
+as he snarled out:</p>
+
+<p>"Let me see that message and let me see it
+quick."</p>
+
+<p>"I've got no message for you," responded Donald,
+determined not to let the man know that he
+had information of the green motor boat's
+whereabouts.</p>
+
+<p>"That's a lie," snarled Barton; "don't monkey
+with me. I've got this gun and, jingo, I know
+how to use it, too."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE DEPTHS OF OLD OCEAN.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Just as Donald, who was no match physically
+for the burly machinist, was pondering what to
+do, the door which was open became filled by a
+rotund figure.</p>
+
+<p>It was Tubby.</p>
+
+<p>In a jiffy he took in the scene, the threatening
+attitude of Barton, the alarmed look of Donald,
+who stood staring at the revolver like a bird
+fascinated by a snake. Tubby realized that it
+was no time for thinking the situation over. Instead,
+he crouched low, and then, darting forward
+with surprising agility, he seized the
+machinist around the legs before the fellow knew
+what was happening.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Taken utterly by surprise, and borne off his
+feet by Tubby's rush, Barton came crashing to
+the floor in a heap. As he fell the revolver exploded,
+the bullet passing by Donald's head.</p>
+
+<p>Barton struggled desperately with Tubby, but
+the stout youth held on to him like a leech, at
+the same time yelling for help. In a few seconds
+the ensign and Mr. Barr came rushing in, followed
+by the Boy Scouts and the sailors. There
+was an end to the battle then and there. After
+a brief resistance Barton, snarling and cursing,
+was tied hand and foot, and the ensign ordered
+him locked up in the dining room shed for the
+present.</p>
+
+<p>Donald soon told his story and proudly exhibited
+the message from the air which told of
+sighting the green motor boat. All agreed that
+it was a cheering bit of news.</p>
+
+<p>"If they were near a lot of islands when
+sighted, it is most probable that they are hiding
+on one of the group. At all events, having the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>
+latitude and longitude, it will be easy to go down
+there and see."</p>
+
+<p>"What are you going to do about Barton? We
+have full proof of his villainy now," struck in
+Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose we shall have to take him along
+with us. We can't waste time going ashore
+now and risking the law's delays. We will go
+down the coast in the submarine with the <i>Viper</i>
+acting as escort, and Barton a prisoner on the
+<i>Peacemaker</i>," decided the ensign.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder why he was so anxious to see
+that message?" spoke Tubby.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess he knew we were trying to trace the
+green motor boat, and was watching the wireless
+through that window. When he saw Donald
+busy taking a message, he guessed what it
+was, and decided that it was necessary for him
+to see it," hazarded Mr. Barr. "How I have
+been deceived in the rascal!"</p>
+
+<p>"You certainly have. His actions show him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>
+to be a scoundrel of the worst type," agreed the
+ensign.</p>
+
+<p>There was not much more sleep for anybody
+that night. Excitement ran far too high for
+that. An attempt was made to force Barton to
+confess his part in the conspiracy, but he sullenly
+refused to talk.</p>
+
+<p>"You've got nothing on me," was all he would
+vouchsafe. "Anything those tin soldier kids tell
+you is patched up out of whole cloth."</p>
+
+<p>Slumber being out of the question, the rest of
+the night was devoted to stocking both craft
+with food and water in good quantities. In this
+work the Scouts helped with a will. They were
+aided by the three sailors, who were to be left
+behind to guard the island, and therefore did not
+work any too hard.</p>
+
+<p>Dawn found all in readiness, and at the summons
+of the bugle all lined up before Ensign
+Hargreaves to receive their orders. To the submarine
+were assigned Merritt and Donald, besides<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>
+Mr. Barr, Ensign Hargreaves, and the
+prisoner Barton. The <i>Viper's</i> crew was captained
+by Tubby, a capable motor boat engineer,
+and Hiram and the others. When this had been
+done, Barton was led before Ensign Hargreaves.</p>
+
+<p>"Barton," said he sternly, "you have acted
+the part of a scoundrel and should be behind the
+bars now. But I need you for work, and upon
+the manner in which you perform it, will depend
+just how severe your punishment will be. Cast
+him loose, men, and take him into the engine
+room of the submarine. You are to stand by for
+orders."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll try to do my best, sir," rejoined Barton
+in a soft tone of voice, very unusual for him.
+"I'm sorry, sir, for what I did, but I was led
+astray by promises of money."</p>
+
+<p>This change in the man was almost startling.
+From a sullen, morose fellow he had suddenly,
+or so it seemed, become a dutiful, attentive man,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>
+willing to obey orders and do his best. Was
+all this genuine? We shall have to go further to
+see.</p>
+
+<p>There being no excuse for delay, and as all
+were anxious to get off as quickly as possible,
+the two craft were boarded. The hatch of the
+submarine was left open for the present, for it
+was the intention of the ensign to run "awash,"
+as it is called.</p>
+
+<p>The motor boat running very nearly as fast as
+the submarine, they kept each other company
+down the coast with little difficulty. It was fine,
+exciting sport in the motor boat as it cut its way
+over the swells, hurling spray and water out to
+either side of its sharp bow. If only the boys
+had had Rob with them, they would have enjoyed
+it much more, though.</p>
+
+<p>All that was visible of the submarine was the
+top of her conning tower, and the slender, needle-like
+"eye" of the periscope. The water surged
+round her conning tower as she rushed along,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>
+for all the world like some sea monster speeding
+on an errand of destruction. She was not going
+full speed, for the ensign wished to keep company
+with the motor boat.</p>
+
+<p>At noon, just as the lads on the motor boat
+were settling down to lunch cooked on a blue-flame
+stove, a head was thrust out of the conning
+tower. It was that of Mr. Barr.</p>
+
+<p>"We are going to run under the surface in
+a short time," he said; "just follow your same
+course, and you'll pick us up when we rise
+again."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," shouted Tubby, his mouth full of
+ham sandwich, which he held in one hand, while
+with the other he clasped a big wedge of pie.</p>
+
+<p>The hatch on top of the conning tower closed
+shortly after with a metallic "clang." The next
+instant the craft vanished from view in a swirl
+of water. For a time the tip of the periscope
+tube, which was twenty-five feet long, projected
+above the surface; then that, too, vanished, and
+the motor boat was alone on the ocean.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>On board the submarine the lads were enjoying
+themselves as much as their fellow Scouts
+on the motor boat. This second experience was
+even more novel and enjoyable than their first
+dive. Mr. Barr sat in the cabin reading some
+scientific works. Barton, seemingly a changed
+character, was at work in the engine room. The
+negro cook was in the galley, while in the conning
+tower the ensign was giving Donald and
+Merritt a lesson in handling a diving craft.</p>
+
+<p>In fact, it was Merritt who was at the deflecting
+apparatus when the occupants of Tubby's
+boat saw the submarine sink.</p>
+
+<p>"That is the descending lever and this the ascending
+one," explained the officer before Merritt
+sent the boat under the surface.</p>
+
+<p>The levers were small affairs and looked
+fragile for the work they did of starting up the
+mighty pumps that caused the boat to rise or
+sink at will.</p>
+
+<p>"What if one of them should break or be
+lost?" asked Donald.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, if we were under water and the ascending
+lever happened to be missing, we should be
+in an awkward position, and I don't believe that
+Mr. Barr carries an extra one."</p>
+
+<p>"Gracious! Then if the lever was lost we
+should have to stay at the bottom of the sea?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's about the size of it," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Barr, coming into the conning tower just
+then, confirmed the officer's suspicion that no
+extra lever was carried.</p>
+
+<p>"I admit there ought to be one as a matter of
+precaution," he said, "but we were in such a
+hurry to give the boat her tests that we forgot
+about it."</p>
+
+<p>All the afternoon the submarine ran under
+the water, rising about sunset to the surface.
+In the distance was the motor boat, but far in
+the rear. The <i>Peacemaker</i> was sent around in
+circle and soon came alongside her companion
+craft.</p>
+
+<p>Then the hatchway was opened and the ensign<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>
+shouted some orders to Tubby. The submarine
+was going to dive once more, but would
+come up before dark. When night fell a red
+light would be carried astern which the motor
+craft was to follow throughout the night. When
+this had been made clear, the <i>Peacemaker</i> dived
+once more, but this time it had been decided to
+send her down to a good depth.</p>
+
+<p>"We will eat an early supper under water just
+for the novelty of it," declared Mr. Barr.</p>
+
+<p>While the meal was going forward Barton was
+sent into the conning tower to navigate the craft.
+He obeyed with the same smooth complacence
+with which he had received every order since
+his attack on Donald. Evidently the man was
+hoping, by good behavior, to save himself from
+a long jail sentence.</p>
+
+<p>After supper Barton was relieved, and Merritt
+sent to the wheel in his place. He had been in
+the conning tower but a short time when he was
+joined by Ensign Hargreaves and Mr. Barr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I guess we'll go to the surface now," said the
+inventor; "it must be almost dark up above."</p>
+
+<p>Merritt reached for the lever that operated the
+ascending pumps. Right then he received the
+most acute and alarming shock of his life.</p>
+
+<p>There was no lever there!</p>
+
+<p>"It's gone!" he shouted.</p>
+
+<p>"What? What's gone?" repeated the inventor
+in a puzzled tone.</p>
+
+<p>"The lever! The ascending lever! We can't
+rise to the surface without it."</p>
+
+<p>The inventor turned pale. Drops of sweat
+stood out on his forehead. Even the ensign
+turned a shade whiter than usual.</p>
+
+<p>If the lever could not be discovered, they were
+doomed to an awful death in the depths of the
+sea!</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2>
+
+<h3>ROB MAKES A DISCOVERY.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Rob, disconsolate and miserable, passed a bad
+night, and rose early. As his captors were still
+asleep and had, apparently, made no effort to
+guard him, he decided to make a tour of the
+island himself. For one thing, he was by no
+means sure that Berghoff had been speaking the
+truth when he said that the place was uninhabited;
+and again he thought that some form of
+escape might present itself if only he investigated
+the place thoroughly.</p>
+
+<p>So the lad tiptoed out of the camp, first taking
+the precaution to fill his pockets with food. He
+headed straight into the woods, planning to come
+out again when he had traveled a safe distance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>
+from the camp. He followed out this idea, pushing
+his way through the brush for a time, and
+then emerging on a strip of white beach that
+seemed to extend around the island.</p>
+
+<p>He trudged along, keeping a bright lookout,
+but saw nothing that would further his prospects
+of getting away. All at once, though, as he came
+around the other side of the little spot of land,
+he saw another island lying at no great distance
+off. And on the beach of this island was a boat.</p>
+
+<p>A more welcome sight could not have presented
+itself to the boy's eyes just then. It meant
+that there was somebody on the island,&mdash;somebody
+who would surely be glad to help out a lad
+in his predicament.</p>
+
+<p>"But how on earth am I to get over there?"
+mused the lad. "The tide is running like a mill
+race, and I don't know whether I'm a strong
+enough swimmer to buck it."</p>
+
+<p>Then another idea occurred to him. Just
+above him was a small point of land. By going<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>
+into the water from the end of this, he would
+be some distance above the island he wished to
+gain, and the current, would, therefore, carry
+him down.</p>
+
+<p>"If I only could get a log or something,"
+thought the boy; "it wouldn't take me long to
+get over there."</p>
+
+<p>He started to hunt for a log that would suit
+his requirements; but logs didn't seem very
+plentiful in that vicinity. In his search, he re&euml;ntered
+the woods, and after looking about a bit
+succeeded in finding one that would just suit his
+purpose.</p>
+
+<p>Stooping down, he lifted it, and then jumped
+back with a startled exclamation. A huge black
+snake had been coiled under the log, and now
+it struck at him, hissing and darting its red
+tongue in and out, and showing its vicious
+fangs!</p>
+
+<p>Before Rob could avoid the creature's attack,
+it had wrapped itself around his arm, fastening
+its fangs into his sleeve.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 321px;">
+<img src="images/i005.jpg" width="321" height="450" alt="HE TOPPLED BACKWARD OVER THE BRINK AND PLUNGED DOWN INTO THE SWIFTLY FLOWING CURRENT BENEATH." title="" />
+<span class="caption">HE TOPPLED BACKWARD OVER THE BRINK AND PLUNGED DOWN INTO THE SWIFTLY FLOWING CURRENT BENEATH.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Rob battled desperately with the reptile, which
+lashed its tail and hissed with vicious intonations.
+The feel of the creature's grip was loathsome
+to the boy, and although its fangs had not
+penetrated his tough khaki coat, they might do
+so at any moment.</p>
+
+<p>In the battle Rob backed out of the woods,
+striving all the time to free himself, and unconsciously
+stepped nearer and nearer to the water's
+edge. Before he realized his position he toppled
+backward over the brink and plunged down into
+the swiftly flowing current beneath.</p>
+
+<p>Down he went until it seemed he must strike
+the bottom! But his fall into the channel had
+had one good effect. The snake was not gripping
+his arm any more. When he shot to the
+surface he saw it swimming for its life, but
+being carried away from the shore.</p>
+
+<p>In fact, the same thing was the case with Rob.
+The grip of the water drew him far from the
+island he had just vacated in such an unceremonious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>
+manner, and hurried him toward the
+spot of land where he had seen the boat. Striking
+out with all his might, the lad fought the
+current so as to reach the other island before the
+water hurried him past it. It was a hard fight
+even for a powerful swimmer like Rob. His
+clothes encumbered him cruelly, too; but at
+last, almost exhausted, he touched bottom and
+reeled ashore.</p>
+
+<p>For a time he could do nothing but lie there
+gasping. Had his life depended on it, he could
+not have moved hand or foot. But at length
+his youthful vitality came to his aid and he rose
+to his feet to look about him.</p>
+
+<p>The current had landed him on a part of the
+beach from which the boat he had spied was not
+visible. But he knew in which direction it lay,
+and started out for it. As he rounded a small
+promontory he came upon it, a heavily-built,
+rickety-looking old thing, but still a boat.</p>
+
+<p>Rob in his present situation would have taken
+anything that would float.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I'll examine it first and then go hunt up the
+owner and make a bargain with him for it," he
+thought.</p>
+
+<p>With this intention he approached the craft,
+and the next instant received one of the cruellest
+shocks of his life.</p>
+
+<p>The boat was a mere shell, falling to pieces
+from age and exposure to the hot sun. It must
+have been years since she had been used, and
+Rob's experienced eye saw that she would have
+sunk like a stone the instant she was put in the
+water. It was a bitter blow to the lad, and for a
+time he sank down on the sand, completely
+knocked out.</p>
+
+<p>But after a time he rallied his spirits.</p>
+
+<p>"After all," he mused, "there may be somebody
+living on the island and that boat may be
+just an old one they have discarded. I'll dry
+my clothes and then start out to investigate."</p>
+
+<p>With the drying of his clothes, Rob made an
+alarming discovery. The food he had taken was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>
+most of it reduced to pulp by its immersion,
+some canned goods alone remaining edible.</p>
+
+<p>"That makes it all the more urgent for me to
+find some aid," he said to himself; "I don't think
+that bunch on the motor boat will trouble to
+look for me. I guess they'd be glad to leave
+me here if this is a deserted island. In that
+case, I might die here before aid came."</p>
+
+<p>But thrusting all such thoughts as that aside,
+Rob determined to meet the situation like a
+brave Scout.</p>
+
+<p>"I won't give up till I'm at the last ditch," he
+said to himself with determination, as he put on
+his clothes. "I'll fight it out to the end."</p>
+
+<p>Somehow this resolution of his made the boy
+feel better. With renewed courage he set out
+to explore the island. But he made the circuit
+of it in vain. There was not a trace to be found
+of human habitation nor any indication, except
+the stranded, sun-dried boat, that anyone but
+himself had ever landed there.</p>
+
+<p>So despondent did he feel over this discovery<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>
+that had he possessed the strength to do so, he
+would have swum back to the other island and
+thrown himself on the mercy of his recent captors.
+But this was now out of the question.</p>
+
+<p>Unless he could find some way out of his
+dilemma, it looked as if he would indeed be
+doomed to leave his bones on those sands. The
+thought was a dreadful one, and although it
+was a warm, almost tropical day, the boy shivered
+and cold sweat ran down his face.</p>
+
+<p>If he were indeed to die there, nobody would
+ever know his fate, in all probability. He had
+failed in his mission to recover the papers, too.
+Altogether he felt in a very miserable frame of
+mind. It was in this mood that, in order to keep
+his mind off his predicament, more than anything
+else, he fell to examining the old boat again.
+There might be some way to patch her up, he
+thought desperately, hoping against hope.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly he made a discovery that set his
+heart to beating wildly. On the stern board of
+the boat was cut the name "<i>Good Hope!</i>"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXV.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE DEAD MAN'S HOARD.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The "<i>Good Hope!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>What a crowd of memories the name brought
+buzzing about the boy! The lone derelict, the
+figure in the mouldering cabin, the&mdash;the plan in
+his pocket!</p>
+
+<p>With fingers that trembled Rob drew out the
+solution of the cryptogram and read it over.</p>
+
+<p>Then he held his head in his hands a moment
+to keep it from whirling round.</p>
+
+<p>Could it be possible that this was the island
+where the hoard of century-old ivory was buried?
+Had he stumbled by a complete accident upon
+the cache that had sent one man to his death?</p>
+
+<p>Then he recalled that on his trip of exploration<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>
+he had noticed a big dead cypress on the other
+side of the island. But if this was the veritable
+island where the whalers had buried their
+ivory, why was the boat lying there mouldering
+on the beach? Why had they not left again?</p>
+
+<p>The more the boy thought of it, the more mysterious
+and inexplicable the whole thing became.
+He resolved to go back to the dead cypress and
+follow the directions of the cryptic message of
+the captain of the <i>Good Hope</i>.</p>
+
+<p>As has been said, the island was not a large
+one, and he was not long in reaching the gaunt,
+dead tree. Somehow he felt a chill go through
+him as he stood beneath its leafless gray limbs.
+It reminded him oddly of that skeleton in the
+deck house of the derelict.</p>
+
+<p>But he pulled himself together and struck off
+into the woods in a direction that, by using his
+watch as a compass, he knew to be the west. The
+undergrowth was thick, but after going a few
+paces, he reached an open space.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In the centre of this was a sight that made his
+heart jump and then beat wildly. Strewn in
+every direction were big tusks of yellow ivory,
+evidently lying just as they had been dug from
+the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Rob was still contemplating them when his
+eye caught the flutter of a rag of cloth at the
+edge of the open space. Attracted by a curiosity
+he could not account for, he made his way
+toward it. If the sight of the ivory had made
+him jump, what he now saw sent a chill of horror
+down his spine. The rag that had fluttered
+had been part of the clothing of what had once
+been two men.</p>
+
+<p>Both lay close together, their bones showing
+where the cloth had worn away under Time's
+finger. A pair of rusty pistols lying by each
+showed how they had come to their death. The
+whole tragedy was as clear to Rob as if he had
+seen it:&mdash;the quarrel between the two ivory
+stealers, the duel with the pistols, and the death<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>
+of both combatants beside the treasure pile they
+had done so much wickedness to acquire.</p>
+
+<p>"Truly that figure in the deck house is
+avenged," thought Rob, gazing with horror-stricken
+eyes at the things before him. "Death
+was indeed the wages of sin in their case."</p>
+
+<p>Turning from the grisly relics of that far-off
+duel on the lonely island, Rob fell to examining
+the ivory. There was a large quantity of it.</p>
+
+<p>"It must be worth an immense sum," he
+thought.</p>
+
+<p>But in the very moment of his triumph, Rob
+suddenly recollected what, in his excitement, he
+had entirely forgotten for the moment. He was
+a castaway on a strange, uninhabited island, with
+only a few tins of beef between him and starvation.
+Thirst he did not fear, for close to where
+he had struggled ashore was a spring of sweet,
+cool water.</p>
+
+<p>Rob made his way back to the beach and the
+boat. Inside the boat he now noticed what had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>
+hitherto escaped his attention. There were several
+hundred feet of light rope which seemed to
+be still in fairly good condition. There was, too,
+a pair of oars. At the same moment the boy was
+seized by a sudden idea. He could get away
+from the island, and in a boat, too!</p>
+
+<p>His Boy Scout training had made him fertile
+in ideas, and if the present one succeeded it
+would mean his escape from a terrible fate.</p>
+
+<div class='center'><big><b>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.</b></big></div>
+
+
+<p>Ensign Hargreaves and Mr. Barr looked
+sternly at each other.</p>
+
+<p>"There is only one man who could have taken
+that lever," said the ensign.</p>
+
+<p>"And that is who?"</p>
+
+<p>"The rascal Barton."</p>
+
+<p>"But for what possible object?"</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot think unless he has hidden it and
+will only give it up as the price of his liberty."</p>
+
+<p>"But if he keeps us down here, he will die,
+too."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"He is playing his life against ours and he
+holds the cards."</p>
+
+<p>"Not for long. Come below at once. We
+must act quickly. There is a chance he still has
+it on his person."</p>
+
+<p>Down the stairs they ran, leaving Merritt at
+the wheel with a sinking feeling of fear clutching
+at his heart. If Barton, turned desperate,
+had hidden the key and would not reveal its hiding
+place, it meant that they must remain in the
+depths till death put an end to their sufferings.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime, the ensign and Mr. Barr,
+both excited, had rushed through the cabin and
+toward the engine room. As they approached
+the door, it was slammed and a pistol thrust
+through a small hole in it, which had been cut
+for ventilation.</p>
+
+<p>Then Barton's voice came ringing out:</p>
+
+<p>"Don't come a step closer unless you want to
+get a bullet in you."</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter, man, are you mad?" exclaimed
+Mr. Barr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A shriek of demoniacal laughter was the sole
+response.</p>
+
+<p>It sent a shudder through everyone who heard
+it. The man was mad, violently insane. The
+seeds of lunacy, which had been germinating in
+his brain for a long time, had burst forth into
+a terrible harvest.</p>
+
+<p>"And on that man everyone of our lives depends,"
+breathed the ensign.</p>
+
+<p>Then in a louder tone, which rang with authority:</p>
+
+<p>"Barton, did you take that ascending lever?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; ha-ha-ha! It's a good joke on you!
+You thought you'd put me in prison, but now
+we'll all die together."</p>
+
+<p>"Barton," pleaded Mr. Barr, "be rational.
+Return that lever and you shall have immunity."</p>
+
+<p>"It's too late now!" screamed the demented
+wretch. "We'll all die together in the depths of
+the sea, where dead men's bones rot and the fish
+eat their eyes out."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A hasty consultation followed between the ensign
+and Mr. Barr. The man was undoubtedly
+violently insane, and there didn't seem a chance
+in the world of dislodging him from his position.</p>
+
+<p>The situation was the more serious from the
+fact that the fresh air devices were not working
+properly and the air inside the submarine
+was already getting noticeably stale and foul.</p>
+
+<p>"We must rush that door; it's our only
+chance," declared the officer in a whispered
+voice.</p>
+
+<p>"But he is liable to shoot," objected Mr.
+Barr, eying the blued-steel muzzle of the revolver
+which was pointed threateningly at them.</p>
+
+<p>"It cannot be helped. It means death in a fearful
+form if we do not dislodge him from that
+position, and a man in his condition cannot
+listen to reason."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what do you propose?"</p>
+
+<p>"That you start talking to him to distract his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>
+attention, offer him money or anything to give
+up the lever. Then I'll watch my chance and
+rush in on him; thank goodness, that door has
+no lock on it."</p>
+
+<p>"Barton!" said Mr. Barr, in a resonant voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Well?" snarled the lunatic.</p>
+
+<p>"Be calm now and listen to reason. Is it
+money you wish?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, blood! Human lives!" shrieked the
+maniac.</p>
+
+<p>At precisely that instant, like a projectile from
+a gun the ensign's powerful body shot forward.
+Crash came his solid one hundred and
+eighty-five pounds against the door.</p>
+
+<p>At the same instant there was another crash,
+the sharp crack of a revolver! In that confined
+space it sounded terribly loud.</p>
+
+<p>"He's shot him!" cried Mr. Barr.</p>
+
+<p>But Barton had done nothing of the kind.
+The attack had been utterly unexpected by him,
+and as the door banged against him with terrific<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>
+force, he had been knocked down. As he
+fell the revolver exploded; before he could pull
+the trigger a second time the powerful young
+officer of Uncle Sam's Navy was upon the man.
+Barton fought like a wildcat, and with the superhuman
+strength of those afflicted with insanity.</p>
+
+<p>At last, however, he was overpowered and,
+raving incoherently, was tied hand and foot and
+carried out to the cabin where he was placed on
+a lounge. Mr. Barr, who knew something of
+medicine, gave him a calming dose from the submarine's
+medicine chest, and he became less violent.</p>
+
+<p>"Barton, where did you put that lever?" demanded
+the ensign.</p>
+
+<p>The man whimpered like a child.</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I don't remember," he gasped out.</p>
+
+<p>Consternation showed on every face. Already
+the air was getting worse and worse.</p>
+
+<p>The ensign bent over the bound man, who was
+now crying weakly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You must remember, man. You must, I
+say!" he snapped, in tones that cut like the crack
+of a whip. "Think! think! our lives depend upon
+it!"</p>
+
+<p>"If I knew, I would tell you," murmured the
+man; "but I don't. I don't remember."</p>
+
+<p>A stillness like death itself settled on the occupants
+of the cabin. Barton had accomplished
+his insane purpose only too well, it seemed.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVI.</h2>
+
+<h3>WHICH WILL WIN?</h3>
+
+
+<p>Rob's idea was a simple enough one. With
+his knife he would cut bundles of branches and
+then bind them to the sides of the boat with the
+rope. This would at least keep the crazy craft
+afloat and offer him a means of reaching the
+shore.</p>
+
+<p>He set to work at once with great enthusiasm,
+and by dusk his strange-looking boat was ready
+to be launched. By placing round branches
+under it for rollers and using another branch
+as a lever, he soon succeeded in getting it into
+the water. But it was hard work, and he paused
+to eat some of his canned beef before going any
+further.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>To his huge delight the boat, though lopsided
+and half full of water, was buoyed up by the
+branches, and he had no doubt that he could
+navigate her with the oars. As soon as he had
+finished his unappetizing meal, Rob clambered
+on board his "ark," as he mentally called her,
+and thrust the oars into the rowlocks. The boat
+was very heavy, and owing to her waterlogged
+condition pulled very hard. Worse still, Rob
+encountered a current that carried him toward
+the other island, the one he had left that morning;
+and even worse, a fact he presently perceived,
+his craft was being carried around a
+point, on the opposite side of which he could see
+the glow of a fire against the night sky; for by
+this time it was dark. Rob was heartily glad
+that this was the case, for he knew that the fire
+must be that of the rascals who had abducted
+him, and in the darkness he might slip by them
+unnoticed.</p>
+
+<p>Luckily the current set a bit from the shore at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>
+this point, and although the boy could hear the
+three rascals carousing around their fire over a
+keg of spirits, and singing and shouting at the
+top of their voices, they could not see him, partly
+because of their condition, and partly because of
+the firelight.</p>
+
+<p>Past the camp, with its carousing inmates, the
+boy was carried, and suddenly his boat was
+bumped against something. Rob looked around.
+At first he thought he had struck a rock. Instead
+he saw before him the green motor boat.</p>
+
+<p>Like a flash an inspiration came to him. He
+clambered on board, and not till he was fairly
+on deck did he recollect that he had neglected to
+tie his ark to the side.</p>
+
+<p>He looked over the stern rail. In the dim
+light he could see his clumsy craft drifting off,
+bobbing up and down on the tide.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I've burned my bridges behind me
+now," he exclaimed to himself. "If I can't carry
+this thing through, I'll be cold meat by morning."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Just at that moment came a shout from the
+outlaws carousing on the beach.</p>
+
+<p>Keener-eyed than his companions, Berghoff
+had spied a dark form on the motor boat, silhouetted
+against the thickly sprinkled stars.</p>
+
+<p>"There's someone stealing our boat. After
+him, boys!" Rob heard the fellow roar.</p>
+
+<p>Then he ducked as a volley of bullets came
+whizzing over his head. His next move was to
+clamber forward, keeping as low as possible till
+he reached the anchor chain.</p>
+
+<p>There was no time to haul in, for the men had
+already run down the beach and launched their
+small boat.</p>
+
+<p>Rob merely knocked out a shackle pin and
+let the whole thing go. This done, he scrambled
+back and descended to the engine room.</p>
+
+<p>"If I can't make this old tea-kettle go, I'm
+a gone coon," he admitted to himself with grim
+humor, as he switched on gasoline and spark,
+and turned the fly wheel over.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>
+Outside the shouts were coming closer every
+instant, and the motor showed no signs of intending
+to start.</p>
+
+<div class='center'><big><b>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.</b></big></div>
+
+
+<p>It was Donald, the Wolf Scout, who saved the
+day for the prisoners of the submarine.</p>
+
+<p>As Barton rolled about whimpering and cursing
+by turns, he spied a bright object protruding
+from the man's pocket.</p>
+
+<p>"Is&mdash;is that the lever?" he asked, in tones that
+trembled with excitement.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Barr darted on the object and pulled it
+out with a shout of triumph.</p>
+
+<p>"Once more the Boy Scouts have saved the
+day!" he cried. "It is the lever, sure enough!"</p>
+
+<p>Close as the atmosphere of the cabin had by
+this time become, they all found breath enough
+to give three ringing cheers. In the conning
+tower Merritt, at the wheel, heard them, and
+guessed what they meant.</p>
+
+<p>Fifteen minutes later the submarine was shooting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>
+upward to the surface toward the blessed air.
+With what speed the hatch was opened when
+they reached the surface and could inhale the
+pure ozone once more, may be imagined. As
+soon as they had somewhat recovered a red light
+was shown from the stern, and presently the
+<i>Viper</i> came chugging up.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, where in the world have you been?"
+asked Tubby.</p>
+
+<p>"Where <i>under</i> the world, you mean," laughed
+Merritt; "but for a time it was no laughing matter,
+I assure you."</p>
+
+<p>He then gave his fellow Scout a description
+of all they had undergone. When the excitement
+was over, word was given to get under
+way once more, and with the submarine leading,
+and the <i>Viper</i> following the red light, they held
+their courses toward the south.</p>
+
+<p>It was dawn when they found themselves off
+a maze of small islands and islets. Donald had
+the wheel, and was gazing ahead as the submarine,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>
+at reduced speed, threaded her way
+among the shoals and sand bars.</p>
+
+<p>All at once he saw something coming toward
+them that made his pulses beat far above normal.</p>
+
+<p>It was a green motor boat, with a single military
+mast and a high cabin.</p>
+
+<p>He lost no time in notifying everybody, and
+the submarine decks were soon crowded.</p>
+
+<p>"Better get below, boys," warned the ensign;
+"that is undoubtedly the rascals' boat. In fact,
+Merritt says he recognizes it. They are desperate
+fellows, and when they see we have them
+cornered, they will put up a fight. If they run,
+I mean to pursue them to the bitter end."</p>
+
+<p>Reluctantly the boys went below, while the
+ensign and Mr. Barr stood on the foredeck, revolvers
+in hand.</p>
+
+<p>But although whoever was on the green boat
+must have seen them, the craft came right on.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, they actually mean to fight," gasped
+Mr. Barr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"They're nervy fellows, all right," commented
+the ensign; "we may have a tougher time of it
+than we think, Barr."</p>
+
+<p>He turned and warned Tubby to take his boat
+back out of range. On and on came the green
+boat without making a sign of any kind, hostile
+or otherwise.</p>
+
+<p>"What can they be up to?" wondered the ensign
+in tones of blank amazement.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely twenty feet intervened between the
+two boats now, when suddenly a boyish figure,
+bareheaded and clad in a Boy Scout uniform,
+leaped to the rail of the green craft.</p>
+
+<p>"Kre-ee-ee-ee!" he shrilled out.</p>
+
+<p>"The call of the Eagle Patrol!" gasped Mr.
+Barr.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and by all that's wonderful, that lad is
+Rob Blake!" fairly shouted the ensign, waving
+his cap.</p>
+
+<p>By this time Tubby, too, had recognized his
+leader. The air rang with cheers, shouts, questions
+and answers in a perfect babble of sound.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, who on earth but a Boy Scout could
+get himself kidnapped and then kidnap his abductors'
+boat!" exclaimed the ensign that evening
+as they lay at anchor off Rob's "Ivory Island."</p>
+
+<p>The climax of a wonderful day had been
+reached. Only one thing marred it. The rascals
+who had pursued Rob, for he only got the engine
+going in the nick of time, had got clear away in
+the rowboat. Possibly they hailed a passing
+steamer and were picked up.</p>
+
+<p>But, after all, their escape, while annoying,
+was not of so much importance, for in their
+haste they had left behind the most important
+papers and models, and the ones they had taken
+were valueless, Mr. Barr declared, without the
+missing ones.</p>
+
+<p>The next day, after a long evening of jollity,
+the <i>Viper</i> set out for Jamesport, S. C., with the
+unfortunate Barton bound with ropes to keep
+him from further violent manifestations. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>
+poor man never recovered his reason, but died
+shortly after being admitted to an asylum. It
+appeared that in his youth he had been an inmate
+of an institution for the feeble-minded, but
+had been discharged as cured.</p>
+
+<p>On the <i>Viper's</i> return, work was begun on
+transferring the ivory, which was ultimately sold
+for an amount that netted all of them a handsome
+sum; for Rob insisted on sharing his good
+fortune with all his comrades.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVII.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE ENDURANCE RUN.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The ensuing days, following the return to
+the island, were filled to overflowing with activity.
+Exhaustive tests only made the <i>Peacemaker</i>
+appear to be more and more the ideal
+type of boat for her particular work. By means
+of the island wireless Ensign Hargreaves, using
+"code" of course, sent glowing accounts to
+Washington of the progress of the tests. In
+these despatches, too, the Boy Scouts were favorably
+mentioned for their pluck and heroism
+in the pursuit of Berghoff and his rascally companions.</p>
+
+<p>One day, about two weeks after the return to
+the island, it was determined by the ensign and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>
+Mr. Barr to make quite a run out to sea to test
+to the full the endurance capacity of the <i>Peacemaker</i>.
+Rob and Merritt were chosen to accompany
+them. The rest of the boys were left
+to guard the island, which, among other valuable
+property, now housed the precious ivory hoard
+recovered in such a strange manner.</p>
+
+<p>The day dawned with a red, angry sky proclaiming
+nasty weather. But this, instead of
+dampening the ardor of the inventor and his
+aides, only increased it. It meant that the submarine
+was in for a real test in a bad sea.</p>
+
+<p>By the time they were ready to start, the wind
+had freshened into half a gale and a high sea
+was running, heaping up big gray combers with
+white tops which broke angrily.</p>
+
+<p>Into this storm the <i>Peacemaker</i> was headed
+without hesitation. On board were the ensign,
+the inventor, Rob and Merritt. The two latter
+were to serve watch and watch in the engine
+room, while the inventor and the ensign placed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>
+themselves under a similar arrangement in the
+conning tower.</p>
+
+<p>Both Rob and Merritt were by this time fully
+conversant with the running of the <i>Peacemaker's</i>
+intricate machinery and were trusted to the full
+by their superior officers.</p>
+
+<p>"Gee! This feels like being afloat in an empty
+bottle!" exclaimed Merritt as the <i>Peacemaker</i>
+headed into the tumbling seas.</p>
+
+<p>"It sure does," responded Rob, hanging on to
+a handhold while he oiled a bearing. "I suppose
+they want to see how much she'll stand on
+the surface."</p>
+
+<p>"Wonder they wouldn't dive and give us a
+chance to get a little quiet," observed Merritt as
+the rolling, bucking <i>Peacemaker</i> leaped, as it
+seemed, skyward and then plunged dizzily down
+again.</p>
+
+<p>"There must be a hummer of a sea outside.
+Guess, as I'm off duty, I'll go up and see what's
+doing," said Rob presently.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He made his way with much difficulty toward
+the steel ladder leading into the conning tower.
+The passage could only be made by fits and
+starts, and the boy for the first time realized the
+necessity of the handholds placed at frequent intervals
+on the cabin walls, to which reference has
+already been made.</p>
+
+<p>Reaching the ladder he scrambled up into the
+conning tower, and, once inside, braced himself
+against the wild and erratic motions of the
+<i>Peacemaker</i>. To see through the lenses was impossible.
+The seas that swept over the little craft
+blurred the glass with green water and obscured
+everything outside. But on the <i>Peacemaker</i> this
+condition did not matter. The contingency had
+been provided for.</p>
+
+<p>The long arm of the periscope with its "eye"
+on top had been raised, and it reached far above
+the biggest combers. In front of the helmsman,
+who happened to be Mr. Barr, was a big
+plate of ground glass on which every object outside<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>
+was plainly shown, although of course in
+miniature. Those of my readers who have ever
+seen a "camera obscura" will recognize what I
+mean.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the ground glass, as within a picture
+frame, was reproduced the motion of the furious
+seas, the scurrying clouds and the angry storm
+wrack. It was an inspiring marine painting,
+with the motion and sweep that an actual painting
+could never possess. It thrilled Rob as he
+gazed at it and realized that it was through this
+pandemonium of the storm that the <i>Peacemaker</i>
+was bravely fighting her way.</p>
+
+<p>"Better slow down a bit, hadn't I?" asked Mr.
+Barr as the <i>Peacemaker</i>, urged by her powerful
+engines, ploughed right through a mountainous
+sea.</p>
+
+<p>As she bored her way through the mighty wall
+of green water, a roar like that of a railroad
+train resounded and the craft pitched as if she
+were going to plunge to the bottom of the sea.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>
+This latter, in fact, Rob rather wished she
+would do. He knew that in the depths all
+would be quiet and undisturbed.</p>
+
+<p>In reply to Mr. Barr's question, the ensign
+nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"The strain is already pretty strong," he
+said; "we don't want to force her too hard."</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly the inventor, utilizing the auto
+control device, cut down the speed till, instead
+of ploughing through the waves, the <i>Peacemaker</i>
+skimmed over them. Unlike most submarines,
+which cannot do otherwise than
+plunge into heavy seas, the <i>Peacemaker's</i> hull
+was so constructed that she rode the waves
+like a duck.</p>
+
+<p>After a while the sensation of heaving and
+falling began to get upon Mr. Barr's nerves.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm feeling a bit squeamish," he declared;
+"let's dive and get out of this."</p>
+
+<p>The ensign nodded and laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"Our friend Rob here is getting a bit pale,
+too," he said; "and as we don't want a sea-sick<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>
+crew, maybe we had better seek the seclusion of
+Davy Jones' locker."</p>
+
+<p>An instant later the <i>Peacemaker</i> was plunging
+downward. At a depth of twenty feet the
+angry motion of the waves was unfelt. In those
+dim depths all was as quiet and undisturbed as if
+the elements were at perfect peace above.</p>
+
+<p>Down, down dropped the submarine till her
+depth indicator showed that she was submerged
+five hundred fathoms.</p>
+
+<p>"The chart gives seven hundred hereabouts,"
+commented Ensign Hargreaves, glancing at it;
+"so I guess we are safe for forty miles more before
+the floor of the ocean slopes upward. We
+must go up a bit higher then."</p>
+
+<p>The inventor nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"I understand," he said, and then, "we are
+now running at what speed?"</p>
+
+<p>The ensign turned to the speed indicator.</p>
+
+<p>"A trifle under twenty miles an hour," he said.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Barr glanced at the clock before him,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span>
+which was illuminated by a tiny shaded electric
+bulb.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll keep on this course at this speed for about
+two hours then," he determined.</p>
+
+<p>"That will be all right, I imagine," was the rejoinder,
+"but don't keep on too long. The bed
+of the sea, according to the chart, rises up very
+rapidly further on. It must be almost cliff-like
+in its sudden elevation."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll be on the lookout," the inventor assured
+him.</p>
+
+<p>Rob descended the ladder once more and re&euml;ntered
+the engine room to find out how Merritt
+was getting along. He found the young engineer
+seated on the leather lounge alongside the
+engines watching them lovingly.</p>
+
+<p>"Work smoothly, don't they?" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"They sure do," was the other's response;
+"smoothly as a Geneva watch."</p>
+
+<p>The boys sat chatting on various matters, and
+the time flew along rapidly till Rob suddenly
+looked at his watch.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Almost two hours. It's time we were rising,"
+he said.</p>
+
+<p>"What do we want to rise for? It's deep
+enough here, isn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's just it. The ensign says that the chart
+shows that a sort of submarine cliff looms up
+right ahead of us somewhere hereabouts."</p>
+
+<p>"Great ginger snaps! I thought the bottom of
+the sea was as level as a floor."</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bit of it. It's as full of mountainous
+regions and flat, depressed plains and valleys as
+the Rockies themselves."</p>
+
+<p>"Gee whiz! I'd hate to hit one of them.
+I&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Merritt stopped short. A terrific crash shook
+the submarine from stem to stern. Rob saved
+himself from falling into the machinery by seizing
+a rail.</p>
+
+<p>For an instant the vibration lasted, and then
+the diving craft came to a dead stop.</p>
+
+<p>The boys gazed at each other with blanched
+faces.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Did the crash mean that they had actually
+struck one of the submerged ranges that make
+deep sea traveling full of dangers? Had Mr.
+Barr delayed too long in rising?</p>
+
+<p>On the answer to these questions both boys
+felt that their lives depended.</p>
+
+<p>They were still regarding each other with consternation
+when the ensign burst into the cabin.</p>
+
+<p>"Shut off the engines instantly!" he ordered.</p>
+
+<p>"What have we struck? That submerged cliff
+that you feared?" Rob managed to gasp out,
+while Merritt hastened to obey the officer's command.</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I don't know," was the reply, "but I fear
+that we are in serious danger!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE SUPREME TEST.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"Open the side window panel and turn on the
+searchlight!"</p>
+
+<p>The order came from Mr. Barr five minutes
+after the <i>Peacemaker</i> struck. Naturally enough,
+everyone on board was seriously alarmed; but
+in the face of danger the Boy Scouts took their
+example for action from the naval officer and
+the inventor.</p>
+
+<p>Although deadly pale, Mr. Barr kept his voice
+as cool as an icicle. Ensign Hargreaves, while
+fully realizing the danger, yet steeled himself to
+calmness; and both Rob and Merritt simulated
+the courage of their elders.</p>
+
+<p>Rob hastened to obey Mr. Barr's command.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>
+After a few seconds of manipulation the slide
+drew back, exposing the large plate glass panel.
+To bring the powerful searchlight into play was
+the work of but a moment.</p>
+
+<p>As its white rays pierced the gloomy depths
+of the ocean like a scimitar of light, all on board
+peered intently from the panel and strove to
+make out what it was that the diving boat had
+struck.</p>
+
+<p>At first nothing could be seen but the dark
+water with myriads of fish swarming about the
+bright light, which appeared to attract them as
+moths are attracted to an arc light.</p>
+
+<p>"Swing the light," ordered Mr. Barr; "bring it
+to bear a little more forward."</p>
+
+<p>Rob obeyed, and the ray of light swung in an
+arc through the obscurity outside of the <i>Peacemaker</i>.
+All at once, with a sharp exclamation,
+Rob stopped it.</p>
+
+<p>"Look! look!" he cried, pointing from the window.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>They looked and saw before them what appeared
+to be a steep acclivity, ribbed and rocky
+as a mountain side. It was against this submerged
+cliff that the <i>Peacemaker</i> had struck.</p>
+
+<p>"That submarine cliff appears to be of a soft
+formation," declared the ensign after a brief
+scrutiny; "our bow has driven into it."</p>
+
+<p>"Then we are doomed to remain here?" asked
+Merritt with a bit of a quiver in his voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Not necessarily. It's up to us now to do all
+we can to extricate ourselves."</p>
+
+<p>"But how?"</p>
+
+<p>The question came from Rob, whose voice, try
+as he would, persisted in faltering. It was an
+awful feeling to experience, this of being penned
+scores of fathoms beneath the ocean's surface in
+a diving boat.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I have a plan in mind. It is a desperate
+one, but possibly it may work."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you propose to do?"</p>
+
+<p>This time it was the inventor who propounded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span>
+the query. Clearly enough Mr. Barr himself
+could think of no way out of the quandary.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care to say just yet," responded the
+naval officer.</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because it is a sort of forlorn hope that I
+don't care to advocate until absolute necessity
+arises."</p>
+
+<p>In the dire extremity into which they were
+plunged, not one of them cared just then to waste
+time by asking questions. Clearly Uncle Sam's
+officer was at the head of affairs. In silence they
+awaited his next word.</p>
+
+<p>"Rob, you must reverse the engines. Give
+them all the power they will stand. It's just
+possible that we may be able to back out without
+injury, although I fear that we are pretty deeply
+buried in this cliff."</p>
+
+<p>Rob, accompanied by Merritt, hastened to
+obey. Together the two boys entered the engine
+room, and Rob at once operated the mechanism
+which caused the <i>Peacemaker</i> to go backward.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As he pulled over the lever and the engines began
+to whirr and buzz, everyone on the boat
+waited breathlessly for the result. But the
+<i>Peacemaker</i> did not move. Under the strain of
+her laboring engines the steel fabric shook and
+chattered, but not an inch did the diving boat
+budge.</p>
+
+<p>Rob and Merritt exchanged despairing
+glances.</p>
+
+<p>"Can't you get any more power out of her?"
+asked Merritt anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>Rob shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bit more, old man. She's running at
+her utmost now."</p>
+
+<p>"Then we're stuck?"</p>
+
+<p>"It looks that way."</p>
+
+<p>"And we're doomed to die right here unless
+the nose of the boat can be got out of that cliff!"</p>
+
+<p>"Never say, 'die,' Merritt. We've done the
+best we can, and remember the ensign said that
+he had a plan if all else failed."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, 'a forlorn hope' he called it."</p>
+
+<p>"In a case like this we can endure anything.
+Desperate situations require desperate means to
+solve them."</p>
+
+<p>As the young Scout leader spoke, Ensign Hargreaves
+burst into the engine room.</p>
+
+<p>The engines were still whirring and buzzing,
+and the hull of the <i>Peacemaker</i> was quivering
+under their powerful stress.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you developed every ounce of power
+they are capable of?" asked the naval officer.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," responded Rob respectfully; "they
+can't do another revolution."</p>
+
+<p>The officer looked anxious.</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, we shall have to resort to my
+forlorn hope," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"And what is that, sir?" asked Rob, his heart
+beating uncomfortably fast.</p>
+
+<p>"Come forward and you shall see."</p>
+
+<p>The ensign turned and swung out of the engine
+room, followed closely by two anxious boys,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>
+Rob having waited only to shut off the engines.</p>
+
+<p>In the main cabin Mr. Barr, his face white
+and strained, sat on one of the leather divans.</p>
+
+<p>He looked up as the boys and the naval officer
+entered.</p>
+
+<p>"The engines won't back her out?" he asked
+in a voice harsh and rough from anxiety.</p>
+
+<p>"No. I'm sorry, Barr, but we're in a mighty
+bad fix. This submarine cliff must be of a sort
+of blue clay formation that is common off this
+coast. We have apparently driven into it so far
+that nothing short of an earthquake would dislodge
+us."</p>
+
+<p>"An earthquake?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; such a spasm of nature alone can set us
+free."</p>
+
+<p>"Then we are doomed to remain here."</p>
+
+<p>"Not of necessity; we have still a chance of
+escape."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"That my plan offers a mere chance."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Then let us not delay in putting it into execution."</p>
+
+<p>"But it is a dangerous one!"</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind that. Nothing could be more
+serious than our present predicament."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well then, we will try out my idea. It's
+our last chance."</p>
+
+<p>"Our last chance!" The words sounded to the
+boys almost like a requiem. Plainly enough,
+whatever Ensign Hargreaves' plan might be,
+there were dangers attached to it, and no light
+dangers, either, to judge from his grave tones.
+Eagerly they awaited his next words.</p>
+
+<p>"My plan is nothing more nor less than this,"
+he said; "I propose to create an earthquake."</p>
+
+<p>"To <i>create</i> an earthquake!" Mr. Barr echoed
+the words, staring at the ensign as if he thought
+he had gone suddenly insane.</p>
+
+<p>"Precisely. I intend to produce by artificial
+means an eruption which will destroy enough of
+this cliff to set us free, or else blow the <i>Peacemaker</i>
+herself into atoms."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Barr buried his head in his hands. Skillful
+inventor and scientific expert though he was,
+the last words of the naval officer had sapped
+even his iron courage.</p>
+
+<p>"Is there no other way?"</p>
+
+<p>"No other way. It's a gamble for our lives."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you propose doing?" asked Mr.
+Barr in a strange, broken voice.</p>
+
+<p>"As I said, to create an artificial earthquake."</p>
+
+<p>"I am unable to follow you."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I'll make it clearer. In the torpedo
+compartment forward you have six Red Head
+torpedoes fully charged with gun cotton?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>The inventor was regarding the naval officer
+with intense interest now, and the boys also stood
+transfixed, their eyes riveted on the ensign as
+he unfolded his plan.</p>
+
+<p>"What I propose to do," he continued, "is to
+discharge from the side torpedo tubes two torpedoes.
+They will be aimed at the cliff and, of
+course, when they strike it, will explode."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But in that case our bow would be blown off
+also, and we should perish almost instantly," declared
+Mr. Barr.</p>
+
+<p>"Wait a minute. I didn't say we would discharge
+them <i>directly</i> at the cliff. What I propose
+doing is this: We will aim one on each side
+of the spot where our bow drove in, taking care
+to train the tubes so that the torpedoes will not
+strike too near."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, the tubes are movable. That is one of
+the features of the <i>Peacemaker</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, then, they will be as easy to train
+in any desired direction as a rapid fire gun."</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly. But I never thought when I designed
+them that I might some day owe my life
+to that very feature."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we are by no means out of the woods
+yet," responded the ensign drily.</p>
+
+<p>He led the way to the forward torpedo room.
+This was right in the bow of the boat and most
+of the space was occupied by odd-looking machinery.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span>
+Wheels, worm gears and strange-looking
+levers were everywhere. At the farthest
+end of the steel-walled chamber was a sort of
+derrick contrivance. This was the piece of machinery
+used to raise the torpedoes and swing
+them into the tubes.</p>
+
+<p>Like the other machinery on the <i>Peacemaker</i>,
+the derrick was operated by electricity. A pull
+of a lever and Mr. Barr had set its machinery in
+motion. The torpedoes were placed on racks so
+that it was a simple matter to secure them to the
+lifting chain of the derrick. First one and then
+another of the polished steel implements of
+deadly warfare were raised to the mouths of the
+torpedo tubes which projected into the chamber.</p>
+
+<p>Despite their immense weight, the torpedoes
+were placed within the tubes with no more difficulty
+than a sportsman experiences in shoving
+two cartridges into the breech of his gun.</p>
+
+<p>In ten minutes from the time the party entered
+the torpedo chamber, the steel implements of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>
+death had been "rammed home" and the breech
+of the tubes clamped and fastened. On the
+<i>Peacemaker</i> type of submarine compressed air
+at an enormous pressure was used to give the
+torpedoes a start, although, of course, they contained
+the usual machinery within themselves to
+drive them through the water after they left the
+tubes.</p>
+
+<p>There followed a moment of suspense as the
+compressed air, with a hissing sound, rushed into
+the tubes.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Barr, deadly pale but without a tremor in
+his voice, announced that all was ready.</p>
+
+<p>The ensign merely nodded and began to operate
+a worm gear which swung the tubes at an
+acuter angle to the body of the submarine vessel.</p>
+
+<p>"I think we are all right now," he said presently.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," spoke the inventor, his hand on a
+lever, "when you say the word, I'll discharge the
+torpedoes."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You might as well do it right now," was the
+response.</p>
+
+<p>The inventor, with hands that shook, swung
+the lever back.</p>
+
+<p>There was a hissing sound and a slight tremor
+as the compressed air shot the torpedoes from
+the tubes. Less than a second later, simultaneously
+it seemed, the submarine was rocked
+and swayed by a terrific convulsion. The boys
+and their elders were thrown right and left with
+a force that almost knocked them senseless.</p>
+
+<p>It was but a few moments after the explosion
+of the two torpedoes that Ensign Hargreaves
+uttered a shout that thrilled them all.</p>
+
+<p>"We're rising!" he cried. "My plan succeeded
+after all!"</p>
+
+<p>"I think that we ought to give thanks to Providence,"
+said Mr. Barr reverently. "As the ensign
+has said, the plan succeeded, but it was taking
+one chance in a thousand. Had that cliff not
+been shaken so as to release us, we might have
+perished miserably and left our fate a mystery."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The boys were in the conning tower by the
+conclusion of Mr. Barr's words. The barograph
+showed them to be rising a hundred feet a minute.
+No words were exchanged between the two
+young Scouts, but each grasped the other's hand
+in a firm grip and gazed into the other's eyes.
+There was no necessity of speech. Both realized
+that they had passed through the gravest peril
+that even they had experienced in all their adventurous
+lives.</p>
+
+<p>When the <i>Peacemaker</i> reached the surface
+once more, the storm had subsided. With their
+hearts full of deep gratitude for the miraculous
+chance that had saved their lives, her occupants
+headed the speedy diving craft back for the island
+at top speed. The <i>Peacemaker</i> had been
+through the supreme test and had not been found
+lacking.</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you what, Barr," declared Ensign Hargreaves,
+as they neared the familiar island, "you
+have the most wonderful boat on earth, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span>
+Uncle Sam has <i>got</i> to have it. My report goes
+in to Washington to-morrow and you can guess
+what it will contain."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you," said the inventor simply, extending
+his hand.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIX.</h2>
+
+<h3>INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"That's queer, Rob!"</p>
+
+<p>"What's queer, Merritt, the way you've been
+sitting and staring for the last ten minutes?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; that odd noise. Don't you hear it?"</p>
+
+<p>The two lads were seated in the cabin of the
+submarine on "night guard duty," as it was
+called. Following the anxious days when Berghoff
+had made affairs on the island so filled with
+uneasiness for the Scouts and their friends, this
+sentry duty had been regularly maintained.</p>
+
+<p>On this particular night the task had fallen to
+Rob and Merritt. There was nothing very arduous
+about it, the only duty involved being to keep
+ears and eyes open. Both lads had been engrossed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span>
+in books dealing with their favorite subjects
+when Merritt called Rob's attention to the
+odd sound he had noticed.</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe my ears are not quite so sharp as
+yours, old boy," said Rob, after an interval of
+listening. "I've got a slight cold, anyhow, and
+perhaps that's why I don't hear so readily."</p>
+
+<p>"Possibly so."</p>
+
+<p>"You are sure you weren't mistaken?"</p>
+
+<p>"Think I'm hearing things?" indignantly responded
+Merritt. "No, siree, I'm willing to
+bet. Hark! There it is again!"</p>
+
+<p>"By Hookey! I heard it that time, too. What
+can it be?"</p>
+
+<p>"Hush!"</p>
+
+<p>The noise was a most peculiar one. It seemed
+to be a sort of scraping on the outside of the submarine's
+hull. The diving craft was anchored at
+some distance from the shore, so as to be more
+readily prepared for a projected run the following
+day. This made the noise all the more inexplicable,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span>
+as, had the craft been in the shed, it
+might have been caused by the inventor or the
+ensign paying a night visit to see that all was
+well, which they sometimes did.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps it's a log bumping against the side."</p>
+
+<p>"No; it appears to come from under the
+water."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," agreed Rob; "tell you what, Merritt,
+it's up to us to investigate."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, let's go on deck and see what we can
+find out."</p>
+
+<p>Together the two lads climbed the steel stairway
+leading to the conning tower, and presently
+emerged on the rounded steel back of the diving
+craft. They stood here for a minute or two, trying
+to get their eyes used to the sudden change
+from the bright light of the cabin to the inky
+darkness of the night. It was overcast and starless,
+and it was impossible under any condition
+to see more than a few yards about them.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly Rob clasped Merritt's arm with a
+grip that made the other lad wince.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Look! Look there!" he cried. "Off there.
+It's gone now. It only showed up for an instant."</p>
+
+<p>"It's your turn to be nervous," rejoined Merritt;
+"blessed if I saw anything!"</p>
+
+<p>"My eyes must be as sharp as your ears, then.
+I'd swear I saw a shadowy thing sneak away
+from us across the water."</p>
+
+<p>"What sort of a thing?"</p>
+
+<p>"A boat. I only saw it an instant, of course;
+but I'm sure I wasn't mistaken."</p>
+
+<p>"You think that somebody in that boat was
+monkeying with the <i>Peacemaker?</i>"</p>
+
+<p>"That's the only reasonable explanation."</p>
+
+<p>"But what could they have been doing?"</p>
+
+<p>"That remains to be seen; but it's our duty to
+try to find out."</p>
+
+<p>"What's your plan?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that scraping noise appeared to me to
+come from the under side of the hull."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Then that's the place to look for mischief."</p>
+
+<p>"But how are you going to get at it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dive over and feel around at about the place
+where we heard the sound."</p>
+
+<p>"That was on the port side and apparently
+right under the cabin floor."</p>
+
+<p>"Then that's the place to look."</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke, the young leader of the Eagles
+stripped off his shirt, for the night was warm
+and he was coatless, and then divested himself
+in turn of his shoes and trousers.</p>
+
+<p>This done, he turned to Merritt.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know just why, old fellow," he said,
+"but I've got an idea in my head, somehow, that
+there's some sort of dirty trick being put up to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>Merritt asked the question looking into his
+comrade's eyes as he clasped Rob's extended
+hand. For some reason he felt a cold shudder
+run through him. What the danger was that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span>
+Rob dreaded he did not know, but there was
+something in the hand-shake that his leader gave
+him that almost seemed like a farewell clasp.</p>
+
+<p>Before his inquiry was fairly out of Merritt's
+mouth, Rob had disengaged his palm and slipped
+silently over the side of the submarine. As the
+waters closed above him, Merritt almost cried
+out aloud. The same mysterious sense of a danger,
+terrible and imminent, had run through his
+brain like a warning flash. But it was too late
+to recall his comrade now.</p>
+
+<p>Whatever peril Rob was facing, he was called
+upon to brave it out alone.</p>
+
+<div class='center'><b>*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*</b></div>
+
+<p>Earlier that evening a small, but fast and
+high-powered motor boat had glided almost
+silently out of Bellport, a fishing village on the
+coast, and, waiting till darkness had descended,
+made at top speed for the vicinity of the submarine
+island.</p>
+
+<p>The men who had chartered the craft were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span>
+two in number. Both were strangers in Bellport,
+having driven over there that afternoon from
+the adjacent railway station of Farmington. One
+was an old man, stoop-shouldered and bleary-eyed.
+The other was an individual of about
+thirty, tall, emaciated, and with a wild light
+dancing in his crafty eyes, which darted back
+and forth as if constantly on the lookout for
+something.</p>
+
+<p>Going directly to the Bellport Hotel, they had
+inquired of Enos Hardcastle, the proprietor,
+where they could hire a motor boat.</p>
+
+<p>"A fast one?" croaked the old man.</p>
+
+<p>"The faster the better," supplemented his companion,
+in a queer, rasping voice.</p>
+
+<p>Enos scratched his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Wa'al, motor boat's is scarce around here,
+though some of ther boys uses 'em in fishing," he
+said finally.</p>
+
+<p>"Good!" exclaimed the younger of the pair of
+strangers. "Direct us to the man who has the
+fastest one."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"That's Lem Higgins; but Lem drives a hard
+bargain. It'll cost ye&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind the cost; never mind the cost,"
+croaked the old man impatiently. "Come, Ivan,
+let's find this Higgins."</p>
+
+<p>"You go ter ther foot of this street and you'll
+find Lem down on ther wharf," directed the landlord
+of the Bellport Hotel, whose curiosity was
+by this time aroused. There was something odd
+about the two strangers, almost as odd as the
+large black bag the younger one carried. This
+receptacle he held as gingerly as if it contained
+some article of the most fragile description.</p>
+
+<p>"Beg pardon, strangers," spoke up Enos, "but
+what might you be after havin' in that bag?"</p>
+
+<p>The slender man turned a pair of blazing orbs
+on him.</p>
+
+<p>"What business is that of yours?" he snapped
+out, his queer eyes appearing to emit sparks of
+malignant fury.</p>
+
+<p>Enos hastened to extend the olive branch.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no harm, no harm," he hurriedly exclaimed.
+"I thought thet you two might be sellin'
+suthin' the wife 'ud have a use fer, thet's all.
+Wanted to give you a chancet ter drive a trade."</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon your wife wouldn't care much for
+what's in this bag," snarled the old man viciously;
+"and let me give you a bit of advice, my
+friend: Don't ask questions and you'll be told
+no lies."</p>
+
+<p>So saying, the two oddly assorted strangers
+made off down the street, the tall one still carrying
+the black bag with precise care.</p>
+
+<p>Enos re&euml;ntered his hotel, wagging his head
+sententiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Suthin' queer about them two fellers," he
+muttered to himself; "ain't sellin' nuthin' an' they
+don't look as if they was on a pleasure trip.
+Wa'al, it's none of my business, but if Lem
+makes a dicker with 'em he'll hev ter come across
+to me with a commission, an' that's all I care
+about."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Lem Higgins was sitting on the wharf, swinging
+his legs and regarding with interest an imminent
+fight between two dogs of the "yaller" variety,
+when the old man and his tall companion
+came up.</p>
+
+<p>"Your name is Lem Higgins?" asked the old
+man sharply.</p>
+
+<p>"That's what they usually say when they want
+me," responded Lem. "Do you want me?"</p>
+
+<p>"We want your boat."</p>
+
+<p>Lem's eyes lightened. Fishing had been poor,
+and perhaps here was a chance to make some
+easy money. He scrambled to his feet, showing
+unusual animation.</p>
+
+<p>"You want my boat? You want ter hire her,
+you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. What's your figure?"</p>
+
+<p>The old man was doing all the talking now.
+His tall companion stood silently by. At his
+side was the black bag, which he had deposited
+on the ground with the same curious care that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span>
+had marked all his dealings with the mysterious
+article.</p>
+
+<p>Lem ruminated a minute, looked seaward,
+ejected a small fountain of tobacco juice,
+and then asked, with his head cocked on one side:</p>
+
+<p>"Where might you be a-goin'?"</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind that, my friend. That is none
+of your business."</p>
+
+<p>The old man spoke sharply. Lem regarded
+him blankly.</p>
+
+<p>"None o' my business! Then how in Sam Hill
+am I a-goin' ter run the boat?"</p>
+
+<p>"You are not going to run it."</p>
+
+<p>"I ain't, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>Lem was all "taken back," as he would have
+put it. He had been figuring on a good price
+for the hire of the boat and a further fee for
+himself as skipper. Certainly neither of the
+pair before him looked capable of handling a
+power boat.</p>
+
+<p>"No; if we take your boat we shall run it
+ourselves."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You will?"</p>
+
+<p>The astonished Lem gazed at the stooped figure
+before him. He was almost bereft of words.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I will; does that satisfy you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Wa'al, I'll be plumb dummed," choked out
+the fisherman; "I should think you'd know more
+about crutches an' arm-chairs than about running
+gasoline boats."</p>
+
+<p>"Your opinion is not of the slightest interest
+to me. How much do you want for the boat?"</p>
+
+<p>"Fer how long?"</p>
+
+<p>"From about sunset till daylight to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"Fer all night, you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a queer time to go out."</p>
+
+<p>"Possibly; but we choose to do it. If you don't
+want to let your boat, say so, and have done with
+it. We'll find another."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, as far as thet's consarned, ef you kin
+run her I don't mind ef you go out any old time.
+But I'd like ter see ef you kin, afore we go any
+further."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Where is she?"</p>
+
+<p>"Right out there. I'll row you out to her.
+Come on down this ladder; easy, now. You're
+pretty old for this sort of work."</p>
+
+<p>But, despite the old man's apparent decrepitude,
+he stepped down the steep and rather rickety
+ladder, at the foot of which lay a dory, with
+the agility of a youth. His companion declared
+that he would remain on the dock.</p>
+
+<p>Guessing that he didn't want to leave the bag,
+of which he seemed so careful, Lem hailed him.</p>
+
+<p>"Come on and bring your grip, ef ye scared o'
+leavin' it," he said.</p>
+
+<p>But the other shook his head, and Lem pulled
+out toward his launch with only the old man as
+passenger. The launch was a black, rakish-looking
+craft, and once on board the old man expressed
+approval of the powerful, two-cylindered
+engine with which she was equipped.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, you do know suthin' about ingines, don't
+yer?" admired Lem, after a few sharp questions<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span>
+had shown him that the queer old man really
+knew what he was talking about.</p>
+
+<p>A muttered grunt was the only reply. The
+old man was spinning the fly-wheel over, after
+making a few adjustments of the gasoline and
+spark supply. A moment later the motor was
+sputtering and coughing, and the launch was
+struggling at her moorings.</p>
+
+<p>Lem cast off and ran the craft about the harbor
+for a while. At the conclusion of the test
+he was satisfied that the old man actually did understand
+the workings of gasoline motors. Returning
+to the wharf, it only remained for a
+bargain to be struck, and this was speedily done.
+But Lem still held out for something more.</p>
+
+<p>"Seein' as I don't know you an' you're takin'
+ther boat out alone, I ought ter hev a deposit or
+suthin'," he declared, his eyes narrowing.</p>
+
+<p>"What's your boat worth?" demanded the old
+man.</p>
+
+<p>"Wa'al, I paid a thousand fer her," rejoined<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span>
+Lem, who had only doubled the actual sum the
+launch cost him.</p>
+
+<p>"Here you are."</p>
+
+<p>The old man reached into a recess of his black
+coat and produced a roll of currency, which Lem
+later declared to his cronies would have "choked
+a horse." Rapidly peeling off several bills of
+large denomination, he paid the exorbitant deposit,
+plus the price agreed upon for the hire
+of the boat for the night. Lem, too astonished
+to do more than stutter, pocketed the money without
+a word.</p>
+
+<p>"One thing more," said the old man; "we shall
+need a small boat to tow along."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, then yer goin' ter land some place?"</p>
+
+<p>Lem, having recovered the use of his voice,
+had also regained his rural curiosity.</p>
+
+<p>The old man regarded him angrily, and then,
+in his peculiar, snarling voice, he whipped out:</p>
+
+<p>"What's that to you? We've paid you too
+much for your boat, and you know it. Here's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span>
+fifty dollars more. That's not to ask any questions
+and not to answer any."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I'll keep mum," Lem assured him, pocketing
+the extra money with sparkling eyes. "When
+you're ready to go, I'll have a small boat ready
+for you, never fear."</p>
+
+<p>"Good. We'll be here at five o'clock sharp."</p>
+
+<p>The old man and his companion sauntered off
+up the street. Lem watched them till they entered
+the Bellport Hotel. Then, to himself, he
+exclaimed in tones that fairly burst out of him:</p>
+
+<p>"Wa'al, what d'ye know about that? Them
+chaps is either lunatics or millionaires, or both.
+Wa'al, it's none of my affair, an' there might be
+things I wouldn't do for fifty dollars, but keepin'
+my mouth shut for a while ain't one of 'em.
+What a yarn I'll have ter tell when them two
+chaps gets out of town! Kain't get over thet
+old feller, though. Fer all his years, he's spry as
+a boy; suthin' mighty funny about both on 'em."</p>
+
+<p>With this, Lem resumed his seat on the edge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span>
+of the wharf and dismissed the matter from his
+mind as far as was possibly consistent with the
+knowledge of the&mdash;to him&mdash;gigantic sum reposing
+in his blue jeans.</p>
+
+<p>Yet, had he known it, he was letting slip
+through his fingers the possibility of earning a
+far larger sum. For the man with the queer eyes
+was Ivan Karloff, a notorious anarchist, for
+whom a reward of five thousand dollars was offered,
+following a bomb outrage in New York,
+and his companion was Berghoff himself.</p>
+
+<p>What were these two men doing in Bellport?
+Why did they want a fast boat for a mysterious
+night trip?</p>
+
+<p>The answers to these questions would have
+held a burning interest for our friends on the
+submarine island. Like a vicious snake, Berghoff
+was preparing to strike what he hoped would
+be a vital blow at the <i>Peacemaker</i> and her guardians.
+Crafty and unscrupulous, he had invested
+in his services Ivan Karloff, whose price for dangerous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span>
+undertakings was high, but whose skill in
+his nefarious line of endeavor was supreme.</p>
+
+<p>It was about midnight when Lem Higgins'
+motor boat crept up to a spot not far from
+where the <i>Peacemaker</i> lay at anchor. Behind
+her she towed the promised small boat. Berghoff,
+as we must now call the old man, was at
+the engines. His companion was steering.</p>
+
+<p>"Is this near enough?" inquired Karloff, in a
+low tone, as Berghoff slowed up the engines.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. We want to run no chances. It would
+not be pleasant for either of us to be nipped
+now."</p>
+
+<p>No more words were exchanged till the anchor
+was noiselessly let drop.</p>
+
+<p>Then Berghoff spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you got everything?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; it's all in the bag&mdash;the wire, the batteries,
+and all. Wonder what those farmers
+would have done if they could have guessed what
+else we had in there?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Gone through the ceiling, I reckon," chuckled
+Berghoff grimly; "but come on, let's get to work.
+We may have a long job to find the submarine."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and we've no time to lose. After the
+job's done the quicker we put the Atlantic between
+us and Uncle Sam, the better," was the
+reply.</p>
+
+<p>"You're not nervous, are you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nervous! My friend, I have done more dangerous
+jobs than this."</p>
+
+<p>Depositing the bag carefully in the small boat,
+the two men rowed off. They made absolutely
+no noise as they proceeded, the reason for this
+being that the oars had been carefully muffled
+soon after they left Bellport, and felt free from
+observation.</p>
+
+<p>After ten minutes or so of rowing, Berghoff
+laid a hand on his companion's arm.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" asked Karloff, who was rowing.</p>
+
+<p>"Look right ahead. What's that?"</p>
+
+<p>"The glow of a light. Can that be it?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"It must be. That light is reflected from the
+conning tower. There is somebody on board."</p>
+
+<p>"That matters not, if they are not on deck.
+Even so, we can take care of them."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean to hurl it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; but I'd rather fasten it to the craft itself.
+It's safer for us and more effective."</p>
+
+<p>A diabolical grin stole over the anarchist's face
+as he spoke. He resumed his cautious rowing.</p>
+
+<p>"There's no one on deck," declared Berghoff,
+as they crept closer to the dark outlines of the
+anchored submarine.</p>
+
+<p>"Good; then we can do our work quickly.
+Have you everything ready?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; we'll be alongside in a minute. Don't
+make a failure of it."</p>
+
+<p>"I have never failed yet," was the quiet reply,
+spoken in a voice so menacing and evil that it
+would have caused a shudder to run through any
+one less hardened than the man to whom it was
+addressed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Rob flashed to the surface after a longer interval
+than Merritt would have believed it possible
+for anybody to remain submerged. As he appeared,
+Merritt rushed to aid him upon the slippery
+deck of the <i>Peacemaker</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Rob shook his head, as Merritt tried to draw
+him up. Instead, he choked out:</p>
+
+<p>"A pair of pliers. Quick! Our lives depend
+upon it."</p>
+
+<p>Merritt, who had been working on the engine,
+happened to have the required tool in his pocket.
+Without a word, he handed it to Rob. From
+his leader's manner he knew that down there
+under the water the boy had discovered some
+deadly hidden peril. Breathlessly, he watched
+for his reappearance, for the instant he received
+the pliers Rob had dived.</p>
+
+<div class='center'><b>*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*</b></div>
+
+<p>In the rowboat which they had towed out from
+Bellport, Berghoff and his companion sat bending
+over some object. Had it been daylight it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span>
+could have been seen that this object was a battery
+box.</p>
+
+<p>Also, daylight would have revealed Berghoff's
+face as being white and drawn under his disguise;
+but his companion's evil countenance
+never changed an iota, as his long fingers sought
+and found the button of the battery box which
+lay before him on a thwart.</p>
+
+<p>From this box two wires led off into the darkness.
+When the button was pressed a flash of
+electricity would pass through those wires and
+the climax of a fiendishly ingenious plot would
+be reached. In the tense silence that preceded
+the pressing of the button, Berghoff's breath
+could be heard coming gaspingly. His companion,
+on the other hand, appeared as cool as an
+icicle.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you certain we are far enough away?"
+stammered Berghoff.</p>
+
+<p>"Absolutely. I have no desire to be hoisted
+by my own petard. Now then, if you are ready,
+say the word."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I&mdash;&mdash;" stammered Berghoff.</p>
+
+<p>"Bah! You are a coward; come, I am all
+ready."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't mind the submarine, curse it; but it's
+the thought of the lives on board her."</p>
+
+<p>"My friend, you are too sensitive. Come, are
+you ready?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ye-es," choked out Berghoff, his teeth chattering,
+and the sweat pouring off his face. The
+man was shaking like a leaf, and his breath came
+raspingly from between his half-opened lips.</p>
+
+<p>"Now!"</p>
+
+<p>He steeled himself to utter the signal firmly,
+but it was merely a harsh whisper that issued
+from his dry throat.</p>
+
+<p>The long fingers pressed down. Berghoff,
+swaying like a stricken thing, placed his hands
+before his eyes. But the sound that both had
+been expecting did not come. No roaring explosion
+followed the pressing of the button, no flash
+of livid flame and shattering of the wonderful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span>
+structure of steel they had hoped to destroy. A
+death-like stillness prevailed.</p>
+
+<p>"You've failed!" choked out Berghoff.</p>
+
+<p>His companion's eyes flashed in the darkness
+like a cat's. He swallowed convulsively.</p>
+
+<p>"There is only one explanation," he snarled.</p>
+
+<p>"And that is?"</p>
+
+<p>"That they have discovered the mine. My
+friend, we had better be leaving as soon as possible.
+It will not be good for us to be found in
+this vicinity."</p>
+
+<p>At that very moment two boys were standing
+with horror-stricken eyes on the deck of the submarine.
+In his hands Rob held a peculiar looking
+cylinder of steel. From one end of it hung
+two severed wires. It was so weighted and
+balanced as to float a distance of about five feet
+under the surface of the water.</p>
+
+<p>"If I hadn't found those wires and cut them,"
+Rob said, in an awe-stricken voice.</p>
+
+<p>But Merritt did not answer. He could only<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span>
+clasp his companion's hand. The realization of
+the fearfully narrow limit by which they had
+escaped death almost overcame him. The night
+was hot, but both boys shivered as if stricken
+with the ague. It was some minutes before they
+could give the alarm to those on shore. Then the
+rapid blowing of the whistle used by the submarine
+when on the surface signalled their companions.</p>
+
+<p>Some fifteen minutes later two pale-faced,
+wild-eyed lads were explaining to an absorbed
+group the foiling of the diabolical plot against
+Uncle Sam's diving boat. It was not long after,
+that the submarine was rushing through the
+water for the nearest harbor.</p>
+
+<p>"If we can arouse the police along the coast
+we may yet be able to capture the authors of this
+outrage," exclaimed the ensign, as at full speed
+the <i>Peacemaker</i> clove through the waters.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; it's hardly probable that they had as
+swift a boat as this," agreed Mr. Barr. "If we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span>
+can get ashore ahead of them, we can cause a
+police net to be spread that they can scarcely
+break through."</p>
+
+<p>But it was decreed that the fate of Berghoff
+and his companion should be a different one.
+Suddenly, off to port of the <i>Peacemaker</i>, the
+night was split by a roar and a red flash of
+flame.</p>
+
+<p>"Great Scott! What was that?" gasped out
+Ensign Hargreaves.</p>
+
+<p>"The searchlight&mdash;quick!" cried Mr. Barr.</p>
+
+<p>In an instant the great beam of white light
+was cutting the night like a fiery sword. Suddenly
+its rays concentrated on a dark object not
+far distant from the <i>Peacemaker</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Within the radiant circle was limned a strange
+picture. Two men were struggling in the water,
+while beside them the outline of a boat showed
+for an instant and then vanished forever.</p>
+
+<p>At top speed the <i>Peacemaker</i> was rushed to
+the scene. She reached it in time for those on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span>
+board to see one of the two men struggling in
+the water throw up his arms. The next instant,
+with a shuddering cry, that might have been
+either defiance or agony, he vanished as had the
+boat.</p>
+
+<p>The other man was picked up. He was an
+old man, seemingly, and almost exhausted from
+his struggle with the waves. But, as he was being
+dragged on board, a strange thing occurred.
+The salt water, with which he was drenched, had
+likewise soaked his beard and hair. As he was
+hauled over the sloping deck of the submarine
+his beard and hair slipped away, and there before
+them lay Berghoff, seemingly dead or dying.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as they had recovered from their
+amazement, he was carried below and made as
+comfortable as possible; for it was found that
+he was shockingly burned. The chart was consulted,
+and it was reckoned that Bellport was
+the closest place at which to land. And so it
+came about, that Berghoff&mdash;or the wreck of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span>
+man&mdash;was brought back to the very spot from
+which he and his ill-fated companion had set out
+on their diabolical trip.</p>
+
+<p>Under close police guard the injured man was
+carried to the local hospital, and with his first
+conscious breath he cried aloud for Karloff. He
+was told of the man's fate, and then made a full
+confession of the plot to blow up the submarine.
+As for the accident that had destroyed their own
+craft, he explained that Karloff, stooping to
+light a cigarette, had ignited some leaked gasoline
+in the bilge. In a flash the flames had
+reached the fuel tank, and an explosion that
+ripped the boat apart followed.</p>
+
+<p>For days the man lingered in the hospital,
+apparently contrite and suffering great pain.
+But one night a drowsy nurse and an open window
+aided him in a plan of escape that must
+have formed itself in his mind some time before.
+In a weak voice he begged his police guard to
+get him a drink of water. When the man came<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span>
+back, Berghoff had gone. Nor was he ever heard
+of again. Whether he managed in some way
+to communicate with his friends, or whether he
+gained financial resources to aid his escape by
+robbery or other means, will never be known.</p>
+
+<p>"Wa'al, I'm glad I stuck to that thousand,"
+said Lem Higgins, when he heard of the escape.
+"I'll git another boat now."</p>
+
+<div class='center'><b>*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*</b></div>
+
+<p>And so ends the tale of the Boy Scouts' services
+for Uncle Sam. Of course, they remained
+on the island till the conclusion of the tests. But
+they were molested no more, and so far as they
+were concerned Berghoff and his evil designs
+ceased to exist. Their experiences had proved of
+much value to them, and broadened and developed
+their characters to a marked extent.</p>
+
+<p>We shall meet our friends and fellow Scouts
+again in a succeeding volume of this series, for
+strong, healthy lads like these cannot seem to
+help meeting with adventures. When they face<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span>
+them in the true Scout spirit, that of bravery
+mixed with brains, it is a combination hard to
+beat. This new volume will be called "<span class="smcap">The Boy
+Scouts at the Panama Canal</span>," and will relate
+their experiences at the "Big Ditch," that remarkable
+engineering achievement that is holding
+the interest and attention of the entire world.
+The book will contain authentic photographs of
+the canal in process of construction and include
+accurate descriptions of the engineering feats.</p>
+
+<div class='center'><br /><br />THE END.</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span></p>
+<div class='tnote'><div class='center'>Transcriber's Note: Clicking on the images of the books will provide
+the reader with a larger version of the images.</div></div>
+<h2>The Boy Scout Series</h2>
+
+<h3>BY HERBERT CARTER</h3>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 179px;">
+<a href="images/ad01-big.png"><img src="images/ad01.png" width="179" height="250" alt="The Boy Scouts&#39; FIRST CAMPFIRE" title="" /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div class='center'>
+
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+For Boys 12 to 16 Years<br />
+<b>All Cloth Bound   &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  Copyright Titles</b><br />
+<b>PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH</b><br />
+Postage 10c Extra<br />
+New Stories of Camp Life<br />
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY SCOUTS' FIRST CAMPFIRE; or, Scouting
+with the Silver Fox Patrol.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY SCOUTS IN THE BLUE RIDGE; or,
+Marooned Among the Moonshiners.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY SCOUTS ON THE TRAIL; or, Scouting
+through the Big Game Country.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY SCOUTS IN THE MAINE WOODS; or,
+The New Test for the Silver Fox Patrol.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY SCOUTS THROUGH THE BIG TIMBER;
+or, The Search for the Lost Tenderfoot.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY SCOUTS IN THE ROCKIES; or, The Secret
+of the Hidden Silver Mine.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY SCOUTS ON STURGEON ISLAND; or,
+Marooned Among the Game-Fish Poachers.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY SCOUTS DOWN IN DIXIE; or, The Strange
+Secret of Alligator Swamp.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY SCOUTS AT THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA;
+A story of Burgoyne's Defeat in 1777.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY SCOUTS ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA;
+or, The Silver Fox Patrol Caught in a Flood.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY SCOUTS ON WAR TRAILS IN BELGIUM;
+or, Caught Between Hostile Armies.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY SCOUTS AFOOT IN FRANCE; or, With
+The Red Cross Corps at the Marne.</div>
+
+<div class='center'><br />
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+<br />
+<small>For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by the Publishers</small><br />
+<b>A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK</b><br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span></p>
+<h2>The Boy Allies</h2>
+
+<div class ='center'>
+<small>(Registered in the United States
+Patent Office)</small><br />
+</div>
+
+<h2>With the Army</h2>
+
+<h3>BY CLAIR W. HAYES</h3>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 182px;">
+<a href="images/ad02-big.png"><img src="images/ad02.png" width="182" height="250" alt="The Boy Allies in Great Peru" title="" /></a>
+</div>
+<div class='center'>
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+
+
+For Boys 12 to 16 Years.<br />
+<b>All Cloth Bound  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;    Copyright Titles</b><br />
+<br />
+<b>PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH</b><br />
+Postage 10c extra.<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>In this series we follow the fortunes of two American lads
+unable to leave Europe after war is declared. They meet the
+soldiers of the Allies, and decide to cast their lot with them.
+Their experiences and escapes are many, and furnish plenty
+of good, healthy action that every boy loves.</p>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES AT LIEGE; or, Through Lines of Steel.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES ON THE FIRING LINE; or, Twelve Days
+Battle Along the Marne.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE COSSACKS; or, A Wild Dash
+Over the Carpathians.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES IN THE TRENCHES; or, Midst Shot and
+Shell Along the Aisne.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES IN GREAT PERIL; or, With the Italian
+Army in the Alps.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALKAN CAMPAIGN; or, The
+Struggle to Save a Nation.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES ON THE SOMME; or, Courage and Bravery
+Rewarded.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES AT VERDUN; or, Saving France from the
+Enemy.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES; or,
+Leading the American Troops to the Firing Line.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES WITH HAIG IN FLANDERS; or, The Fighting
+Canadians of Vimy Ridge.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES WITH PERSHING IN FRANCE; or, Over
+the Top at Chateau Thierry.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES WITH MARSHAL FOCH; or, The Closing
+Days of the Great World War.</div>
+
+<div class='center'><br />
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+<br />
+<small>For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by the Publishers</small><br />
+<b>A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK</b><br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span></p>
+<h2>The Boy Allies</h2>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<small>(Registered in the United States
+Patent Office)</small><br />
+</div>
+
+<h2>With the Navy</h2>
+
+<h3>BY<br />
+
+ENSIGN ROBERT L. DRAKE</h3>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 186px;">
+<a href="images/ad03-big.png"><img src="images/ad03.png" width="186" height="250" alt="The Boy Allies on the North Sea Patrol" title="" /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div class='center'>
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+For Boys 12 to 16 Years.<br />
+<b>All Cloth Bound  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;    Copyright Titles</b><br />
+<br />
+<b>PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH</b><br />
+Postage 10c extra.<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Frank Chadwick and Jack Templeton, young American lads,
+meet each other in an unusual way soon after the declaration
+of war. Circumstances place them on board the British cruiser,
+"The Sylph," and from there on, they share adventures with
+the sailors of the Allies. Ensign Robert L. Drake, the author,
+is an experienced naval officer, and he describes admirably the
+many exciting adventures of the two boys.</p>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES ON THE NORTH SEA PATROL; or, Striking
+the First Blow at the German Fleet.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES UNDER TWO FLAGS; or, Sweeping the
+Enemy from the Sea.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE FLYING SQUADRON; or, The
+Naval Raiders of the Great War.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE TERROR OF THE SEA; or,
+The Last Shot of Submarine D-16.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES UNDER THE SEA; or, The Vanishing
+Submarine.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALTIC; or, Through Fields of
+Ice to Aid the Czar.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES AT JUTLAND; or, The Greatest Naval
+Battle of History.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES WITH UNCLE SAM'S CRUISERS; or, Convoying
+the American Army Across the Atlantic.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE SUBMARINE D-32; or, The
+Fall of the Russian Empire.</div>
+
+<div class='hang1'>THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE VICTORIOUS FLEETS; or,
+The Fall of the German Navy.</div>
+
+<div class='center'><br />
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+<br />
+<small>For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by the Publishers</small><br />
+<b>A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK</b><br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span></p>
+<h2>The Golden Boys Series</h2>
+
+<h3>BY L. P. WYMAN, PH.D.<br />
+<small>Dean of Pennsylvania Military College.</small><br /></h3>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 182px;">
+<a href="images/ad04-big.png"><img src="images/ad04.png" width="182" height="250" alt="The Golden Boys In the Main Woods" title="" /></a>
+</div>
+
+<p>A new series of instructive copyright stories for
+boys of High School Age.</p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<b>Handsome Cloth Binding.</b><br />
+<br />
+<b>PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH</b><br />
+
+<small>POSTAGE 10c EXTRA</small><br />
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+
+</div>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="The Golden Boys Series">
+<tr><td align='left'>THE GOLDEN BOYS AND THEIR NEW ELECTRIC CELL</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE GOLDEN BOYS AT THE FORTRESS</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE GOLDEN BOYS IN THE MAINE WOODS</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE GOLDEN BOYS WITH THE LUMBER JACKS</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE GOLDEN BOYS RESCUED BY RADIO</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE GOLDEN BOYS ALONG THE RIVER ALLAGASH</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE GOLDEN BOYS AT THE HAUNTED CAMP</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE GOLDEN BOYS ON THE RIVER DRIVE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE GOLDEN BOYS SAVE THE CHAMBERLAIN DAM</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>THE GOLDEN BOYS ON THE TRAIL</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+
+<div class='center'><br />
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+<br />
+<small>For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by the Publishers</small><br />
+<b>A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK</b><br />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class='tnote'><div class='center'><b>Transcriber's Note:</b><br />
+<br />Obvious punctuation errors were corrected.</div></div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUTS FOR UNCLE SAM***</p>
+<p>******* This file should be named 32460-h.txt or 32460-h.zip *******</p>
+<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br />
+<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/2/4/6/32460">http://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/4/6/32460</a></p>
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@@ -0,0 +1,6480 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam, by John Henry
+Goldfrap
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: The Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam
+
+
+Author: John Henry Goldfrap
+
+
+
+Release Date: May 20, 2010  [eBook #32460]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUTS FOR UNCLE SAM***
+
+
+E-text prepared by David Edwards and the Project Gutenberg Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images
+generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries
+(http://www.archive.org/details/americana)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 32460-h.htm or 32460-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32460/32460-h/32460-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32460/32460-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive/American Libraries. See
+      http://www.archive.org/details/boyscoutsforuncl00pays
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Obvious punctuation errors were corrected.
+
+      Breaks in the text were represented in three different ways
+      in the original: a blank space, a line of dots, and a line
+      of stars. The blank space has been replaced by a line of
+      hyphens, the line of dots by addition signs, and the stars
+      by asterisks.
+
+
+
+
+
+THE BOY SCOUTS FOR UNCLE SAM
+
+by
+
+LIEUT. HOWARD PAYSON
+
+Author of
+"The Boy Scouts of the Eagle Patrol," "The Boy Scouts
+on the Range," "The Boy Scouts and the Army
+Airship," "The Boy Scouts' Mountain Camp,"
+"The Boy Scouts at the Panama Canal,"
+etc.
+
+
+[Illustration: Every eye watched the distant yacht anxiously.
+
+        _(Page 75)_ _(The Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam)_]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A. L. Burt Company
+Publishers       New York
+Printed in U. S. A.
+
+Copyright, 1912,
+by
+Hurst & Company
+
+Made in U. S. A
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+          CHAPTER                             PAGE
+
+               I. THE EAGLES AT HOME             5
+
+              II. THE FACE AT THE TRANSOM       14
+
+             III. AN OCEAN DERELICT             26
+
+              IV. A MYSTERY OF THE SEA          36
+
+               V. A MESSAGE FROM THE PAST       46
+
+              VI. A STARTLING ADVENTURE         53
+
+             VII. TRAPPED BY FLAMES             61
+
+            VIII. A BOY SCOUT SIGNAL            69
+
+              IX. THE BOYS MEET A "WOLF"        76
+
+               X. A NEW RECRUIT                 84
+
+              XI. BARTON THE MACHINIST          95
+
+             XII. THE SUBMARINE ISLAND         102
+
+            XIII. DOWN TO THE DEPTHS           112
+
+             XIV. FACING DEATH                 120
+
+              XV. THE STRANGE FLAG             129
+
+             XVI. SCOUTING FOR UNCLE SAM       138
+
+            XVII. ROB'S BRAVE ACT              146
+
+           XVIII. THE ISLAND HUT               154
+
+             XIX. A CHASE IN THE NIGHT         163
+
+              XX. ON BOARD A STRANGE CRAFT     173
+
+             XXI. OFF ON A SEA TRAIL           182
+
+            XXII. A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE         190
+
+           XXIII. THE DEPTHS OF OLD OCEAN      198
+
+            XXIV. ROB MAKES A DISCOVERY        209
+
+             XXV. THE DEAD MAN'S HOARD         217
+
+            XXVI. WHICH WILL WIN?              228
+
+           XXVII. THE ENDURANCE RUN            238
+
+          XXVIII. THE SUPREME TEST             248
+
+            XXIX. INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH       263
+
+
+
+
+The Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE EAGLES AT HOME.
+
+
+"After all, fellows, it's good to be back home again."
+
+The speaker, Rob Blake, leader of the Eagle Patrol of Boy Scouts, spoke
+with conviction. He was a "rangy," sun-burned lad of about eighteen,
+clear-eyed, confident and wiry. His Boy Scout training, too, had made
+him resourceful beyond his years.
+
+"Yes, and it's also good to know that we each have a good substantial
+sum of money in the bank as the result of the finding of the Dangerfield
+fortune," agreed Merritt Crawford, his second in command, a
+sunny-faced, good-natured looking youth a little younger than Rob and
+crowned with a tousled mass of wavy brown hair.
+
+"Well, at any rate we've had plenty to eat since we've been back,"
+chimed in Tubby Hopkins, a corpulent youth who owed his nickname to his
+fleshiness.
+
+"That's right, Tubby," laughed Paul Perkins, another bright-eyed young
+"Eagle"; "that's something we didn't always get in the Adirondacks. I
+thought at one time that you'd fade away to a shadow."
+
+"Humph! Pretty substantial sort of shadow," grinned Hiram Nelson, who,
+besides Paul Perkins, was the inventive genius of the Eagles.
+
+The scene of these reminiscences was the comfortably furnished patrol
+room of the Eagles, situated over the bank of the little town of Hampton
+on the south shore of Long Island. Rob Blake's father, the president of
+the bank, was a patron of the Eagles, and had donated the room to the
+boys some time before.
+
+Boxing gloves, foils, baseball bats and other athletic apparatus dear to
+a boy's heart lay scattered about the room in orderly confusion. On the
+walls were diagrams of the "wig-wag code" and the "Morse code
+simplified," with other illustrations of Scout activities.
+
+But it was above the door that there was perched the particular pride of
+the Eagles' hearts--a huge American eagle, a bird fast disappearing from
+its native haunts. With outstretched wings and defiant attitude it stood
+there, typifying the spirit of its young namesakes. The eagle had been a
+present to the lads from Lieutenant Duvall, of the United States Army,
+whom they had materially aided some time before in various aerial
+intrigues and adventures. What these were was related in full in the
+"The Boy Scouts and the Army Airship."
+
+In the first volume of this series, "The Boy Scouts of the Eagle
+Patrol," it was told how the boys came to organize, and how they
+succeeded in unravelling a kidnapping mystery, involving one of their
+number. In the second volume, "The Boy Scouts on the Range," we followed
+the boys' adventures in the far southwest. Here they encountered Moqui
+Indians and renegade cow-punchers. But through all their hardships and
+adventures they conducted themselves according to the Scout laws.
+
+The third volume was "The Boy Scouts and the Army Airship," referred to
+in connection with Lieutenant Duvall. In this book a military biplane
+played an important part, as did the theft of a series of plans of a
+gyroscope invention of Lieutenant Duvall's, who was an all-around
+mechanical genius.
+
+In the story that preceded the present account of the Eagle Patrol the
+lads found themselves in the Adirondacks on a strange mission. With a
+certain Major Dangerfield, a retired army officer, they searched for a
+lost cave in which an old-time pirate, one of the Major's ancestors, had
+hidden his loot when Indians threatened him. How the cave was located
+and the startling discovery made there, we have not space to describe
+here. But in the wildest part of the "land of woods and lakes" the boys
+encountered some thrilling adventures, not the least of which was Rob's
+battle with the moonshining gang that infested a lonely canyon.
+
+From this trip they had returned not more than two weeks before the
+scene in the meeting-room, which we have described, took place. Bronzed,
+clear-eyed and alert, they were already longing for action of some sort.
+How soon they were to be plunged into adventures of a variety even more
+exciting than any they had yet encountered they little dreamed at the
+moment.
+
+       -       -       -       -       -
+
+They were still laughing over the idea of the substantial Tubby's rotund
+form being compared to a shadow when there came a tap at the door of
+the room in which they were assembled.
+
+"Guess that's Andy Bowles," said Rob, referring to the only member of
+the Patrol who was not present; "wonder why he's so late."
+
+Then, in a louder voice, he cried:
+
+"Come in, Andy."
+
+But the voice that answered as the door was flung open was not Andy's.
+Instead, it was a deep, resounding bass one.
+
+"I'm not Andy; but I'll accept the invitation."
+
+As the owner of the voice, a tall, well-set-up man with a military
+bearing, stepped into the room all the Scouts sprang erect at attention,
+and gave the Scout salute. Then they broke into three cheers.
+
+"Why, Lieutenant Duvall, what are you doing here?" exclaimed Rob, coming
+forward.
+
+The young officer shook hands warmly with the leader of the Boy Scouts.
+Then, while the others pressed closer to the lieutenant--the same
+officer who had conducted the aviation tests at the "tunnelled
+house"--he addressed Rob.
+
+"The fact is, I came down here to see if you are willing to tackle some
+more adventures," he said.
+
+"Are we--" began Rob; but a roar from the Scouts interrupted him.
+
+"Just you try us, Lieutenant."
+
+"More adventures? Great stuff!"
+
+"I'm ready right now."
+
+"You can count on me."
+
+The air fairly bubbled with confusion and excitement.
+
+The Lieutenant roared with laughter.
+
+"I do believe if you boys were told to lead a forlorn hope up to a row
+of machine guns you'd do it," he exclaimed; "but all this time I've been
+leaving my friend outside. May I bring him in?"
+
+"Why ask the question?" exclaimed Rob. "This room is at the disposal of
+the United States Army at any time."
+
+"Well, in this case it must be at the disposal of the Navy also," smiled
+the officer. Then, turning his head, he called to someone outside in the
+hallway, "Dan, the Eagles are prepared to receive the Navy."
+
+At the word, a stalwart young man of about Lieutenant Duvall's age,
+stepped into the room. He was deeply sun-burned, and had an alert,
+upright carriage that stamped him as belonging to Uncle Sam's service.
+
+"Scouts of the Eagle Patrol," said Lieutenant Duvall, with becoming
+formality, "allow me to present to you Ensign Daniel Hargreaves, of the
+United States Navy, just now detailed on special service."
+
+Once more came the Scout salute, and then, given with a will, the long
+drawn "Kr-e-e-ee" of the Eagles.
+
+The naval officer's eyes twinkled.
+
+"These are Eagles that can scream with a vengeance," he exclaimed to his
+companion.
+
+"Yes; and they can show their talons on occasion, I can assure you,"
+declared Lieutenant Duvall. "But 'heave ahead,' as you say in the Navy,
+Dan, and put your proposition before them."
+
+The boys greeted this announcement with wide-open eyes. Somehow or other
+they felt impressed immediately that they were on the verge of another
+series of important adventures; that the unexpected visit of the
+officers had something to do with their immediate future. And in this
+they were not the least bit out of the way, as will be seen.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE FACE AT THE TRANSOM.
+
+
+"Of course what I am going to say will be held strictly confidential?"
+began Ensign Hargreaves, looking about him at the bright, eager faces of
+the young Eagles.
+
+"We are Boy Scouts, sir," responded Rob proudly.
+
+"I beg your pardon; but what I am going to say is so important to the
+nation that one word of it breathed abroad might cause endless
+complications and the ruin of certain plans. I have come to see you
+because my friend, Lieutenant Duvall, told me that he did not know
+anywhere in the country of a band of boys of similar resourcefulness,
+courage and high training."
+
+"That's going some," whispered Tubby, behind a plump hand, to Merritt
+Crawford.
+
+"I said no more than they deserved, Dan," observed Lieutenant Duvall.
+
+"So I should imagine from what you told me about the part they played in
+the matter of the biplane and the tunnelled house," responded the young
+officer. "I came to you for another reason, also," he went on reverting
+to the subject in hand; "I have heard that as well as being land scouts
+you are thoroughly at home on the water."
+
+"Well," said Rob, "we've all of us been brought up here on the south
+shore. I guess we are all fair sailors and know something about
+sea-scouting as well as the land variety."
+
+"It is mainly for that reason that I came to you," rejoined the naval
+officer. "For the mission which I am desirous to have you undertake a
+knowledge of sea conditions is essential."
+
+"Gee! He's a long time coming to the point," mumbled Tubby impatiently.
+
+"Have any of you boys ever heard of the 'Peacemaker submarine'?"
+
+"So called because the nation possessing it would be so formidable as to
+insure naval peace with other countries?" exclaimed Rob quickly. "Yes,
+sir, I've heard of it."
+
+"What has reached your ears about it?"
+
+"Why, a week ago the papers said that a submarine of that type had been
+sold to Russia and shipped for that country from the factory of the
+inventor at Bridgeport, Connecticut," said Rob, with growing wonder as
+to what all this could be leading.
+
+"Correct. But that submarine never reached Russia!"
+
+"Did the ship that was carrying it sink?" asked Tubby innocently.
+
+"No," smiled the ensign, amused at the fat boy's goggling eyes and
+intent expression; "the _Long Island_, the freighter conveying it, did
+not sink. Instead, it hung about the coast, and then, under cover of
+fog, slipped into the harbor of Snug Haven on the South Carolina coast.
+Snug Haven is a small place and a sleepy one. Under the blanket of fog
+the _Long Island_ slipped in, as I have said. Then the submarine was
+hoisted overboard by means of a derrick, and under her own power run to
+anchorage off a small island not far from Snug Haven. The captain and
+crew of the _Long Island_ were sworn to secrecy, and so far as we know
+not a soul, but those directly interested, is aware of the present
+location of the _Peacemaker_."
+
+"But why, if the submarine was sold to Russia, was she not sent there?"
+inquired the mystified Rob.
+
+"For the excellent reason that she was _not_ sold to Russia at all," was
+the naval officer's rejoinder; "that was simply announced for the
+benefit of inquisitive newspapers who have been trying for a long time
+to get at the details of the 'Peacemaker submarine.' But it is not alone
+the newspapers we have had trouble with. Foreign spies, anxious to
+secure the _Peacemaker_ for their governments, have harassed us at
+Bridgeport ever since the keel plates were laid."
+
+"Then the United States has bought the submarine?" asked Merritt
+Crawford.
+
+"Not yet. But the construction and principles of it are so efficient
+that Uncle Sam wishes to have first call on the craft."
+
+"And you are going to test it at this lonely island in South Carolina?"
+cried Rob, guessing the truth.
+
+"Perfectly right, my boy," was the response. "Off that little-frequented
+coast, beset with islands and shoals, we hope to carry out our tests
+unobserved. At Bridgeport this would have been an impossibility, and for
+that reason the story of the sale to Russia was concocted. Russia, I
+may add, was about the only country not represented by spy service at
+Bridgeport."
+
+"And you say that nobody but the officials directly connected with the
+craft has any knowledge of its whereabouts?" asked Rob with deep
+interest.
+
+"As far as it is humanly possible to be certain, such is our positive
+belief."
+
+"But where do we fit into all this?" sputtered Tubby, acutely coming to
+the main point.
+
+"I am coming to that," was the response. "From what I have told you, you
+will have gathered that no ordinary class of watchmen could be trusted
+to keep quiet about what is to go forward on the island. Yet it is
+necessary to have sentries of some sort to keep constant watch that no
+one approaches unexpectedly. For that purpose we have adopted various
+mechanical precautions, such as submarine detector bells, etc. But our
+main reliance must be on human intelligence."
+
+"I see," said Rob, nodding. The object of the officer's visit was
+beginning to dawn on him.
+
+"To come straight to the point," went on the officer, "how would you
+boys like to take a camping trip to the South Carolina coast on Uncle
+Sam's service?"
+
+"You mean to act as guards to the submarine?" almost shouted Rob.
+
+"Just that," responded the officer. "I have----"
+
+But a roar of cheers drowned any further remarks he might have had to
+make.
+
+"I knew it would happen," cried Merritt when the riot had, in a measure,
+subsided.
+
+"What?" demanded Tubby.
+
+"Action!" responded Merritt briefly.
+
+The hubbub grew tumultuous. All the Eagles were trying to talk at once.
+The wonderful prospect opened up before them of fresh adventures fairly
+set them wild.
+
+At last, above the turmoil, Ensign Hargreaves managed to make his voice
+heard.
+
+"Boys! Boys!" he exclaimed, "one minute till I outline the plans."
+
+A respectful silence at once ensued in which each Scout was prompt to
+join.
+
+"Of course, it will be necessary for you to obtain written consent of
+your parents," spoke the naval officer.
+
+At this some of the faces in the room fell several degrees.
+
+"The government will absolutely require such authority," he continued.
+"The service on Barren Island, as it is called, while not necessarily
+hazardous, may prove dangerous, and each boy's parents must be so
+informed."
+
+"We'll get plenty to eat, I suppose?" inquired Tubby anxiously.
+
+"Why, of course," laughed the officer; "moreover, I forgot to inform you
+that there is a wireless plant on the Island, and other conveniences
+unusual in so remote a situation."
+
+"Well, so long as the grub holds out, I'm satisfied," muttered Tubby in
+a contented tone.
+
+"How soon will we start, supposing our parents allow us to go?" asked
+Rob, as soon as the laughter over Tubby's remark had subsided.
+
+"At the end of this week if possible. Mr. Danbury Barr, the inventor of
+the _Peacemaker_, will meet us in New York. We shall voyage south on the
+U. S. Derelict Destroyer _Seneca_."
+
+"Derelict Destroyer," repeated Rob. "Those are the craft that Uncle Sam
+sends out to destroy drifting wrecks that might prove a menace to
+navigation, aren't they?"
+
+"Correct, my boy," rejoined the officer. "Our reason for making the
+voyage on the _Seneca_," he continued, "is that no regular passenger
+steamer makes a stop near Barren Island. Furthermore, if we went down on
+a naval vessel some of these sharp reporters would be sure to make
+inquiries, with the result that our retreat might be discovered."
+
+"And that would be a serious matter?" put in Rob.
+
+"Yes, very serious. Several nations are on the _qui vive_ to discover
+just what the _Barr Peacemaker_ is. They have sent shrewd, cunning men,
+versed in the art of espionage, to this country on that mission. These
+men will stick at nothing to ferret out the secret if they can. Mr. Barr
+has been approached with all sorts of offers. But he is a staunch
+American to the backbone, as you will discover when you meet him. If
+anyone is to have the _Peacemaker_ it is to be Uncle Sam, first,
+foremost and all the time."
+
+"Kree-e-ee-ee!" shrilled the Boy Scouts of the Eagle Patrol in unison.
+
+The sharp, screaming note of the Eagle was still resounding when Merritt
+uttered a startled cry, and pointed to the open transom above the door.
+The others were still staring at him when he darted toward it and flung
+the portal open. The passage beyond was empty, and the boy turned to his
+companions with a puzzled look on his face.
+
+"What's up, Merritt?" asked Rob.
+
+"Seeing spooks?" inquired Tubby.
+
+"Seeing nothing," snapped out Merritt; "I _saw_----"
+
+"Saw what?" demanded Lieutenant Duvall.
+
+"A face peering at us over that transom. It dodged into the darkness as
+I looked up, but I saw it as plain as daylight."
+
+Both officers bent forward almost breathlessly. Merritt's communication
+appeared to affect them strangely.
+
+"What kind of a face was it?" demanded Ensign Hargreaves.
+
+"A wild looking one. Very pale, and fringed with dark whiskers."
+
+The effect on the officers was electrical. They both sprang up and made
+for the door followed by the puzzled Scouts.
+
+"Was--was it anyone you know?" demanded Rob, as he paced beside
+Lieutenant Duvall.
+
+"Yes. From the description it was Berghoff, the spy of a powerful
+European nation whose ambition it is to outgeneral all other powers on
+the sea. We must apprehend him if possible. It is only too clear that he
+followed us here from Washington and must have heard a great part of our
+conversation."
+
+"Phew! This is action with a capital A!" gasped Rob as they ran down the
+stairway and out into the lighted street.
+
+But although a rigorous search was made and all trains watched, no trace
+was found of Nordstrom Berghoff, the naval spy. It was surmised that he
+must have made good his escape in a speedy "roadster" car in which he
+had crept into Hampton earlier in the evening.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+AN OCEAN DERELICT.
+
+
+"What's that object off on the starboard bow, sir?"
+
+It was a week after the events narrated in the preceding chapters, and
+the _Seneca_, a converted gun-boat fitted with torpedo tubes for the
+destruction of derelicts, was plowing her way southward through an azure
+sea under a cloudless sky.
+
+Rob Blake asked the question. In full Boy Scout Leader's uniform, and
+wearing the different badges to which he was entitled, the young chief
+of the Eagles stood on the _Seneca's_ bridge with Ensign Hargreaves and
+Lieutenant Murray, who were in command of the destroyer.
+
+"Jove, lad, you have sharp eyes!" exclaimed Lieutenant Murray. "Even the
+lookout has not yet spied it. Let's see what it may be. Possibly it's
+our 'meat'--food for our torpedoes."
+
+"In that case the boys are in for a bit of excitement," said Ensign
+Hargreaves.
+
+"You think it is a derelict!" exclaimed Rob. "Oh, boys!" he called down
+to the shady deck below, where the other lads lay reading or writing
+letters or studying the Scout Manual, "we've sighted a derelict."
+
+"An ocean hobo, eh?" hailed back Merritt.
+
+"Hold on! Hold on! Not so fast!" laughed Lieutenant Murray.
+
+He took his powerful naval binoculars from their case and carefully
+focussed them on the dot which Rob's sharp eyes had espied at so great a
+distance.
+
+"You are right, Master Rob," he exclaimed the next instant; "it _is_ a
+derelict, and a big one, too."
+
+"And you are going to blow it up?" asked Rob, his voice quivering with
+excitement.
+
+"That's our business, lad."
+
+"Hooray! Boys, stand by for the fireworks!" shouted the delighted Rob.
+
+The Boy Scouts, who had pretty well the run of the ship and were favored
+alike by officers and men, came swarming upon the bridge. Lieutenant
+Murray was adjusting the range finders and directing the quartermaster
+at the wheel to change his course so as to bear down on the drifting
+hulk. As they drew closer to the dismantled derelict they saw that, as
+Lieutenant Murray had declared, she had been a large vessel. Stumps of
+three masts rose from her decks above the broken bulwarks. Ends of
+bleached and frayed-out shrouds hung from her fore, main, and mizzen
+chains. From the look of her, she had been a considerable time adrift.
+
+As she rolled slowly on the gentle swell they could see that her
+underbody was green with seaweed and slime, the accumulation of years.
+Amidships stood a small deck house, and at the bow a broken bowsprit
+pointed heavenward as if invoking mercy on her forlorn condition.
+
+"Why, she might have been drifting about since the time of Noah, to
+judge by her looks," exclaimed Merritt, gazing at the odd sight.
+
+"I have heard of derelicts that have followed the ocean currents for
+fifty years and more," declared the Lieutenant. "This craft looks as if
+she might date back that far. Certainly she has been a long time adrift.
+Sailors sometimes become panic-stricken and leave their ships when there
+is no real necessity for so doing. A case in point is that of Captain
+Larsen of the _Two Sisters_, which sailed from Bath, Maine, for a West
+Indian port. She was abandoned in a hurry after a hurricane, and the
+captain and crew took to the boats. After drifting for weeks--they had
+had time to provision the boats well--they arrived in Kingston, Jamaica,
+and the first sight that greeted the captain's eyes was the hulk of the
+_Two Sisters_. She had drifted close to the island and had been towed
+in, arriving ahead of the crew that had forsaken her!"
+
+"Hark!" cried Merritt, while they were still commenting on the
+Lieutenant's story, "what was that?"
+
+"Sounded like a bell tolling," exclaimed Rob.
+
+"It is a bell!" cried Merritt.
+
+Sure enough, borne over the gently heaving water, there came to their
+ears the melancholy ding-dong of a deep-toned bell. Coming as it did
+from the abandoned sea-riven hulk it cast a gloom over them.
+
+"Who can be ringing it?" cried Tubby, in what was for him, an
+awe-stricken voice.
+
+"No mystery about it, I guess," said Lieutenant Murray; "it is the
+ship's bell, and as the craft rolls it is ringing a requiem for the
+dead."
+
+"Ugh! It gives me the shudders!" exclaimed Hiram.
+
+"It's not a cheerful sound certainly," agreed Rob.
+
+"Bom-boom; bom-boom," chimed the bell, waxing now faint, now loud, as
+the wind rose and fell.
+
+"I'd like to go aboard that boat and explore her," declared Merritt.
+
+"That's an opportunity you shall have," said the Lieutenant. "It is our
+rule to explore all such derelicts for a hint as to the fate of their
+crew before we consign them to the deep."
+
+Orders were given to check the speed of the _Seneca_ and to prepare to
+lower a boat.
+
+"Are we to go?" chorused the Scouts eagerly.
+
+"Of course. Mr. Hargreaves will accompany you."
+
+"Aren't you going?" asked Rob.
+
+"No. It's an old story with me. While we are waiting for you, I will
+work out our position, which must go in with my report of the derelict's
+destruction."
+
+Five minutes later, in one of the _Seneca's_ whale boats, the boys were
+skimming over the sea toward the melancholy old derelict. As they glided
+along, the bell kept up its monotonous booming with the regularity of a
+shore bell summoning worshippers to church.
+
+As the whaleboat was pulled around the derelict's stern they could see a
+name painted on the square counter, surrounded with many a scroll and
+flourish in the antique manner. These flourishes had once been gilded
+and painted, but the gilt and color had long since worn off them.
+
+"_Good Hope of Portland, Me._," read out Rob. "What a contrast between
+her name and her fate!"
+
+"Bom-boom," tolled the bell as if in answer to him.
+
+"She must have been one of those old-time clippers that sailed round the
+Horn with Yankee notions for the Spice Islands and China, and came back
+with tea and other Oriental goods," opined Ensign Hargreaves.
+
+"She was a fine ship in her day, sir," ventured the old quartermaster
+who pulled stroke oar.
+
+"Aye, aye, Tarbox; in those days the American mercantile marine was a
+thing to be proud of," agreed the ensign. "To-day not one-tenth of the
+craft that used to fly the Stars and Stripes remain afloat. They have
+vanished and their keels sweep the sea no more."
+
+By this time they had arrived below the derelict's port main chains.
+From these several bleached ropes hung down, but all proved too rotten
+to support the weight of a Boy Scout, let alone a man. But by good
+fortune a chain, rusty, but still strong seemingly, depended from the
+bows of the old craft. This withstood a test, and, led by Ensign
+Hargreaves, the boys clambered on deck. Quartermaster Tarbox and the
+four sailors who had manned the oars were left in the boat.
+
+The boys' hearts beat a little faster as they stood on the forecastle of
+the abandoned _Good Hope_. Nor was this caused by the exertion of the
+climb altogether. There was something uncanny in standing upon that
+long-untrodden deck, while right below the break in the forecastle the
+bell kept up its doomsday-like tolling.
+
+The ensign's first task was to make fast a lanyard to the clapper of the
+dismal thing, and thereafter their nerves felt steadier. With the dying
+out of the clamor of the bell, a death-like hush fell over the abandoned
+ship. Only the rippling complaint of the water as she rolled to and fro
+broke the stillness. The boys actually found themselves talking in
+whispers under the spell that hung above the decks of the ill-fated
+_Good Hope_.
+
+"Let us explore that deck house first," said Ensign Hargreaves, and,
+followed by the boys, he started for the small structure which stood
+just aft of the wreck of the foremast.
+
+Little dreaming of the surprise that awaited them within, the boys
+followed, on tip-toe with curiosity and excitement.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+A MYSTERY OF THE SEA.
+
+
+The door of the deck house was closed. But the ensign opened it without
+difficulty, and with the boys pressing close on his heels he entered the
+place.
+
+Hardly had he done so before he fell back with a sharp exclamation. The
+next instant the boys echoed his interjection with a tone in which
+horror mingled with surprise. Seated at a table in the cabin was what at
+first appeared to be a man. But a second glance showed that, in reality,
+the figure was a grim skeleton upheld by its posture and still bearing
+mildewed and mouldy sea clothes.
+
+"What a dreadful sight!" cried Rob, shivering, although the day was
+hot.
+
+"Poor fellow!" exclaimed the naval officer. "He must have perished just
+as he sat. See, there is a paper under his hand, and there lies the pen
+with which he had been writing."
+
+He stepped forward to make a further examination, and the boys,
+mastering their instinctive dread of the uncanny scene, also approached
+the table.
+
+The writing beneath the dead man's hand was on a fragment of paper,
+yellowed with age and covered with scrawlings grown brown from the same
+cause. Mastering his repugnance, the ensign took the paper from under
+the skeleton's fingers that still rested upon it.
+
+"What is it?" demanded Rob.
+
+"Look at it for yourself," returned the officer after scrutinizing the
+document.
+
+Thus addressed, Rob took the mouldy screed while his chums looked over
+his shoulder curiously.
+
+"Why, it's nothing but a mass of figures," he exclaimed.
+
+"That is certainly so. Some sort of cipher, I suppose," struck in
+Merritt.
+
+"That's what it is, I imagine," agreed the ensign; "but see this cross
+marked in red ink in the midst of the figures! What can that be intended
+for?"
+
+"If you don't mind, I'll try to figure this out sometime," said Rob.
+"I'm rather fond of working cryptograms and such things. It will serve
+to pass the time, too, when we reach the Island."
+
+"That is perfectly agreeable to me," returned the officer. "If you can
+make anything of it, it may serve to solve the mystery of this ship. For
+that a mystery there is about the whole thing, I feel certain."
+
+"It does seem uncanny, somehow," agreed Rob; "the posture of this man,
+this strange writing! I wonder how he died?"
+
+"Impossible to say," rejoined the officer; "but let us investigate
+further. We may make some more discoveries."
+
+"I hope we don't make any more finds of this character," rejoined Rob
+with deep feeling.
+
+Reverently and quietly they made their way out of the presence of the
+dead mariner.
+
+Their next objective point was the poop of the vessel, where a high,
+old-fashioned quarter-deck upreared itself above the main deck. Port
+holes looked out from this, and the party of explorers rightly judged
+that here had been the living-quarters of the ship's officers. A door of
+heavily carved mahogany gave access to the space below the lofty
+poop-deck. Pressing through this, they found themselves in a dark,
+dingy-looking cuddy. The cushions of the lockers, which ranged along
+each side, were green with mould and in the air hung the odor of decay.
+
+A skylight above gave light to this chamber, and at its sides four
+doors, two to a side, opened off.
+
+"Those doors must lead to the staterooms of the former officers,"
+declared the ensign, and a tour of inspection of the rooms was begun at
+once. In the first three, after a thorough ransacking nothing more
+interesting was to be found than some old sea chests, containing
+garments and nautical instruments of antique pattern. In the last,
+however, which bore traces of having been better furnished than the
+others, there hung a crudely painted picture of a grizzled-looking
+seaman, on whose breast hung conspicuously a gold image of a whale.
+Apparently this was some sort of an emblem. But to Rob the portrait
+presented a clew.
+
+"Why, that same emblem hung on the uniform of the dead man in the
+deckhouse!" he exclaimed.
+
+"So it did," cried the ensign. "Boys, from the looks of it, this was the
+cabin of the master of the ship, and yonder body, it is my firm belief,
+is his."
+
+But Merritt had stumbled upon another discovery. This was nothing more
+than a large book, bound in leather. But to the ensign it seemed to be
+apparently a highly important find.
+
+"It's the ship's log-book," he exclaimed, pointing to the embossed words
+on the cover. "Now perhaps we may light on a partial solution of this
+mystery."
+
+He opened the book at the first page, and learned from the crabbed
+writing with which it was covered, that the _Good Hope_, Ezekial T.
+Daniels, master, had set sail from New Bedford for the South Pacific
+whaling ground in April, 1879.
+
+"Gracious, that was about thirty-three years ago," stammered Merritt.
+
+"I have heard of derelicts that drifted longer than that," said the
+naval officer calmly.
+
+He began turning over the leaves of the log book. It was an epic of the
+sea. Every incident that had befallen the _Good Hope_ on her long voyage
+was faithfully set down. He skimmed through the records, reading the
+most interesting bits of information out aloud for the benefit of his
+youthful companions.
+
+From the log book it was learned that the _Good Hope_ had met with
+indifferent luck on her long three years' cruise, but had suddenly run
+into a most extraordinary bit of good fortune.
+
+"Listen to this, boys," exclaimed the ensign with what, for one of his
+self-contained nature, was strong excitement, "it reads like a bit of
+wild romance."
+
+Without further preface he began reading:
+
+"'May, 1883--This day encountered the strangest thing in all my
+experience. As set down, we have drifted into the Antarctic ice pack.
+This day sighted a berg within which was a dark, shadowy object. On
+going in the ship boats to investigate we saw to our amazement that the
+said object was a ship. The ice surrounding it was thin, mostly having
+melted.
+
+"'From what I knew of such craft I decided, incredible as the idea
+might seem, that the craft within the berg was a long frozen up Viking
+ship. Not knowing just what her recovery might mean, I undertook to
+blast her free of her prison. We had plenty of dynamite on board for the
+very purpose of ice-blasting. By three of this p. m. we had the ship
+blasted open. I and my officers at once entered the hole the explosive
+had made in the craft's side. We expected to find strange things, but
+none of us was prepared for what followed. The hold of the imprisoned
+ship was full of ivory.
+
+"'My first officer, William Clydesdale, an Englishman, and a college man
+before strong drink ruined him, pronounced the ivory to be that of the
+tusks of the extinct mammoths which scientists say formerly inhabited
+these regions.'"
+
+"Phew! This is romance with a vengeance!" exclaimed Rob.
+
+"Did they get the ivory?" asked the practical Paul Perkins.
+
+"Yes," rejoined the officer, rapidly skimming over the further pages of
+the log, "and they estimated the stuff roughly at about five hundred
+thousand dollars' worth of exceptional quality."
+
+"How did the ship get frozen in the ice?" asked Hiram. "The Viking ship,
+I mean."
+
+"Who can tell," returned the ensign. "I have heard of such things at the
+North Pole. Several explorers have even brought back fragments of the
+Norseman's lost craft; but I never heard of such an occurrence
+transpiring in the Antarctic regions. But let's read on."
+
+The log continued to tell of hardships encountered in beating back
+around the Horn with the valuable cargo; of discontent of the crew; of
+their constant demand to have the hoard divided equally among the
+officers and men, and of the captain's refusal to accede to their
+requests. Finally the entries began to grow short and disconnected, as
+if whoever was writing up the log was on constant watch and had little
+time to spare. Indeed, one entry read:
+
+"Mutiny threatens constantly. The men mean to seize the ivory and take
+to the boats."
+
+Following that no entries were made for several days. Then came a
+startling announcement, both in its brevity and suggestiveness of
+tragedy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+A MESSAGE FROM THE PAST
+
+
+"'What I dreaded has come to pass,'" read out the ensign; "'the men
+mutinied, but thanks be to Providence, we are safe. But a fearful
+catastrophe overtook the misguided fellows. Short handed as we were,
+having lost ten hands by scurvy and drowning in the South Seas, the crew
+mustered but eight men. Thus, with my two officers, we were three
+against them. The attack came at midnight on July 27th, 1883. Luckily we
+were on the watch, and as the men came aft we met them with firearms.
+Four went down at the first volley. Three died shortly, the other the
+next day.
+
+"'The remainder fled, but before I could stop them my officers had shot
+down three, leaving only the cook alive. I saved his life. But as we
+were examining the injured, one of them whipped out a knife and killed
+my first officer. The next day we buried the dead and worked the ship as
+best we could with three hands. Luckily the breeze was light, for in a
+brisk blow we could not have handled the ship.
+
+"'Finding ourselves off the coast of the Carolinas, and despairing of
+navigating the ship to port, we ran in and anchored off a small desolate
+island. On it grew a few scrub trees, but not much else. After a
+consultation we decided to abandon the ship; but first we agreed, while
+the weather was fair, to bury the ivory on one of the islands. It was a
+long, tedious task, but at last it was done, and the spot where it had
+been secreted, marked.
+
+"'This done, we rowed back to the ship to obtain my chronometers,
+papers, and so forth. I should have explained that we had but one boat,
+heavy seas off the Horn having smashed four of them, and a fifth was
+broken in a fight with a whale. I was some time below, getting papers,
+when suddenly I heard a splash of oars. By some inspiration, I guessed
+what had happened. Rushing on deck I was in time to behold my rascally
+second mate and the cook rowing from the ship with might and main.
+
+"'I shouted, entreated, and raged. But it was all in vain. All the
+rascals did was to laugh at me. I might have guessed their terrible
+purpose to maroon me on my own ship, but I had paid no heed to some
+whispering I had observed between them while on the island working at
+the burial of the ivory. All this has been written since they abandoned
+me in so cowardly a fashion for the sake of the ivory. Their intent, I
+readily guessed. They would reach the shore ahead of me. Find some
+capital, get a ship and seize the whole cache. I count myself lucky that
+they did not kill me outright.'"
+
+By this time the boys were leaning forward, all else forgotten in the
+thrilling interest of the extraordinary narrative.
+
+The ensign read on.
+
+"I find no more entries till several days later," he said, "then comes
+this one:
+
+"'Since last I wrote I have encountered a fearful experience. The night
+succeeding the occasion on which the two villains left the ship, a
+terrific gale came up off shore. Unable to reef sail single-handed, I
+was compelled to cut the cable and head out for sea. For three days we
+scudded before the gale. The canvas was torn to ribbons, and one after
+another my masts went. I managed to cut the wreckage free with an axe.
+
+       +       +       +       +       +
+
+"'Some days later. What is happening to the ship? She is being drawn by
+some strong but invisible current. There is no wind, but she is moving
+fairly fast. What can be going to happen to me? One thing is sure, I am
+out of the track of ocean vessels. Heaven help me, for I fear I am
+beyond human aid!'"
+
+"The poor fellow's mind evidently gave way soon after this," said the
+ensign; "the entries grow disjointed and wild. He declares the cabin is
+haunted. That the ghosts of the dead mutineers haunt the ship. At last
+they cease abruptly with the words, 'God be merciful to me, I am going
+mad.'"
+
+A silence fell over the party in the dead mariner's cabin. The mystery,
+the spell of the horror of it all, was strong upon them. In each lad's
+mind was a vivid picture of the unfortunate captain held in the grip of
+a strange current, being driven day by day further from the track of
+ships, while his fevered mind pictured ghostly forms all about him.
+
+"How do you suppose his death came?" asked Rob, after the silence had
+endured some moments.
+
+"I have an ugly suspicion which I shall soon verify," said the ensign;
+"you boys wait here for a time."
+
+Alone he reentered the deck-house, where sat the dead seaman. When he
+returned his face was very grave.
+
+"Boys, my suspicions were correct," he said; "by the man's side I found
+a pistol. Undoubtedly, crazed by despair, he ended his life."
+
+"After writing this strange paper?" asked Rob.
+
+"Evidently. To judge from the jumble of figures, it was the product of
+his poor, demented brain."
+
+"If you don't mind, I'll keep it, though," said Rob. "I've an idea about
+it."
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"Why, that it may not be what you think, after all. It bears the
+earmarks of an orderly cipher and is not scrawled at all as are the
+final entries in the log book."
+
+"That's right," agreed the ensign admiringly, "you Boy Scouts have
+mighty keen minds. Well, my boy, keep it and study it at your leisure,
+although I am free to confess that I cannot think of it otherwise than
+in the way mentioned."
+
+"Perhaps you are right," said Rob, "but I'll have a try at puzzling it
+out, when I get time."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+A STARTLING ADVENTURE.
+
+
+During the conversation recorded none of the party had given much
+thought to conditions outside. Now, when he stepped to the door of the
+cabin, the ensign uttered a sharp cry of consternation.
+
+"What's the matter?" asked Rob, as he approached.
+
+"Matter enough. Look there!" was the rejoinder.
+
+A dense white fog had come softly rolling up, and now the derelict _Good
+Hope_ lay enwrapped in fleecy white clouds, thick and impenetrable.
+
+"Well, we'll have to wait here in the boat till this clears off,"
+declared Bob; "we could never find the _Seneca_ in this mess."
+
+"That's the worst of it," rejoined the lieutenant, "there is no boat."
+
+"No boat," echoed Rob uncomprehendingly; "but we came in one. It will be
+waiting for us."
+
+"No. I gave orders for the men to return to the _Seneca_ and bring over
+a destructive mine, for I had determined to blow up this dangerous
+menace to navigation. They have not returned, that is evident, or I
+would have been notified. Boys, we are in a bad fix. I don't know how
+fast this old hulk is drifting; but I imagine that if this keeps up much
+longer, we shall fetch up a long way from the _Seneca's_ whereabouts."
+
+"Can't they cruise about and find us?" asked Merritt rather piteously.
+He was not a lad to underestimate the real seriousness of their position
+on board the old hulk in the impenetrable fog that hung in blanket-like
+wreaths everywhere about them.
+
+In reply to the boy's question the ensign declared that it would be
+impossible for the _Seneca_ to pick them up until the weather cleared,
+if then.
+
+"It would be risking the vessel to cruise about in this smother," he
+said; "why, she'd be as likely to strike the _Good Hope_ as not!"
+
+Rob's face grew long, though he did his best to make light of the
+situation.
+
+"Then we've got to picnic here till the fog clears off," he said.
+
+"That's the case exactly, Rob," was the officer's rejoinder.
+
+"But what are we going to picnic on?" inquired Tubby anxiously. "There's
+no food or water on board, and we haven't brought any."
+
+"There you go again. Always thinking of that precious tummy of yours,"
+cried Hiram. "A little starving won't hurt you."
+
+"Huh, just because you look like a human bean pole, you don't think
+anyone has a right to be fat. You're jealous, that's what you are," was
+the indignant reply of the fat youth.
+
+Under other conditions there might have ensued a rough and tumble
+battle; but just at this instant, through the fog, there came the
+booming sound of a vessel's whistle.
+
+"Waugh-gh-gh-gh!"
+
+The long bellow sounded through the white, all-enveloping mist
+surrounding the old hulk and its young company of castaways.
+
+"That's the _Seneca's_ whistle," exclaimed the ensign anxiously. "She's
+calling for us."
+
+"Gee! She must know that we can't come to her," exclaimed Paul Perkins.
+
+"I guess she's 'standing by' till the fog lifts," rejoined the officer.
+"We'll release the bell. That may help to locate us."
+
+But instead of standing by, it became apparent, before long, that the
+_Seneca_ was cruising about. The reason for supposing this was that the
+next time they heard the hoot of the siren it sounded much further off.
+
+The boys exchanged glances.
+
+"How long do these fogs last, as a rule?" enquired Merritt.
+
+"Impossible to say!" was the quick reply, with an anxious look about.
+"If only we could get a slant of wind!"
+
+But there was not a breath stirring. Only the _Good Hope_ swung to the
+soft swells, lifting and falling with a hopeless, helpless sort of
+motion. In fact, an experienced seaman could have told her waterlogged
+condition by the very "heft and heave" of her, which was sluggish to a
+degree.
+
+"Well, I suppose we must make up our minds to spend some time here,"
+said Rob, with another attempt to treat the matter lightly. "Goodness,
+our adventures are surely beginning early this trip!"
+
+The others could not help but agree with the young leader of the Eagles,
+although they could hardly foresee the still more thrilling experiences
+that lay just ahead of them.
+
+"I would suggest," began the ensign presently, "I would suggest that we
+search for some trace of food."
+
+"Humph; mouldy ship's biscuits!" grunted Tubby half under his breath.
+"Even if there are any on board, they must be rotten by this time. This
+is a fine fix! Maybe we won't get any supper at all," and the fat boy
+looked positively tragic over the dire prospect.
+
+But although Tubby had spoken in a low tone, more to himself than to
+anybody else, the ensign's sharp ears had overheard him.
+
+"Young man," he said somewhat sternly, "if you want to be a good Boy
+Scout you must learn to take hardships as they come."
+
+"Even missing meals?" asked Tubby, in an injured voice.
+
+"Yes, even that," repeated the young officer with a smile, which in the
+Eagles' case was a perfect roar of laughter at Tubby's keen distress.
+The fat boy strode off sullenly by himself, gazing at the fog as he went
+in a very knowing way.
+
+They searched the ship over for something that it would be possible to
+eat; but not so much as a crumb of edible supplies did they find. In one
+hold was discovered a number of barrels of "salt horse and pork," but
+they were all dried up and unfit for human food. The same thing applied
+to the biscuit kegs, and all the other supplies. It was out of the
+question to think of touching any of them.
+
+"Whatever are we going to do?" gasped Rob, a note of real alarm in his
+voice for the first time.
+
+The ensign's calmness served to steady all the boys a bit.
+
+"Don't worry; everything will come out all right," he said; "we are in
+the track of ships, and----"
+
+"But in this dense fog, that fact make it all the more dangerous,"
+declared Rob, and the young officer could not but answer him with a nod
+in the affirmative.
+
+"I can't help admitting that, my boy," was his further rejoinder; "all
+we can do is to trust to Providence and hope that the fog will disappear
+before long."
+
+"Let's whistle for a wind," suggested Rob, who had heard of sailors
+doing such a thing.
+
+"Better than doing nothing. It will fill the time in, anyway," agreed
+the ensign.
+
+The boys squatted in a circle.
+
+"What will we whistle?" asked Merritt.
+
+"'Wait Till the Clouds Roll By,' of course," rejoined Rob.
+
+As the plaintive notes came from the whistlers' puckered lips, Tubby
+sauntered up, his hands in his tunic pockets.
+
+"What are you doing?" he asked, staring at them, "gone crazy with the
+heat, or what?"
+
+"We're whistling for a wind," answered Merritt.
+
+"Huh; why don't you whistle for grub?" demanded Tubby, turning on his
+heel, and striding gloomily off once more.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+TRAPPED BY FLAMES.
+
+
+Night fell and found them still in the same plight. The fog had shut in
+closer if anything. Since the last time they had caught the diminishing
+sound of the _Seneca's_ siren, they had heard no sound from any vessel.
+Others besides Tubby were hungry on board the _Good Hope_ that night.
+Then, too, the thought of the tragedy that had been consummated on board
+the derelict, and the gloom-inspiring presence of the silent figure in
+the forward deck house, were not calculated to inspire cheerful
+thoughts.
+
+One thing they did have, and that was light. For in the course of their
+investigation of the old hulk they had stumbled across several old
+candle lanterns, the candles in which were still capable of burning. One
+of these lanterns was lashed to the stump of the forward mast, but the
+other was hung up in the cabin below. For it was in this latter place
+that the little party of castaways gathered and tried, by telling
+stories and cracking jokes, to keep their spirits in the ascendent.
+
+But their efforts were not very successful. As the Scotch say, "It's ill
+jesting on an empty stomach," and that is the malady from which they all
+were suffering. Thirst did not as yet trouble them much, but they knew
+that if they were not speedily picked up by some vessel, that would also
+be added to their ordeal.
+
+So the night passed away, with the castaways watching in turn for some
+ray of hope of the fog lifting. It was soon after midnight, and in Rob's
+watch, that a startling thing happened--something that brought his heart
+into his mouths, and set his every nerve on vibrant edge.
+
+The boy was sitting up forward, pondering the strangeness of the day's
+happenings, when suddenly, right ahead of him, as it seemed, the fog was
+split by the hoarse shriek of a steamer's whistle.
+
+Rob's scalp tightened from alarm as he leaped for the lantern.
+
+"Look out!" he shouted at the top of his voice; "look out!"
+
+But for reply there only came back out of the dense smother ahead
+another raucous call of the big steam whistle.
+
+"Gracious! We'll be run down! We'll be sunk!" cried the boy, half wild
+with alarm.
+
+He shouted to his companions to come on deck; but before they could
+obey, a huge, black bulk loomed up right above the derelict. Rob shouted
+at the top of his voice. It seemed as if the _Good Hope_ would be cut in
+two and that the steamer was also doomed to disaster if she struck.
+
+Through the blackness flashed a green side-light, and then came the
+rushing by of the great hull, with its rows of illuminated portholes.
+Rob stood stock still. He was fairly rooted to the spot with panic. But
+the big steamer raced by in the blackness and fog without anyone on
+board her ever dreaming that she had been in such close proximity to the
+drifting derelict.
+
+As her stern lights flashed for an instant and then were shut out in the
+fog, Rob's companions came rushing on deck.
+
+"What is it? What has happened?" demanded the ensign, readily perceiving
+that something very serious had occurred.
+
+Rob, still shaky from his experience, related, as briefly as possible,
+just what had caused his cry of alarm.
+
+"Well, those liners take desperate chances," commented the officer; "had
+they struck us, not only we, but they, would have been seriously
+injured."
+
+"Gee! I wish you could have found time to ask 'em to throw us some
+sandwiches," said Tubby, rubbing his stomach; "I'm as empty as a dry
+gourd."
+
+"I reckon we could all do with something to eat," chorused the other
+young "Eagles".
+
+The ensign bade them cheer up.
+
+"By daylight we may have a wind, and then, with the fog gone, it won't
+take long for some vessel to pick us up."
+
+He spoke with a cheerfulness he was actually far from feeling. In fact,
+his boyish listeners were not inclined to look hopefully on the
+situation. By this time every one of them would have given almost all he
+possessed for a big pitcher of cool ice water.
+
+"I will take the remainder of your watch, Rob," said the ensign, with a
+glance at his watch. "You only had a few minutes to serve anyway, and
+the next round of duty is mine."
+
+"Very well," said Rob; "to tell the truth, a nap would feel pretty good.
+I hope things will have cleared by the time I wake up."
+
+The boys went below, leaving the officer on the fog-circled deck. The
+mist gleamed on everything, the rays of the candle-lamp making them
+glisten as if water had been newly poured on them. Far off the hoarse
+hooting of the ship that had so nearly run them down was to be heard.
+
+"Narrow escape, that! Narrower than I quite care to admit, even to
+myself," mused the young officer. "I wonder if those lads realize how
+bad a fix we are in. I must confess I don't like the look of things at
+all."
+
+He fell to pacing the deck, and then decided to have a cigar. For this
+purpose he produced a perfecto from his pocket and lighted it. Then he
+fell to pacing the deck once more, thinking deeply. His cigar finished,
+he tossed it aside. Possibly it was his worry over their predicament
+that made him absent-minded in this regard, but instead of observing the
+rule of the sea to cast all such things overboard, he threw it to the
+deck. A lurch of the _Good Hope_ caused the glowing butt of the cigar
+to go rolling across the deck and to drop into the hold below.
+
+It was some time later that Paul Perkins came on deck to take his turn
+at the night vigil.
+
+As he came forward he was startled to see what appeared to be a ghostly
+figure, slightly darker than the fog, slip from the forward hold and
+glide across the deck toward the ensign, who was pacing up and down.
+Much startled, Paul called out aloud, and at the same instant a peculiar
+acrid odor came to his nostrils.
+
+"Something's burning!" he cried.
+
+Simultaneously he had come up to the side of the hatch and saw that
+smoke was pouring from it. What he had taken for a ghostly figure was a
+whirl of smoke.
+
+"Fire! Something's on fire below!" cried the boy, dashing forward.
+
+The ensign reached the edge of the hold as quickly. Together they peered
+over into the great open space below. Both involuntarily recoiled with
+a cry of horror and alarm at what they saw.
+
+The _Good Hope's_ hold was a mass of flames! To gaze into them was like
+looking into a red hot furnace.
+
+Adrift in a blinding fog, on a burning ship, and without boats, was a
+predicament the like of which their adventurous lives had never before
+encountered!
+
+The cigar so carelessly cast aside by the ensign had fallen upon a pile
+of sacking, grease-soaked and inflammable, lying in the former whaler's
+hold. Like all whale ships the timbers of the _Good Hope_ were literally
+soaked with grease, the result of whale oil and blubber. Such timbers
+burn like matchwood.
+
+Small wonder that, brave man as he was, and schooled against emotional
+display in the stern school of the Navy, the ensign should yet cry out:
+
+"If help does not arrive, we are doomed to die like rats!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+A BOY SCOUT SIGNAL.
+
+
+It was five minutes later that the whole company of castaways was
+gathered around the hatchway. A red glare from below shone on their
+faces, illuminating expressions of dismay and apprehension.
+
+"What can we do?" gasped out Rob. "There are no boats, no means of
+escape!"
+
+"We'll be burned to death," shuddered Paul Perkins.
+
+All looked to the ensign for some suggestion. His tightly compressed
+lips and drawn features suggested that he was thinking deeply, thinking
+as men think whose very lives depend upon quick decision.
+
+"We must put on the hatches," he said decisively; "there they lie
+yonder. That will deprive the fire of oxygen and give us at least a few
+hours before we have to vacate."
+
+The coverings of the hatch, big, thick planks, lay not far away.
+Evidently they lay just as they did on the day that the cargo of mammoth
+tusks had been taken from the _Good Hope_ and hidden. Working with
+feverish energy, the boys soon had the hatch covered tightly. But the
+work had almost exhausted their strength. The fumes of the blazing hold
+and the suffocating black smoke that rolled out, had almost caused them
+to succumb.
+
+Their desperate task accomplished, they lay panting on the deck,
+incapable, for the time being, of further effort. However, with the
+hatch in place and tightly dovetailed, there was a gleam of hope that
+the flames might be smothered, or at least held in check till the fog
+cleared and they could sight a vessel.
+
+The first faint glimmering of dawn, shown by an increasing transparence
+in the fog, found the derelict still lying inert. But a second later the
+boys were on their feet with a cheer. A light breeze had sprung up and
+the fog was agitated by it like drifting steam. Little by little the
+breeze increased and the fog thinned out to mere wisps. The sun shone
+through and disclosed a glimmering expanse of sea stretched all about.
+But, to their bitter disappointment, the great heaving expanse was empty
+of life. Not a sail or a sign of a steamer marred its lonely surface.
+
+They exchanged dismayed looks. There was no knowing at what moment the
+fiery, seething furnace beneath their very feet might break through and
+force them to fight for their existence.
+
+Already the decks were hot. Aside from this, however, so well did the
+hatch fit that not even a wisp of smoke escaped. Except the extreme
+heat, there was nothing to indicate that the interior of the _Good
+Hope's_ hull was a fiery furnace.
+
+The hours wore on, the little company of castaways dreading every moment
+that what they feared might happen. Still no indication that the fire
+was about to break through occurred. But their sufferings from thirst
+were terrible. One after another the Boy Scouts sank to the decks in a
+sort of coma. Rob, Merritt, and the ensign himself alone retained their
+strength.
+
+"If some vessel doesn't appear before long we are doomed."
+
+It was Rob who spoke, and the mere fact that the others were silent
+indicated plainly that they shared his opinion.
+
+Despite their sufferings and anxiety a bright lookout was kept. It was
+Rob who electrified them by a sudden shout:
+
+"Look! Look out there to the north!"
+
+"A sail!" shouted the ensign, springing to his feet.
+
+"Yes. A steam yacht, rather! She's coming this way, too!"
+
+"That's what. But how can we signal her? If she doesn't hurry she may be
+too late!"
+
+"We can wave and shout!"
+
+The ensign shook his head.
+
+"She is too far off to see or hear us. Is there no other way to attract
+her?"
+
+A dozen plans were thought of and discarded. Then Rob spoke:
+
+"I've thought of a way, but it's a desperate one."
+
+"Never mind, what is it?"
+
+"We will signal her in Boy Scout fashion. Maybe there is someone on
+board who understands it."
+
+The others looked puzzled. Rob hastened to explain.
+
+"You all know the smoke column system of signalling?"
+
+"I see what you mean!" shouted Merritt. "You mean to send up two
+columns of smoke meaning 'Help! We are lost!'"
+
+Rob nodded.
+
+"But how is that possible?" demanded the ensign, with a puzzled
+inflection in his tones. "We've got a whole ship full of smoke under us,
+of course, but I don't see how we are going to utilize it in the way you
+suggest."
+
+"I've thought it out," declared Rob modestly.
+
+He produced his heavy-bladed scouting knife.
+
+"Merritt, you take your knife and we'll cut two holes in the top of the
+hatch. That will make two smoke columns, and if anyone on that yacht is
+a Scout, they will come rushing at top speed toward us!"
+
+"Jove! You boys are resourceful, indeed!" cried the ensign admiringly.
+
+Without more ado the boys fell to work on their task. They cut the holes
+about ten feet apart. It was hard work, but they stuck to it
+perseveringly, and at last, from the two holes, two columns of black
+smoke spouted up. Luckily for their plans the wind had, by this time,
+moderated so much as to have fallen almost flat.
+
+High into the heavens soared the two black columns of smoke like two
+pillars of inky vapor.
+
+Every eye watched the distant yacht anxiously. For five minutes the
+anxiety was so intense that no one spoke. The pitch of expectancy was
+painful.
+
+Then came a great cry.
+
+"They've seen our signal!" shouted Rob.
+
+"Yes; look, she's changing her course. Look at the black smoke coming
+from her funnel. She's making top speed to our rescue!" cried Merritt.
+
+"Let's hope that she won't be too late," murmured the ensign under his
+breath, and then aloud he cried:
+
+"Three cheers for the Boy Scouts of the Eagle Patrol!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE BOYS MEET A "WOLF."
+
+
+Faster and faster came the yacht. She was a large white craft, with a
+yellow funnel and two rakish-looking masts, with light spidery rigging.
+Between her masts was suspended a parallel sort of "antennae," wires
+betokening that she carried wireless. At her bow the foam creamed up as
+she rushed through the water on her errand of mercy.
+
+With what anxiety those on the _Good Hope_ watched her, may be imagined.
+Their eyes fairly burned as they regarded the race of their rescuers
+against the fire which raged below them. For the two holes cut by Rob
+and Merritt, while they had had the good effect of attracting aid, had
+also had a less gratifying result.
+
+Through them the air had been transmitted to the flaming mass below, and
+flames were now shooting up through them and enlarging the openings
+every instant. The air grew so fearfully hot that all were compelled to
+beat a retreat to the extreme stern of the _Good Hope_.
+
+Little was said as the yacht rounded up as close to the burning ship as
+she dared, and lowered a boat. By this time clouds of black smoke, shot
+with livid flames, were shooting skyward above the doomed craft. It was
+a fortunate thing for the castaways that no wind was stirring or this
+story might have had a different termination.
+
+The boat was manned by sailors in white duck clothes and was guided by a
+lad wearing the Boy Scout uniform. As soon as they saw this the boys
+gave the cry of the Eagle Patrol. As the long drawn "Kree-ee-ee!" died
+out, the boy in the stern stood erect and gave the Scout salute. Then
+followed a long-drawn, growling shout:
+
+"How-oo-oo-oo!"
+
+"That's the cry of one of the Wolf Patrols!" cried Merritt.
+
+"Yes; and that boy is a Wolf," declared Rob.
+
+"Well, at all events he comes in sheep's clothing," the ensign could not
+resist saying.
+
+The next instant the boat was under the stern and the rescued castaways
+were sliding down a rope into it. Hardly a word was spoken while this
+was going on; the work in hand was too important.
+
+But hardly had they all found places before, in an earnest voice, the
+ensign exclaimed:
+
+"Pull for your lives, men; spare no time."
+
+"Why, you are safe enough now," declared the Wolf Scout.
+
+"Far from it," declared the young officer seriously, "the log book of
+that craft spoke of dynamite on board. They used it to blast their way
+out of the polar ice. I think----"
+
+A terrific concussion that threw them all from their seats interrupted
+him. Then came a blinding flash, and this in turn was followed by an
+explosion that seemed to shake the sea.
+
+"Pull for your lives!" shouted the ensign to the alarmed sailors.
+
+Dazed as they were, they lost no time in doing so, but even then
+fragments of blazing wood and red-hot metal rained about them in a
+downpour of great danger.
+
+Luckily, however, none of the blazing fragments struck the boat. As soon
+as they recovered their faculties, the boys gazed back at the spot where
+the _Good Hope_ had last been seen. There was not a trace of her. The
+dynamite had literally blown the ill-fated whaler out of existence. Only
+oily pools remained on the surface to show the spot of her vanishing.
+
+"I can easily see that you chaps have been through some thrilling
+experiences," remarked the Wolf boy, whose name proved to be Donald
+Grant, attached to the Wolf Patrol of the 14th New York City Troop.
+
+"We have, indeed," rejoined Rob, "but we would rather defer the telling
+of them till we arrive on board your yacht. What's her name?"
+
+"The _Brigand_," was the reply; "we are on a cruise through the West
+Indies."
+
+"The _Brigand_," echoed the ensign. "Isn't that J. P. Grant, the great
+financier's yacht?"
+
+"Yes, he's my father," rejoined Donald simply; "he's on board. You'll be
+glad to meet him, and I know he'll be delighted to welcome you and hear
+your story."
+
+"Did you recognize our signal as soon as you saw it?" inquired Rob.
+
+"I sure did," responded Donald; "lucky you sent it up, too, as we were
+on another course, and would not have passed near enough to see that
+there was anyone on board what we thought was just an old hulk drifting
+about the ocean."
+
+"You'll be more interested still when you hear how we made the signals,"
+spoke up Hiram.
+
+"Well, I knew that the call meant that the necessity was urgent, and
+although we were going slowly at the time we soon got under full speed.
+Dad has been a bit sceptical about scouting, but I guess he'll admit
+there's some good in it now."
+
+"It was Scout lore that saved our lives," said the ensign quietly.
+
+"Not a doubt of that," agreed Donald; "but here we are, almost alongside
+the _Brigand_."
+
+The boys gazed up at the towering sides of the big yacht, at her
+glittering brass work, and crowds of white-jacketed sailors gazing over
+the side curiously. Astern a big bronzed man leaned over the rail gazing
+down with equal interest. Rob recognized him instantly from pictures he
+had seen of him in the papers, as Junius P. Grant, the "Wall Street
+King," as he was called.
+
+He greeted them with a wave of his hand.
+
+"Welcome to the _Brigand_, young men," he hailed in a hearty tone; "you
+have the Boy Scout idea to thank for your lives. Had my lad there been
+five minutes later we'd have been too late to save you."
+
+"That's true enough, sir," hailed back the ensign; "we all thank you
+from the bottom of our hearts for your prompt relief work."
+
+"The best thanks you can give me will be to come on board at once and
+get washed up and partake of the best the _Brigand_ can provide," was
+the pleasant reply.
+
+"Yes; get on board, quick," urged Donald, as the gangway was lowered and
+the boatmen shipped their oars, "you look about all in."
+
+"We look like a lot of tramps, I guess you mean," laughed Rob, but for
+all that he felt a bit ashamed of their appearance. They were covered
+with grime from their fire-fighting experiences. Loss of sleep, hunger,
+and exposure had drawn their cheeks and reddened their eyes. Altogether,
+they looked very unlike the trim crew that had set out from the Derelict
+Destroyer _Seneca_ only a comparatively short time before.
+
+As soon as they arrived on board, they were turned over to the steward,
+who provided them with quarters in which to spruce up. Everything on the
+_Brigand_ was appointed as luxuriously as could be possible. This fact
+rather added to the boys' embarrassment. But when half an hour after
+their arrival they gathered about a splendidly appointed luncheon table,
+their embarrassment turned to positive bashfulness. Never had any of
+them felt so out of place. The ensign alone retained his
+self-possession.
+
+It was not till Mr. Grant had tactfully interested them in relating
+their adventures, that they forgot their self-consciousness and ate and
+drank during the narrative, like famished wolves--or Eagles.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+A NEW RECRUIT.
+
+
+It was about an hour after luncheon, which, naturally enough, with all
+that had to be related, had been a rather protracted meal. The party of
+which the Boy Scouts and their naval friend had so unexpectedly become
+members was foregathered beneath the stern awning in comfortable wicker
+chairs.
+
+The ensign was relating to Mr. Grant, under pledge of secrecy, some
+details of the work which was expected to be accomplished on the lonely
+island. Mr. Grant, who was intensely interested, agreed to put the
+officer and his young charges ashore at Charleston or some convenient
+port, provided the _Seneca_ could not be reached by wireless. The boys
+were secretly hoping that this would prove impossible, that they might
+protract their cruise on the _Brigand_.
+
+Donald and the boys had instinctively become chums. The millionaire's
+son was a manly, self-reliant sort of chap, with crisp, curly hair, and
+blue eyes that could be merry or determined. Then, too, he was a
+first-class Scout and deeply versed in Scout lore. In fact, the Eagles
+were no more than a match for the knowledge of this young Wolf.
+
+While the ensign and Mr. Grant chatted, they watched the youngsters with
+interest. When Donald had carried them off to show them the _Brigand_
+from stem to stern, as he expressed it, Mr. Grant laid down his cigar
+and, turning to the ensign, said, with his customary abruptness:
+
+"Could you use another Boy Scout on this work?"
+
+"Well--I--really, I've hardly considered it," was the astonished
+rejoinder.
+
+"If you could, I have one for you."
+
+"You mean your son Donald?"
+
+"Yes. He is a manly, fine lad, but he has been a little bit coddled by
+his mother and sisters. Now he and these other boys appear to get along
+famously, and they are just the sort of lads I should like my boy to
+associate with."
+
+The naval officer nodded.
+
+"I never saw or heard of such another lot of lads as those comprising
+the Eagle Patrol," he said with emphasis; "although, of course," he
+continued, "there are probably many such enrolled in the ranks of the
+Boy Scouts."
+
+"I don't doubt it. Donald is a different lad already since he joined the
+Wolf Patrol. Now this cruise of mine will be dull at best to the lad.
+You see I am combining business with pleasure, and he will be thrown
+much on his own resources. He has seen the West Indies before, so there
+would not be much that is novel to him in the scenery or the people.
+What do you say to my proposal?"
+
+Cigar in hand, the great man of Wall Street paused for an answer,
+knitting his famous black eyebrows as he did so.
+
+"Why, if Donald is anxious to go, I don't see why it could not be
+arranged," was the ensign's reply; "but why not ask the lad himself?"
+
+"And your boys, too, of course," was the rejoinder; "they might object
+to adding an outsider to their number."
+
+"Not much fear of that," smiled the officer; "why, you would think they
+had been lifelong friends. Hark at that!"
+
+A merry peal of laughter came ringing from somewhere about the ship.
+
+At this juncture, a young man in a natty uniform came hastening up. He
+bore a slip of yellow paper which he respectfully handed to the Wall
+Street magnate.
+
+"Ah, Collins,--Mr. Hargreaves, this is our wireless operator."
+
+The ensign nodded while Mr. Grant gazed over the message.
+
+"So you picked her up, eh, Collins?" he said, handing the message he had
+just perused over to the ensign.
+
+"Yes, sir. It appears that after missing the derelict in the fog the
+_Seneca_ cruised in circles looking for her. She is now within ten miles
+of us."
+
+"So I see by this message," struck in the ensign; "we are fortunate not
+to have drifted further."
+
+"What do you wish to do?" inquired Mr. Grant.
+
+"Naturally, to be transferred to my own ship, if you will be so kind."
+
+Mr. Grant nodded.
+
+"Collins, get our exact position from the captain, signal it to the
+_Seneca_, and tell her we will lay off and on here till she arrives."
+
+"Very well, sir," said the man of the wireless, with a bow.
+
+He had hardly withdrawn when the boys came up, fresh from their
+inspection of the _Brigand_. All were loud in praise of the craft,
+especially Rob and Merritt.
+
+"Would you rather cruise on this craft or go on the duty for Uncle Sam
+which lies before you?" asked Mr. Grant quizzically.
+
+The Boy Scouts drew themselves up.
+
+"Why, sir, our duty to our country comes before pleasure," declared Rob,
+acting as spokesman. "Cruising about is all right, but we Boy Scouts
+like to be doing something useful for somebody else, but most of all for
+Uncle Sam."
+
+Rob paused, rather alarmed at his temerity at thus addressing one of the
+richest men in the world.
+
+"So you think I am wasting my time cruising, eh?" said Mr. Grant
+amusedly glancing at the upright, slender boy before him from under his
+heavy brows.
+
+It was impossible to tell whether he was displeased or not. But Rob
+decided not to recede from his position. He knew that the Boy Scouts
+were supposed to be manly, self-reliant, and upright under all
+conditions. So putting his fears of offending the man before him aside,
+he spoke up boldly:
+
+"It's different for you, sir. Your life work has raised your monument;
+but I think, and I guess my Patrol agrees with me, that it is better for
+boys to be on active duty and," he added, his eyes flashing and his
+cheeks glowing, "especially such service as we are now going on.
+It's--it's glorious," he concluded breathlessly.
+
+"I think you are quite right, my boy," was the magnate's reply, a very
+different one from the rejoinder Rob had dreaded.
+
+"I hope you don't think me presumptuous or impudent," replied Rob, "but
+you asked my opinion, and you know, sir, we Boy Scouts must always tell
+the truth. Perhaps it seems a poor return after you saved our lives,
+to----"
+
+But Mr. Grant cut the boy short with a wave of the hand.
+
+"Nonsense, all I did was to stand by and watch. If Donald had not
+understood those smoke signals, you might not be on earth now. But in
+return, I want to ask you to do something for him."
+
+Rob nodded respectfully but said nothing. He wondered greatly what could
+be coming next.
+
+"I want you to take Donald with you on this duty for Uncle Sam. The
+ensign here has agreed. Are you willing to make my son one of your
+party?"
+
+"Are we willing?" stammered out Rob. "Why, sir, we've just been
+discussing what a shame it was that he had to go on a stupid old
+cruise--I beg your pardon, on a cruise--when real work lay ahead,
+and----"
+
+But Donald had danced up to his father cheering and throwing his hat in
+the air. Then he rushed up to his newly-found comrades and a
+hand-shaking and "bear hugging" match ensued, such as is rarely seen
+except among lads who are real companions, bound together by a common
+bond.
+
+Suddenly above the tumult Rob's voice sounded.
+
+"Boys, let's give the cry of the Wolf Patrol!"
+
+Instantly savage growls resounded, and after that the Eagles joined
+hands, formed a circle about Donald, and danced a sort of war dance of
+joy, concluding with the screaming cry of their Patrol.
+
+Mr. Grant and Ensign Hargreaves smilingly watched this scene.
+
+When something like order had been restored, the latter announced the
+closeness of the _Seneca_.
+
+This, too, was greeted with a cheer, which was cut short by the
+reappearance of Collins.
+
+"I've been talking with the _Seneca_, sir, and he says that they are
+proceeding here at full speed."
+
+"Good. That will do, unless you have any communications to make," said
+Mr. Grant, turning to the ensign.
+
+"No, sir, none whatever," was the reply.
+
+It was ten minutes later when Rob's sharp eye descried a trail of smoke
+on the horizon. A short time after, by the aid of glasses, the craft was
+made out to be the _Seneca_, bound at full speed for the yacht. On the
+latter's signal-halliards up went a gaudy string of signal flags
+announcing her identity. The signal was answered from the Derelict
+Destroyer, which also fired a gun in honor of the recovery of the
+castaways.
+
+By midafternoon good-byes, warm and hearty, had been said, three ringing
+cheers exchanged between the crews of both craft, and the _Brigand_ was
+headed due south, while the _Seneca_ made in toward the coast. Long
+before sunset both craft had vanished from each other's sight.
+
+"So that was one derelict that Uncle Sam did not have to destroy,"
+laughed Ensign Hargreaves to Lieutenant Murray as they stood side by
+side on the bridge.
+
+"No," rejoined the other, "she committed suicide; but if it hadn't been
+for our young recruit, Donald, she wouldn't have gone to her grave
+alone!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+BARTON THE MACHINIST.
+
+
+An island, a sandy, scantily grown spot of land, shaped like a splash of
+gravy on a plate, loomed up over the _Seneca's_ bow. On it stood a shed,
+two naked masts with wireless antennae strung between them, and some
+tents, and that was all, except that, removed from the shed mentioned
+above, was a similar and larger structure. This second structure was
+built on piles right out over the sea, and as the coast of the island
+declined abruptly at this point, there was considerable water under its
+corrugated iron roof.
+
+"So that's Barren Island?" asked Rob, who, with the boys and the two
+officers, was standing on the bridge of the _Seneca_ regarding with the
+most intense interest that desolate spot of land.
+
+Beyond it lay other islands equally barren, so that applicability of the
+name was not quite clear, while in the dim distance a faint blue line
+betokened the Carolina coast.
+
+"Yes, that is Barren Island," nodded Lieutenant Murray; "and strange as
+it may seem, the hopes of the Naval Department are centered right at
+this moment on that sandy patch yonder."
+
+"Seems queer, doesn't it?" commented Merritt.
+
+"Queer but safe," smiled Ensign Hargreaves.
+
+"I'm aching to get ashore," exploded Donald eagerly. "Is that a powerful
+wireless?"
+
+"It is capable of sending up to three hundred miles on an average, and
+more under favorable conditions," was the reply.
+
+"What's in that big shed?" demanded someone.
+
+"That houses the _Peacemaker_. The shore shelves off abruptly and the
+submarine is housed under that roof in more than forty feet of water."
+
+"And the other building?"
+
+"A combination cook house and dining room."
+
+"Shall we have lots to eat?" asked Tubby, his eyes glistening as he
+heard.
+
+"Plenty, I hope," rejoined the ensign smiling. "There is an ample stock
+of provisions, and they will be received from the mainland as occasion
+requires."
+
+"But how shall we reach the mainland?"
+
+"In a powerful motor boat," was the reply.
+
+"Say, this is going to be a regular picnic. I thought you chaps said
+hard work lay ahead of us," complained Donald.
+
+"Don't worry," laughed Rob; "I guess we'll find lots to do."
+
+"Never fear," struck in the ensign. "Besides the inventor of the
+_Peacemaker_, Mr. Danbury Barr, and ourselves, there will be only three
+trusted sailors, familiar with submarine work, to conduct the tests; so
+you see that you boys will have your time well occupied."
+
+"Are those tents for us?" asked Paul Perkins interestedly.
+
+"Why, no. You brought your own camping outfits with you. I shall sleep
+in one, Mr. Barr in another, while the third will be occupied by the
+sailor assistants."
+
+"And they are already there?" asked Rob.
+
+"Watch," smiled Lieutenant Murray.
+
+He seized the whistle cord and blew three resounding blasts.
+
+Instantly, from the large shed referred to as housing the submarine,
+four figures appeared, three wore sailor garb and the fourth, it could
+be seen, was in overalls and shirt sleeves.
+
+They waved and the boys cheered.
+
+"I guess we'll drop anchor right here and take you ashore in a boat,"
+said Lieutenant Murray.
+
+The necessary orders were given, the chain roared out, and the _Seneca_
+swung at anchor off Barren Island in twenty fathoms of water.
+
+"Can we go down as deep as that in the _Peacemaker_?" inquired Rob.
+
+"Deeper, much deeper," was the rejoinder; "we hope to go deeper than any
+submarine has ever been before."
+
+"Whoof!" exclaimed Donald.
+
+"What's the trouble?" inquired Merritt.
+
+"Oh, nothing; only it makes a fellow feel kind of creepy, that's all,"
+was the rejoinder.
+
+No sooner had the anchor been dropped, than a scene of great activity
+ensued. The wireless operator of the _Seneca_ was flashing signals back
+and forth with the shore station, and sailors were piling Boy Scout
+equipment into one of the boats while another was lowered for the
+passengers. Donald had his own outfit, it having been on board the
+_Brigand_ when he transferred to the _Seneca_. Although he was the son
+of one of the richest men in the world, it in no wise differed from the
+other lads' outfits, except that it had not seen such hard service as
+theirs had been through.
+
+At last all was ready, good-byes were said, and not without some regret
+the Boy Scouts left their kind friends of the _Seneca_ behind. Ashore a
+warm welcome greeted them. Mr. Danbury Barr proved to be a tall, lean
+individual with a prominent, thin-bridged nose, and sharp, gray eyes
+with all the keenness of a hawk in them. His skin was burned a deep
+golden brown by his sojourn on the island while getting his craft in
+readiness for the tests. Like most inventors he had not much to say, but
+seemed to be agreeable and glad to see the newcomers.
+
+The three sailors, as became them in the presence of an officer, stood
+respectfully back without saying anything, only drawing up and saluting.
+But this was not the case with a man who has not yet been mentioned.
+This was an individual named Luke Barton. He was Mr. Barr's expert
+machinist and mechanical superintendent. Rob took an instinctive dislike
+to the fellow. Not that there was anything actually repulsive about him.
+On the contrary, he was a well-set-up chap of about thirty-five, dark
+haired and mustached; but it was something shifty in the fellow's eyes
+that made Rob distrust him. This impression was not removed when he
+asked of Mr. Barr, in a voice by no means an undertone:
+
+"What's this parcel of kids doing here? Looks like a Sunday school
+picnic."
+
+Mr. Barr explained.
+
+"Oh, a bunch of kid tin soldiers," he sneered, and strode off swinging a
+big monkey wrench. Right then and there Rob's instinctive dislike of the
+man crystallized into a feeling of distrust. He felt sure that the
+fellow had some reason to resent the presence of the Boy Scouts.
+
+Mr. Barr made no comment on his assistant's remarks, doubtless not
+thinking that they had been overheard. In fact, the rest of the party,
+except Rob, had been standing at some little distance when the fellow
+uttered his sneering jibes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE SUBMARINE ISLAND.
+
+
+Under Mr. Barr's guidance the party toured the island. It was about half
+a mile across and slightly longer than its width. Coarse grass grew
+almost to the water's edge, and in the centre, where it rose in a
+cone-shaped formation, some stunted, wind-twisted bushes grew. Also on
+the summit was a driven well, which was formed of galvanized piping, and
+went down, so the boys were informed, for more than two hundred feet.
+
+But to the lads of the Eagle Patrol the most interesting thing on the
+island was, of course, the shed that housed the submarine. This shed was
+open at both ends, and under its iron roof lay the submarine craft.
+Lying as it did, with only its rounded back showing above the surface of
+the water, it reminded the boys of a sleeping whale.
+
+On the top of it, amidships, was the conning tower, with thick glass
+lenses for observation. From the conning tower also protruded the
+periscope, an instrument which enabled the operators of the craft to see
+the ocean about them even when submerged some twenty feet below the
+surface.
+
+A stout rail ran around the top of the hull so as to allow the crew to
+walk along the slippery decks without danger of going overboard. But it
+was the interior that the boys were most anxious to see, and a glad rush
+followed when Mr. Barr invited them on board. Access to the conning
+tower was gained by a gang plank running from the side of the shed.
+Reaching the conning tower, with a press of eager lads about him, Mr.
+Barr threw open a metal door in the top of the observation post, and
+climbed inside. The boys needed no invitation to follow him.
+
+Inside they found themselves in a compartment much resembling the
+wheelhouse of an ordinary surface craft, except that there were various
+instruments to show submergence, and the quality and pressure of the
+air, and devices for handling the engines; for one of the features of
+Mr. Barr's invention was that it could be handled by one man once the
+engines were going.
+
+Leaving the conning tower, they descended a steel ladder into the heart
+of the submarine. The centre was occupied by a comfortably fitted-up
+room which contained, among other things, a small library and a
+phonograph. The inventor switched on a button and the "cabin," as it may
+be called, was instantaneously flooded with a soft light, bright but not
+glaring. In the bulkheads at either end of this compartment were doors,
+steel riveted and solid looking. The inventor explained that beyond the
+stern one were located the engine room and crew's quarters, while on the
+other side of the forward portal lay the sleeping quarters, galley or
+kitchen, and bathroom. Beyond these again came the torpedo room, which
+contained the machinery for launching the death-dealers. Each of these
+was inspected in turn, the boys being delighted with the compactness and
+neatness of everything.
+
+"Now," said the inventor, "we will visit the engine room." Paul Perkins
+and Hiram looked interested; machinery was one of their hobbies.
+
+The _Peacemaker_ carried two sets of engines, electrical for running
+under the surface, and gasoline for use above water. The engines were
+fitted tandem-wise, and to their shafts were attached twin screws of a
+novel design that gave great speed and controlled the submarine easily.
+The gasoline engines were of fifteen hundred horse-power each, and the
+electrical had a trifle lower capacity.
+
+In the engine room, too, were the powerful pumps used for emptying or
+filling the submarine's submergence tanks as it was desired to rise or
+descend. Aft of the engine room came the gasoline tanks, the storage
+batteries, and some minor machinery, such as an ice-making plant, air
+compressor, and so on. In the engine room, too, was a comfortable
+upholstered lounge for the engineer on duty to rest upon. Several dials
+and gauges were on the walls of this compartment, enabling the engineer
+to know at all times under just what conditions the submarine was
+proceeding.
+
+It was in the engines themselves that the inventor had excelled all
+other types of submarines, as well as in the peculiar attributes of the
+hull. Extra tanks were provided whereby, in the event of the main supply
+of gasoline giving out at any time, the _Peacemaker_ could be run quite
+a distance on those alone.
+
+"How long could you stay below the surface?" asked Rob, as they came
+back into the main cabin once more. There they took their seats on broad
+leather divans which at night time could be converted into beds or bunks
+by pulling a lever which caused them to turn over and reveal a snug
+resting place.
+
+"I have not yet made an exhaustive test of that," rejoined Mr. Barr,
+"but I estimate that we could remain below, if necessary, forty-eight
+hours."
+
+"Forty-eight hours!" gasped Rob incredulously.
+
+The inventor nodded calmly.
+
+"My air purifying device makes this supposable. I have a plan by which
+fresh, pure air is almost manufactured. At the same time the foul air is
+forced out."
+
+"I suppose you boys are aching to take a trip," laughed Ensign
+Hargreaves.
+
+"Aching is no word for it," Rob assured him.
+
+"Well, you may have a chance to-morrow," said Mr. Barr; "I am going to
+test out the whole craft thoroughly, and you boys can come along if I
+go."
+
+For the next five minutes nothing could be heard but enthusiastic
+shouts. The boys fairly went wild with delight at the prospect of a trip
+below the ocean's surface. Soon afterward the party emerged from the
+submarine in time to see the _Seneca_ making out to sea on her return
+journey. She carried letters from the boys to their families, as they
+were by no means sure when they would get the next opportunity of
+sending a letter north.
+
+The next hour was occupied in making camp. Then the Stars and Stripes
+and the Eagle banner went up. Donald had no Wolf banner with him, but
+above his tent he hung up something that resembled a wolf's head,
+painted on a bit of canvas.
+
+"Looks more like a chicken than a wolf," scornfully sniffed Tubby when
+he saw it.
+
+"You couldn't think of anything but something good to eat, could you?"
+was Donald's crushing reply.
+
+By the time camp had been made and everything placed neatly in order,
+Andy Bowles, on Ensign Hargreaves' order, sounded the dinner call.
+
+"That's the call that Tubby never forgets," laughed Rob, as the stout
+lad cantered off in the direction of the combination dining hall and
+cook house above mentioned.
+
+They found a bare, pine table, scrubbed scrupulously clean and set with
+metal plates and cups. Lieutenant Hargreaves showed each boy to his
+seat, while he and the inventor sat at opposite ends of the board. The
+sailors, and the machinist who had impressed Rob so unfavorably, ate
+later.
+
+The cook, a stout, good-natured looking negro, came bustling in with a
+huge bucket-like pan full of steaming soup. Tubby's eyes glistened as
+he saw it, and soon he was piling in prodigious quantities of it. The
+soup was followed by salt beef, potatoes, and other vegetables, and then
+came a big wedge of cocoanut pie.
+
+"We get fresh meat fairly often," explained Mr. Barr, "but the launch
+has not been to the mainland recently, so we have to get along on what
+sailors call 'Willie'."
+
+"Isn't there game of any kind hereabouts?" asked Rob.
+
+"Oh, yes. There are several shore birds of different varieties, but we
+have really been too busy of late to go after them. Now that you boys
+have come, however, you can take out my shot guns--I have three of
+them--and see what you can do as hunters."
+
+"Are the shore birds good eating?" inquired Tubby with his mouth full of
+pie.
+
+"Yes, Master Hopkins. Epicures, in fact, declare that there is no better
+dish than roasted plovers."
+
+"I'll take one of the guns," declared Tubby, his eyes glistening, as,
+even his appetite satisfied for the while, he sank back in his chair.
+
+As they filed out of the dining hall the negro cook announced to the
+sailors and the mechanic, by means of a big bell, that it was time for
+them to eat.
+
+Rob, on his way to the camp, happened to pass by Luke Barton. He greeted
+the latter with a cheery nod.
+
+"Going to eat, Barton?" he inquired.
+
+The man glowered at him a minute, and then muttering something about
+"fresh kids eating up everything," he strode on toward the eating place.
+
+"My gracious," exclaimed Tubby, who had witnessed the whole proceeding,
+"you and that fellow get along like a pair of panthers, don't you?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+DOWN TO THE DEPTHS.
+
+
+It was the following morning, a bright, clear day, with a clean swept
+sky overhead, and seaward, the waves whipping up into smart little
+whitecaps under a brisk breeze. Breakfast was over, the Boy Scouts'
+bugle had sounded an assembly call, and now all were eagerly mustered
+about the submarine shed awaiting Mr. Barr's arrival and permission to
+go on board the _Peacemaker_.
+
+True to his promise, the inventor had decided to make the boys
+participants in the trial trip of the slate-colored diving boat.
+Presently he appeared, accompanied by Ensign Hargreaves. Ten minutes
+later the chatting, laughing party was on board the _Peacemaker_, and
+half an hour after that she was pronounced ready for the start. Mr. Barr
+took his place in the conning tower with Ensign Hargreaves beside him.
+Barton was in the engine room, sullen and uncommunicative as usual. Rob
+and Merritt were on deck with one of the sailors, delegated to the duty
+of casting off the diving boat's lines.
+
+At last came the word from the conning tower:
+
+"Cast off."
+
+Rob seized a rope and cast off from the stern bitts, while the sailor
+performed the same operation at the bow.
+
+"Must we come inside now?" inquired Rob, through the open hatch of the
+conning tower.
+
+"Not yet; unless you wish to. I will notify you before we dive," was Mr.
+Barr's reply.
+
+"Goodness, I hope he doesn't forget," said Rob laughingly, as the
+inventor turned on a switch and started the engines. The cigar-shaped
+form of the craft trembled as the powerful twin propellers beat the
+water. Then, handling as perfectly as a catboat, she backed slowly out
+of the shed and on to the open sea.
+
+Once outside the shed, her helmsman headed the craft about and made
+directly east. To Rob and Merritt, standing on the deck, the sensation
+was a thrilling one. Faster and faster the craft was driven till great
+clouds of spray compelled the two lads to seek refuge in the conning
+tower.
+
+Inside the boat the hum of machinery and the vibration of the powerful
+engines could be plainly distinguished. Rob glanced at the speed
+indicator on the steel wall of the "pilot house."
+
+"Twenty-five knots! Phew! that's going some," he gasped.
+
+"She can make thirty-two on the surface and twenty-one under water,"
+said the inventor calmly.
+
+As he spoke, he drew a lever toward him and the _Peacemaker_ appeared to
+leap forward like a horse under the lash.
+
+Rob watched the handle of the indicator as it sped slowly around the
+dial. Up and up it crept till it stopped at thirty-two knots and a half.
+
+"Jove! Barr," exclaimed the ensign, "this is the wonder craft of the
+century."
+
+"I think I could get even more speed out of her, but I don't wish to
+strain the engines," was the confident reply.
+
+"This is fast enough for me, thank you," said Rob to Merritt in an
+undertone.
+
+From the conning tower lens the _Peacemaker_ appeared to be rushing
+between two solid walls of water, so great was the quantity of spray she
+threw as she was remorselessly driven through the choppy sea. Yet the
+vibration was not nearly as bad as might have been expected.
+
+"Let's go below and take a look at the engine room," said Merritt.
+
+"All right; but I'll ask Mr. Barr's permission first," was Rob's
+rejoinder.
+
+This was readily obtained, and the two boys went below. They found
+their comrades gathered in the large central cabin, excitedly discussing
+the novelty of their voyage. Passing them, the young leader and his
+lieutenant made their way back into the machinery department. Barton
+glowered at them as they entered.
+
+"Well, what d'ye want?" he asked gruffly.
+
+"Merely to have a look at the engines," said Rob.
+
+"Aw, what do you know about engines?" growled the man. "You ain't got no
+business in here."
+
+"We have Mr. Barr's permission," rejoined Rob in a calm, even tone,
+determined not to let the fellow make him angry.
+
+"Well, take a look around and get out quick," was the ungracious reply
+of the surly fellow.
+
+Rob thought it best not to answer him, and arm in arm he and Merritt
+wandered among the flashing, smoothly working machinery, which, despite
+its size and power, was almost noiseless. Whatever his failings might be
+in the way of politeness, Barton must have been a good engineer, the
+boys decided, for every bit of metal and paintwork about the engines was
+polished to a brilliant finish, and the engine room was as neat as a new
+pin.
+
+Rob was examining the powerful pumps when his eye suddenly fell on a bit
+of paper lying on the floor. He picked it up, prompted by he knew not
+what instinct, and found that it was covered with minute sketches,
+apparently of machinery. The sketches were numbered and lettered, as if
+they had been "keyed" for the purpose of making the diagram clearer.
+
+He was still examining the sketches when there was a swift step behind
+him and a heavy hand fell on his shoulder. Rob, facing about, looked
+into Barton's face. The engineer's countenance was livid, his eyes
+fairly blazed.
+
+"Give me that paper, you young jackanapes!" he exclaimed, "and then get
+out of here--quick!"
+
+"As to giving you the paper, here you are," said Rob, quietly handing
+the engineer the mechanical sketches. "If I'd known they were yours, I'd
+have returned them to you at once. I must ask you, however, to be a
+little less rough in your manners. I don't know what harm we've ever
+done you, that you should show such a dislike for us."
+
+"Bah!" growled Barton as he turned away, thrusting the paper into a
+pocket of his jumper.
+
+After this incident neither of the boys cared to remain in the engine
+room, and soon joined their companions in the main cabin.
+
+They found them chatting and laughing over different boyish topics, and
+Merritt joined in the fun.
+
+But Rob, usually talkative and bright, was strangely silent. He found
+himself musing over the incident of the scrap of paper covered with
+mechanical sketches. Why had Barton become so agitated when the boy
+picked it up? What was there about the affair to excite the man so
+strangely?
+
+Suddenly into the boy's mind there flashed a startling suspicion. But so
+grave was the idea that he dismissed it, or rather tried to; but with
+all his efforts the idea kept recurring like a dominant note in a piece
+of music. Rob decided to be on the watch and try to verify or disprove
+his suspicion, which was nothing more nor less than an idea that Barton
+was a traitor to his employer, and was also in the service of some
+powerful interests striving to get a grip on the secrets of the
+_Peacemaker_.
+
+"That man will bear watching," decided Rob.
+
+Scarcely had he come to this conclusion when Mr. Barr shouted down from
+the conning tower:
+
+"I'm going to dive!"
+
+The hearts of all the lads beat perceptibly quicker at the words.
+
+They were about to descend into the unknown regions beneath the surface
+of the ocean, down into the dark waters where men's souls are put to a
+supreme test.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+FACING DEATH.
+
+
+"Ready?" came the cry from the conning tower.
+
+"All ready!" shouted back the lads assembled in the cabin, waiting for
+they knew not what.
+
+"Then hold tight, we're going down quick."
+
+S-w-ish-ish-ish! The roar of the water, as the powerful pumps sucked it
+into the submerging tanks, filled the interior of the Barr submarine.
+Suddenly she gave a forward plunge, and the boys now learned for what
+purpose several handholds were attached to the cabin walls!
+
+"Say, this is a queer sensation, isn't it?" gasped Merritt, looking
+rather alarmed as the downward rush could be distinctly felt. In the
+engine room the electric motors had been connected, and in the conning
+tower the hatch which gave entrance and egress when on the surface had
+been clamped tightly down.
+
+"S-s-pose we don't come up again?" exclaimed Donald.
+
+"We haven't got an awful lot to eat on board," murmured Tubby anxiously.
+
+"Gracious, how far down are we going?" spoke Merritt, as five minutes
+passed and still the _Peacemaker_ continued her descent into the depths
+of the sea.
+
+All at once the tilting motion ceased, the _Peacemaker's_ stern tanks
+were filled, and she floated on an even keel. Leaving the care of the
+wheel to Ensign Hargreaves, who, as we know, was familiar with the usual
+type of submarine, Mr. Barr came into the cabin.
+
+"Well, boys, what do you think of it?" he asked with a smile.
+
+"It's g-g-great," rejoined Tubby, with a notable lack of his usual
+assurance.
+
+"And now I suppose you'd like to see what the bottom of the sea looks
+like. We are down some two hundred fathoms and about fifty miles off the
+coast. Should you care to see how things look down here?"
+
+"How will that be possible?" asked Merritt.
+
+By way of reply Mr. Barr went to the starboard wall of the cabin and
+pulled a lever connecting with a worm gear. As he did so, a great
+section of the _Peacemaker's_ steel side drew back and revealed a plate
+glass window set between the inner and outer "skins" of the craft.
+
+The boys crowded round the window and peered out eagerly. But to their
+disappointment they could see no more of their surroundings than if they
+had been looking out of a train window on a dark night. It was as black
+as a wolfs mouth at those unknown depths.
+
+"Why, we can't see anything," came a disgruntled chorus.
+
+"Wait a minute," smiled the inventor.
+
+[Illustration: THE BOYS CROWDED ROUND THE WINDOW AND PEERED OUT
+EAGERLY.]
+
+Pressing a button, he extinguished the cabin lights. Then he opened a
+sort of closet in the wall alongside the window and swung out a
+powerful, though small, searchlight attached to an adaptable arm in the
+same manner as a desk telephone.
+
+There was a clicking sound, and a flood of white light pierced the
+blackness outside. The boys broke into delighted exclamations as the
+powerful rays revealed all sorts of fish, many of odd shapes and colors,
+attracted by the light.
+
+Suddenly a dark, shadowy form swung into view. Instantly the other fish
+vanished, and the boys saw that the newcomer was a large shark swimming
+leisurely along.
+
+No doubt he wondered who the strangers in his deep sea abode could be,
+for he swam up close to the window, causing the boys to shrink back.
+They quite forgot that between them and the tiger of the deep was a
+solid plate of glass as strong almost as steel.
+
+The shark gazed at the window for an instant and then vanished. With its
+disappearance, the other fish reappeared and kept the submarine company,
+for all the world like sea gulls circling round a ship entering port.
+
+"I wonder if they are hungry and want us to throw some food out to
+them," said Tubby stolidly, as he gazed at the finny tribes darting here
+and there in the searchlight's rays.
+
+"Gracious, do you think that the fish have the same appetite as you
+have?" laughed Merritt.
+
+"Just the same, some of those fellows would taste all right broiled,"
+declared the stout youth, at which there was a general laugh.
+
+After an hour spent in this manner the searchlight was switched off and
+the panels slid back into place.
+
+"I think we will rise now," said the inventor; "you boys had better hold
+on, for we may go up pretty quick."
+
+"I hope we _do_ go up," muttered Tubby, rather nervously. The stout
+youth was not particularly in love with the dark depths in which they
+were navigating. In fact, all the lads, though they did not admit it,
+experienced a longing for daylight. It was an awe-inspiring feeling--too
+awe-inspiring to be comfortable--to be in the depths of the ocean where
+no keel had ever before plowed.
+
+Mr. Barr remounted to the conning tower. A minute later a renewal of the
+swishing sound told that the pumps were emptying the tanks at the rate
+of a thousand gallons a minute. The submarine could be felt to leap
+upward toward the surface. The boys held on for dear life, exchanging
+rather alarmed glances.
+
+All at once the pace slackened, and the swishing sound ceased. Mr. Barr
+had decided that the pace was too swift and had cut off the pumps.
+
+"Well, thank goodness that's over!" gasped Donald. "At the rate we were
+going up we'd have bounced clean out of the sea."
+
+"I guess we're all right now," remarked Merritt.
+
+The words had hardly left his lips when there came a jar and a bump that
+shook the submarine in her every frame and rivet.
+
+The boys were thrown from their feet and hurled about the cabin. At the
+same instant the engines stopped and the submarine began to back, but
+slowly, like a stricken animal.
+
+"We've rammed something!"
+
+"We're sinking!"
+
+These and a hundred other exclamations came from the alarmed boys.
+
+Mr. Barr poked his head down into the cabin.
+
+"Are you all right below?" he asked.
+
+"Yes; but what has happened?"
+
+"Have we been badly damaged?"
+
+"Are we sinking?"
+
+The above questions were all shouted at once in the tense excitement.
+
+Barton, his face white as ashes, came out of his engine room.
+
+"What did we hit?" he demanded in a frightened voice.
+
+"I don't know; but we struck something, possibly a sunken wreck, a hard
+blow," was the inventor's reply. Although his face was deadly pale, his
+voice was without a tremor as he spoke.
+
+"We must make an examination at once," he went on. "Andrews, Higgins,
+and Ross," addressing the three sailors who had appeared from forward,
+"make an examination forward at once and see if any of the plates have
+started. If you find a suspicion of a leak report to me at once."
+
+The sailors, trained in naval discipline, saluted, and hastened off on
+their errand.
+
+"If we are leaking, what are we to do?" demanded Rob.
+
+"Meet death as bravely as we can," was the reply in steady tones;
+"submarines carry no boats and we must go to the bottom unless we can
+find some way to stop the leak."
+
+Small wonder that the boys were stricken aghast. Barton, the machinist,
+flung himself face downward on a couch and began whimpering.
+
+The inventor looked at the man with contempt.
+
+"Stand by your engines, Barton," he commanded sternly; "the first man to
+shirk his duty in this emergency will have to settle with me."
+
+Barton rose to his feet unsteadily. He was pasty yellow with terror. In
+his eyes was a wild look. But under the inventor's stern gaze he
+reentered the engine room, shaking like a leaf.
+
+It was then that Rob noticed that a revolver was in the inventor's hand
+as he stood at the top of the cabin ladder.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+THE STRANGE FLAG.
+
+
+After ten minutes of the most painful suspense that any of the boys had
+ever known, the three sailors returned with the report that while one of
+the forward plates was bent and was leaking slightly, there appeared to
+be no danger.
+
+Mr. Barr made no secret of his relief at receiving this bit of
+information. The boys burst into a cheer, and Barton, crouching in
+cowardly panic in the engine room, knew by this sound that all was well.
+
+"Now we'll get to the surface quick and see what happened," declared the
+inventor.
+
+The _Peacemaker_, which all this time had been slowly backing, was sent
+upward once more. As soon as they reached the surface Mr. Barr opened
+the conning tower hatch, and they all hastened out on deck. To their
+amazement the water all about was dyed crimson, and the cause was almost
+immediately apparent. Not far off lay the carcass of a whale, almost cut
+in two. This was beyond question the obstacle that the submarine had
+struck. Probably the dead cetacean could not get out of the way of the
+steel diving craft in time, or else deemed it another whale, and so was
+rammed by the sharp steel prow.
+
+"Suppose that had been a solid object, like a rock, or a submerged
+derelict?" asked Rob.
+
+"We shouldn't be here now," rejoined Ensign Hargreaves calmly enough,
+but in his voice there was palpable evidence of the relief he felt at
+their narrow escape.
+
+"I guess we'll stay on the surface for a while now," decided the
+inventor. Accordingly, the craft was put about and headed for the island
+at a good rate of speed. The return voyage was made without incident,
+except that Tubby caused much amusement by inquiring if whale flesh was
+edible, and if it was, he should enjoy a broiled whale steak for dinner.
+
+When the shed was reached the bow of the submarine was elevated by means
+of powerful geared tackle provided for this purpose, and the job of
+substituting a new plate for the damaged one was begun. It was finished
+by sunset.
+
+That afternoon Rob and Merritt took the shotguns and started for the
+other shore of the island to see if they could not bring down some shore
+birds. They tramped along the beach and met with some success. Their
+walk brought them to the opposite shore of the island, as has been said,
+and they found themselves in a desolate stretch of country, nothing but
+sand and brush and coarse shore grass.
+
+They were discussing the odd nature of their mission on the island, when
+Merritt suddenly grasped his companion's arm and pointed seaward,
+toward another of the islands that have been mentioned as being
+scattered pretty closely in the vicinity. Rob was just in time to catch
+sight of a motor boat, seemingly a fast one, slipping behind the spot of
+land.
+
+At the same instant a figure rose from the grass almost in front of
+them. It was Barton the machinist. He had apparently been concealed in
+the grass, and had not calculated on the boys discovering him.
+
+"Well, what are you after now? Spying on me again, eh?" he snarled
+angrily.
+
+"I don't know why you should say we were spying on you," rejoined Rob,
+"unless you are up to something wrong."
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Barton, stepping quickly toward him as if to
+strike him.
+
+The man's hand was upraised, but the determined way in which Rob met his
+angry glare caused him to drop it.
+
+[Illustration: ROB WAS JUST IN TIME TO CATCH SIGHT OF A MOTOR BOAT,
+SLIPPING BEHIND THE SPOT OF LAND.]
+
+"I want you to quit followin' me around, that's all," he said.
+
+"I guess this island's big enough to hold all of us," snapped Merritt,
+"and as for following you around, we have other and better occupations
+on our hands."
+
+The machinist made an angry reply and set off across the island at a
+rapid pace. As he did so an odd incident took place on the island behind
+which the motor boat had vanished.
+
+On a staff which the boys had not previously noticed a red flag began to
+glide up and down. Sometimes it was hoisted quickly and then again
+slowly.
+
+"What in the world are they doing over there?" wondered Merritt.
+
+"I can't make out unless they are a party of crazy campers amusing
+themselves," rejoined Rob; and then he suddenly burst out: "By Jove, I
+have it; they are signalling."
+
+"But signalling what or who?"
+
+"I haven't decided yet; but I wonder if the same thought has occurred to
+you as to me?"
+
+"Namely, what?"
+
+"Why, that Barton was watching those signals."
+
+"You mean that they were intended for him?"
+
+"That's what."
+
+"But what would they be signalling him for?"
+
+"Only one thing that I can think of. You know what the ensign said about
+spies; well, if that fellow Barton isn't up to some crooked work, why
+should he sneak off like this and be so anxious to hide from us when we
+happen along accidentally? Then, too, there's that paper covered with
+drawings that I found in the engine room."
+
+"By ginger, I see what you are driving at. You think that Barton is a
+traitor, and is in league with those spies?"
+
+"It's a grave accusation to make, but I can hit on no other explanation
+of his actions. He is angry at us because he thinks we may see too
+much. Look, they are still signalling."
+
+"I wish we could read what they are saying."
+
+"I think I can," rejoined Rob quietly.
+
+"You can?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"How are you going to do it?"
+
+"By bringing my knowledge of Morse into play. I think that when the flag
+is run up slowly it means a dash and a quick run is a dot. Let's try it
+anyway."
+
+Luckily the spot where the two boys were was grown with high, coarse
+grass, and the sand dunes rose high in places, affording protection for
+them.
+
+As the flag rose and fell they spelled out a word according to the Morse
+code.
+
+"That's 'Ready'," proclaimed Rob exultingly; "we have hit on their code,
+all right."
+
+"They're still at it," exclaimed Merritt, as the flag continued its
+eccentric rises and falls; "what's next, I wonder?"
+
+Dash--dash--dash--dash, spelled out the flag.
+
+"That means 'to'," declared Rob.
+
+"Yes, and there comes 'night'," exclaimed Merritt a moment later. "And
+now they've stopped. Let's see what message we've caught."
+
+"Short and sweet," laughed Rob. "I guess we came in at the tail end of
+their confab. All we've got is 'Ready to-night'."
+
+"Well, isn't that something?" demanded Merritt. "At all events it's a
+complete sentence and tells us that somebody will be ready for something
+to-night."
+
+"Right you are, and that 'somebody' is to be Barton, I'll bet a
+doughnut."
+
+"But ready for what?"
+
+"That remains to be seen. I've always thought Barton would bear
+watching. I'm certain of it now, and if the submarine isn't mixed up in
+this tangle somewhere, call me a Chinaman."
+
+"Are you going to tell the ensign about this?"
+
+"Not till we have something more tangible to go upon. After all, we have
+proved nothing, but to-night we'll keep a close watch on Barton and in
+that way find out if our suspicions are correct or not."
+
+And so it was arranged. The boys hunted a bit more, but somehow the
+strange signals and the peculiar behavior of Barton had got on their
+minds, and they gave up their sport earlier than they had expected and
+trudged back to camp to complete their arrangements for the night's
+work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+SCOUTING FOR UNCLE SAM.
+
+
+"Rob! Rob! Rob!"
+
+Merritt nudged his dozing companion as they lay near to the submarine
+shed, where they had taken up their position earlier in the night.
+Immediately after supper the lads had, apparently, slipped off to their
+tents; but as soon as they were sure that they were free from
+observation they had, in pursuance of their plans, taken up a position
+close to the sheltering place of the _Peacemaker_.
+
+Rob had dozed off shortly before midnight, and the words at the
+beginning of this chapter formed Merritt's notification to him that it
+was time to bestir himself.
+
+The boy, aroused at once from his nap, sat up at his comrade's summons.
+
+"What is it?" he asked in a whisper.
+
+"Look! Look yonder! Don't you see Barton sneaking toward the shed?"
+
+There was no moon, but in the starlight Rob, thus admonished, could
+distinctly discern a shadowy figure gliding across the sand dunes to the
+submarine shed.
+
+"It _is_ Barton, sure enough!" he exclaimed in a low, tense voice. "I
+guess we were right, Merritt, when we read that 'Ready to-night'
+message."
+
+"We sure were," was the response; "the question now is, what is that
+fellow up to?"
+
+"Some sort of mischief, just as we surmised," was the reply. "Let's do
+an Indian crawl toward the shed and see what we can find out."
+
+The next instant both boys were noiselessly wriggling their way on their
+stomachs toward the shed into the interior of which Barton had, by this
+time, vanished. It was easy work to make a noiseless advance over the
+soft sand, but so thoroughly had both the Boy Scouts practiced the
+maneuver of silent advance that even had the ground been different, it
+is likely that they could have approached unheard.
+
+Right up to the very walls of the shed they wriggled their way and then,
+placing their eyes to a crack in the timbers, they peered in. By the
+yellow light of a lantern Barton had lighted they saw him dive down into
+the interior of the submarine and emerge, ere long, with several rolled
+sheets of paper.
+
+The fellow did not appear to labor under anxiety that he was being
+watched, for he went boldly about his business, taking no apparent pains
+to screen the light or to move noiselessly. Having emerged from the
+submarine and reached once more the door of the shed, he extinguished
+the light and glided out into the night like a half-embodied form.
+
+Merritt half leaped to his feet as he saw the fellow making off, but Rob
+drew his companion down into their place of concealment with a
+whispered,
+
+"Hold on. Don't spoil everything now by betraying our presence. Let him
+get a little way and we'll follow him."
+
+"But we may lose him in the darkness," objected Merritt.
+
+"I scarcely think so," was the rejoinder; "in fact, I have a pretty good
+idea where he is bound for."
+
+"And where may that be?"
+
+"The place in which he lay this afternoon to read those signals from the
+distant island. Depend upon it, he is going to meet the men who
+manipulated that flag!"
+
+"By hooky! That's so, Rob. What a mind you have for figuring out things!
+Of course, it's plain enough now that he is betraying Mr. Barr by giving
+drawings and plans of the submarine to Mr. Barr's enemies, but I didn't
+think he'd take so bold a method."
+
+"There's nothing very bold about it," retorted Rob. "He is a trusted
+man, and has been given every opportunity to be dishonest, if it so
+suits him."
+
+"I guess that's right; but it's our duty to thwart him."
+
+"You just bet it is, and we'll do it, too, if it's possible. See, there
+he goes over the top of that sand dune. I could see his figure
+silhouetted against the sky. I reckon it's safe now to take after him."
+
+"All right, you say when."
+
+"I'll give the word right here. Silently, now; remember he is on the
+outlook for some interference with his plans, and a false move may spoil
+everything."
+
+"Don't worry about me. A first class Scout should be able to carry
+through a simple little thing like this."
+
+"Don't be too sure it's simple," admonished Rob, as they silently rose
+from their crouching postures and took after the vague shadow; "this
+thing may turn out to be bigger than we thought."
+
+"Have you laid any plans as to what you will do if we do apprehend him
+in the act of transferring the plans to Mr. Barr's enemies?"
+
+"Not yet. There's no use crossing a bridge till you come to it."
+
+Through the night the boys pursued their quarry as silently as two
+snakes. At times they lost sight of him, but always his figure would
+loom up against the star-sprinkled sky as he topped a sand dune. At
+length they saw him pause and light the lantern, which he had used in
+the shed, and which he still carried.
+
+This done, he swung the light twice across his body, after the fashion
+of a brakeman signalling a train to come ahead.
+
+Instantly, out of the darkness, flashed an answering beacon--a red
+light. The boys clasped each other's arms. That they were on the brink
+of an exciting adventure they did not doubt. But in each lad's heart was
+a firm resolve that, come what might, they would do their duty by Uncle
+Sam.
+
+"Was that red light shown from the other island?" whispered Merritt.
+
+"No, I am inclined to think it came from that launch we saw sneaking in
+behind the island this afternoon just before the signalling commenced,"
+was the response.
+
+"In that case, she must be still far out?"
+
+"Yes; but in any event they would have to send a boat ashore. That
+launch is too large to land on the beach directly."
+
+As if in answer to his opinion the watching boys presently saw a red
+light creeping over the water toward the island. Undoubtedly it came
+from a small boat, so low on the water was it.
+
+Before long they could detect the splash of oars, although whoever was
+rowing the boat was trying to make as little noise as possible.
+
+As the light drew close in shore, Merritt seized Rob's arm.
+
+"What's the next move?" he asked.
+
+"It looks as if it were ours," was the quiet, but determined,
+rejoinder.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+ROB'S BRAVE ACT.
+
+
+While the boys had been watching, Barton had lain down, as though tired,
+on the summit of a near-by dune. As the red light came close in shore,
+however, he arose, and once more waved his lantern.
+
+At the signal the course of the red light shifted and headed directly
+toward him. The boys' hearts beat thickly; the time for action was at
+hand. The bow of the boat they had seen approaching grated on the beach,
+and two figures sprang out while Barton advanced to meet them.
+
+"Get as close as you can," whispered Rob, as he wriggled forward; "we
+want to get every word."
+
+Merritt merely nodded; but his silent advance was as rapid as his
+leader's. Owing to the nature of the ground, they were able to run
+forward in an almost upright position when they reached the hollows of
+the dunes, being compelled to cast themselves down only when they topped
+a rise. Therefore, they were within ear shot when Barton greeted the two
+men who had disembarked from the boat.
+
+"Well," said one of the newcomers in a voice which plainly betrayed his
+foreign origin; "well, did you do as you said you would?"
+
+"Yes," responded Barton; "I've got the drawings here. They are not
+complete, however, and you will have to give me more time."
+
+"As you were told at Bridgeport, before you left for this island, you
+can have all the time you want, only make the job complete."
+
+"You can depend upon me to do that," was the response. "So long as I'm
+well paid, I'll sell out all I know, and that's about everything about
+the Barr submarine."
+
+Here another voice, that of the second man who had left the boat, struck
+in:
+
+"What about the models?"
+
+"I've got them hidden up here in the sand," came Barton's voice in
+reply. "I'd have had them ready but two blooming kids trailed me here."
+
+"Trailed you? What do you mean?" demanded the voice of the man who had
+first spoken and who, with the solitary exception noted, had carried on
+most of the conversation.
+
+"Why, this Ensign Hargreaves, this Navy dude, saw fit to bring a band of
+Boy Scouts down here. They're the nosiest kids ever, and I half think
+they suspect me of not being all I appear to be."
+
+"That's a good guess," whispered Rob to Merritt.
+
+Merritt could not refrain from a quiet chuckle.
+
+"As a long distance and local guesser, Barton takes the palm," he
+breathed.
+
+"Hush!" murmured Rob under his breath: "What are they up to now?"
+
+"Going to dig up those models, I guess. Barton must have stolen them
+from the workshop at odd moments."
+
+Right then something happened that gave Merritt a shock. Rob rose to his
+feet and started toward the beach. The men that the two Boy Scouts were
+watching had headed inland, evidently to aid Barton in uncovering the
+hidden models.
+
+"Have you gone crazy, Rob? Lie down here," cautioned Merritt.
+
+"Not much," was the response; "I'm going to do some reconnoitering while
+I've got the chance."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"That I'm going down to have a look at that boat, and if I can I'm going
+to shove her off and thus leave those men prisoners on the island."
+
+"By ginger, Rob, you are a great fellow for ideas. If only you can cast
+the boat adrift, we'll have those chaps bottled up as securely as if
+they were in a jail."
+
+"Wait here till I come," responded the boy leader. "I won't be gone more
+than ten minutes."
+
+"I'd like to come with you, Rob."
+
+"No; this is a job I can do best alone."
+
+Rob noiselessly slipped away. The boat from which the mysterious men had
+landed was plainly discernible as a black blot on the sandy beach. Rob
+tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, but against the
+white strip of sand he felt as noticeable as an elephant. However, he
+gained the boat without interruption.
+
+Its bow had been built up, apparently, to make it more seaworthy, and
+the boy noticed that a small door had been cut leading into the space
+beneath the raised bow. He had hardly discovered this when he was
+startled to hear voices close at hand.
+
+It was Barton and his crooked accomplices coming back. Fortunately for
+Rob, they were behind a dune, so that it was impossible for them to
+observe him. But in a moment, the boy realized with a thrill, they would
+be upon him.
+
+Quick as a flash, and hardly realizing what he was doing, Rob sought the
+only place of concealment close at hand--the space under the raised bow
+of the boat. He had hardly squeezed into his cramped quarters before the
+trio of rascals topped the rise.
+
+Rob, with a sinking of the heart, realized at that moment that it would
+have been better for him to have taken his chances and run away from the
+scene. But it was too late now. With something that was not exactly
+fear, but very like it, Rob recognized the fact that he was a concealed
+passenger, a stowaway, on board a boat on which his presence might cost
+him his life.
+
+As these reflections ran through his mind the men drew closer, talking
+about the "clever" work they had done.
+
+"I guess Barr and his _Peacemaker_ can say good-bye to Uncle Sam now,"
+laughed one of them.
+
+"Yes, and the best of it is that Barton will never be suspected,"
+responded the other. "Our government will be manufacturing submarines of
+the Barr type, while Barr and the United States Government are still in
+blissful ignorance of the fact that all efforts are for nothing."
+
+"You can bet I never put through a job unless I do it right," struck in
+Barton with great self-complacency.
+
+Rob, crouched in his cramped place of concealment, flushed with anger.
+Right then and there he determined that, come what might, he would see
+this strange adventure of his through to the bitter end. This resolve
+was still in his mind when the two men shoved the boat off, bade
+good-night to the rascally Barton, and, all unconscious of their
+secreted passenger, got under way.
+
+"If I get out of this alive, I'll be lucky," soliloquized Rob as he
+heard the oars and felt the boat moving through the water. "I wonder if
+I've done right? At any rate I'm in it now, and, as a Boy Scout, I'm
+going to see it through."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+THE ISLAND HUT.
+
+
+Rob, in his place of concealment, could hear the two men talking as they
+rowed.
+
+Their conversation related, in the main, to the affairs of the night.
+Apparently, so far as Rob could gather, the stealing of the plans of the
+submarine was not yet complete. It appeared that Barton was to remain on
+the island in his capacity as trusted aide to Mr. Barr, and to gather up
+all he could of the details of the new submarine, down to the smallest
+particular.
+
+Scarcely daring to breathe, Rob listened with all his might to the
+conversation of the oarsmen.
+
+At the same time the thought was running through his mind that he had
+acted rashly in taking the step he had. But the boy pluckily made up
+his mind to stick to his resolution of discovering just what was going
+on inimical to the plans of the United States Government and Mr. Barr.
+
+Before very long the prow of the boat grated on a sandy beach, and the
+two men, gathering up some rolls of paper and several bulky-looking
+objects, left the craft, first securing it by an anchor and line.
+
+As their footsteps died away, Rob ventured to raise his head above the
+gunwale of the boat and follow them with his eyes. He saw them ascend
+the beach and enter the hut, apparently a structure once used by
+fishermen or hunters.
+
+After an interval a light shone from the solitary window of the hut, and
+Rob came to a sudden resolve to find out just what was going forward.
+With this object in view he clambered out of the boat, taking every
+precaution against making unnecessary noise. On hands and knees he then
+approached the lighted window.
+
+The night was dark, and, standing at a fair distance from the casement,
+he did not feel much fear of being seen from within. It is hard for
+persons in a brightly lighted chamber to perceive what is going on
+outside.
+
+Seated around a rough table in the hut, which consisted of only one
+room, Rob saw three men. Two of them, undoubtedly, were those who had
+unconsciously rowed him to the island. The other he recognized with a
+start as the possessor of the face which had peered through the transom
+on the memorable night in Hampton, when plans for the experiments on the
+island were in process of being formulated. In other words, the third
+member of the party was none other than Nordstrom Berghoff, the spy.
+
+Instantly many things that had been vague to Rob crystallized into a
+clear understanding of the situation. The signals from the island, the
+indignation of Barton over the presence of the Boy Scouts, and the
+stealing of the plans and models, all stood out plainly now as being
+part of an elaborate plot of which Berghoff was the mainspring.
+
+A wave of indignation swept over the boy as he contemplated the rascals
+within the hut gloating over the things they had obtained from the
+treacherous Barton.
+
+"The scoundrels," he thought; "so they think they can rob Uncle Sam of
+one of the greatest submarines ever invented, and do so with impunity! I
+don't care what happens, I'll fool them if I can."
+
+With this resolve firmly embedded in his mind, Rob crept closer to the
+window. By skillful maneuvering he was at last almost under the
+casement. In this position every word uttered within the hut was clear
+to him.
+
+He heard Berghoff chuckling gleefully over the manner in which the
+night's work had been carried out.
+
+"Undt not a vun of dose Boy Scouts knew anting aboudt idt," he
+exclaimed.
+
+"No," rejoined one of his companions, a swarthy man with a pallid face
+on which there stood out a bristly beard; "those kids were out of the
+game so far as we were concerned. That Barton is a slick one, all
+right."
+
+"Well, he's getting well paid for the job," struck in the third man, who
+was short and stocky, with a crop of rough, reddish hair and a
+protruding chin that gave him a "bull doggy" aspect.
+
+"Of course, he gedts vell paid," rejoined Berghoff; "dis job is vorth de
+naval supremacy of the worldt to der country vot I represent."
+
+"As if we didn't know that as well as you," rejoined the red-haired man.
+"It was lucky we worked in the same machine shop in Bridgeport with
+Barton and knew he was a man who could be bought."
+
+"Yes, there isn't much that he wouldn't do for money," chimed in the
+pallid-faced man.
+
+"Vell, ledt us see if dese plans are all righdt, or if ve must get some
+more of dem," remarked Berghoff.
+
+From his manner of examining the intricate prints and plans, Rob knew
+that the man, as were most probably his two companions, was an engineer
+of no mean ability. With a small pocket scale he went over every scrap
+of paper and then fell to examining the models. From his expression, Rob
+judged that Barton had served the rascal well. Berghoff declared the
+plans and the models all that would be required to produce a
+_Peacemaker_ almost the exact duplicate of Mr. Barr's diving-boat.
+
+"Well, when do we make our getaway?" queried the red-haired man when the
+examination was concluded.
+
+"To-morrow ve go," declared Berghoff. "In New York I catch der steamer
+for Europe undt you two scatter verefer you like."
+
+Rob felt his face flush with indignation, and at the same time he
+experienced a sort of hopeless feeling of indecision. The plans and the
+models lay there, almost within his reach, but so far as the possibility
+of recovering them was concerned, they might as well have been in China.
+
+"If only all the boys were here," he thought, "it would be possible to
+'rush' those scoundrels and secure all their loot."
+
+Finally Rob came to the decision to remain where he was for the present
+and see if some opportunity would not present itself to recover the
+articles of such vital importance to Uncle Sam's Government.
+
+The men talked on, conversing in low tones, and presently the red-headed
+man started to prepare some food on an oil stove, which must have been
+brought from the motor boat earlier in the day. Till sundry appetizing
+odors began to drift out to him from the plotter's cookery, Rob did not
+realize that he was hungry. Before long, however, his desire for food
+became almost overwhelming. It was tantalizing to lie out there in the
+dark, tired and hungry, and hear within the hut the clatter of knives
+and forks and inhale the odors of what was evidently a hearty meal.
+
+At length the men stopped eating, and Rob heard them discussing whether
+they should sleep in the hut or on board their motor boat. The boy
+pricked up his ears as he listened. If only they decided to sleep on the
+boat and leave the models and plans in the hut, he would have a chance
+to recover the stolen property and make away with it in the beached
+rowboat before dawn.
+
+Rob could hardly restrain an exclamation of delight when the men came to
+the decision to pass the night on their boat.
+
+"What are you going to do with this stuff?" inquired the pallid-faced
+man with the stubbly beard, indicating the mass of papers and models.
+
+"Oh, we'll leave that here till morning," was Berghoff's response; "dere
+is no use in taking idt by der boat now."
+
+"Goodness," thought Rob, "I sure am in luck! It will be no trick at all
+to get that stuff as soon as they have gone, and carry it back to the
+island. I almost wish it was going to be a harder task. It's a bit too
+much like burglary to suit me."
+
+But Rob was not to have such an easy time of it as he anticipated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+A CHASE IN THE NIGHT.
+
+
+The men left the hut, banging the door behind them. Rob waited till the
+sound of their voices grew dim in the distance, and then raising himself
+cautiously he crept around to the door of the hut.
+
+The light had been extinguished, but as the boy had matches in his
+waterproof case this fact did not worry him. Pushing the door open Rob
+entered the place. Before striking a light he did all he could to assure
+himself that he was not likely to be interrupted by the sudden return of
+the men.
+
+Having established to his satisfaction that he was safe, which was not
+until he perceived a light on the motor boat, which lay not far from
+the hut, he proceeded to light up the lantern the men had left behind.
+
+Anxious not to lose any time on his risky task, he began stuffing papers
+and plans into his pockets at once. The models, or most of them, he
+decided he would have to convey to the boat in his arms.
+
+He had hardly completed the task of stowing the papers in his pockets,
+when he was startled at hearing footsteps coming toward the hut. Hastily
+he extinguished the light, uttering an inward prayer that it had not
+been seen. Luckily for himself he had taken the precaution of closing
+the door as soon as he had the lantern lighted.
+
+Just before extinguishing the lamp, he had gazed about the place for
+some spot of concealment. But the hut, as has been said, was a crude
+affair, and no closets or cupboards presented a chance of hiding. The
+only thing that Rob could think of to do was to slip under the table
+and trust to a miracle that he would not be discovered. Hardly had he
+carried out his intention when the door opened and two men entered.
+
+They were the red-headed man and the pallid-faced individual, who
+appeared to act as assistants to Berghoff. At any rate, judging by their
+accents, they were foreigners.
+
+Rob had placed the lantern on the table in a position as much resembling
+that in which the men had left it as he could. He heard a match
+scratched and then the sputter of the flame.
+
+"Don't see why Berghoff sent us back to get that stuff," grumbled one of
+the men angrily; "it's as safe here as it would be anywhere."
+
+"Well, as we're getting good pay fer this job, we might as well obey
+orders," was the reply.
+
+"Gee whillakers!" came a sudden exclamation from the man who had
+attempted to light the lantern.
+
+"What's up?" asked the other.
+
+"Why, the plagued thing is red hot!"
+
+"Red hot?" exclaimed his companion in tones of amazement. "How can that
+be when it's a good half hour since we put it out?"
+
+"Dunno, but it burned my fingers, all right."
+
+"Say, Mike, do you think anyone has been here since we left?"
+
+"Who could have been here? And yet, come to think of it, it's blamed
+queer. Tell you what we'll do."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Search this place. It won't take long."
+
+"Good for you," rejoined the other, while Rob quaked in his place of
+concealment.
+
+"There ain't many nooks or crannies, so the job won't take long."
+
+"That's right. We'll begin by looking under the table----Jeehosophat!"
+
+The sudden exclamation was caused by Rob's suddenly springing up,
+upsetting the table and planting his fist full in the fellow's face.
+The lantern was dropped in the excitement and the hut was plunged in
+darkness. Rob had come to his sudden decision to act as he did as the
+only way to escape the men.
+
+For a time it looked as if he would be successful. Dashing past the man
+who remained on his feet he made for the direction in which he knew the
+door lay. In fact, as the men had not closed it, he had no difficulty in
+locating it by the starlight outside.
+
+"Hey! Stop! Stop!" roared the fellow behind him.
+
+Rob sped on like the wind, using every ounce of running ability he
+possessed. Straight for the beach he made, devoting all his energies to
+a swiftly formed plan to get into the beached boat and row to safety. It
+was a desperate plan, but he had no other resources.
+
+He was within a few yards of the beach when a dark form loomed suddenly
+before him. In the starlight Rob saw something glittering in the
+newcomer's hand. This object was leveled at him, and a stern voice
+commanded him to stop or be shot.
+
+Rob, with a throbbing heart, pulled up. He recognized the voice as that
+of Berghoff and knew that if he did not obey the order the desperate
+ruffian would have no hesitation in sending a bullet into him.
+
+Berghoff, who had been aroused by the cries of his aides when Rob
+escaped from the hut, came up to the lad, keeping him covered with his
+wicked-looking "gun."
+
+"Who are you? What you doing here?" he demanded sternly.
+
+The next moment, and before Rob could reply, the fellow noted the Boy
+Scout uniform.
+
+"Oh, ho!" he exclaimed in a malignant tone. "So you are one of dose Boy
+Scouts, eh? You think you pretty smart, eh? You vait. I may make you pay
+for your fun."
+
+There was a cold sort of malice in the man's way of speaking that
+actually sent a chill down Rob's spine.
+
+But he plucked up courage to make a bold reply.
+
+"I know the sort of illegal trafficking you are engaged in, Berghoff,"
+he said boldly, "and I tell you, you had better leave me alone."
+
+"Is dot so?" sneered the fellow. "You haven't seen the last of me for a
+long time yet."
+
+"My friends will punish you for this," exclaimed Rob, in as confident a
+tone as he could assume.
+
+"It vill be a long time alretty before you see your friendts again,"
+jeered the other. "Ah, here comes Mike and Gyp, now. Now ve findt out
+what you vos doing up by der hut."
+
+As the spy had said, the two men who had been in the hut came up at the
+moment.
+
+Berghoff instantly demanded to know what had occurred in the hut.
+
+"By gosh, cap," said the red-headed man who, it seemed, was "Mike," "it
+happened so sudden I can hardly tell you. We goes up there to get them
+papers as you told us, and the first thing you know out jumps this young
+catamount and hits me a swat on the jaw that 'most put me out fer the
+count."
+
+"That's right," corroborated his companion; "that's just what he done,
+cap."
+
+"How did he get here?" demanded Berghoff angrily.
+
+"Dunno, unless he flew," rejoined Mike helplessly. "Hadn't we better
+search the young varmint and see what he's got in his pockets?"
+
+"Yes, you had better search him at once."
+
+"My last chance has gone," thought Rob as the two fellows seized him
+roughly and began rummaging his pockets.
+
+It would have been worse than useless to resist, so Rob submitted to the
+search, while Berghoff stood looking grimly on as the papers were
+extracted from his pockets by the two ruffians.
+
+"If only I'd hurried a little more," thought Rob to himself bitterly.
+"If only I'd hurried, I'd not have been in this predicament now."
+
+"So you almost got avay mit vot you came after," exclaimed Berghoff as
+the last of the papers was removed from Rob's pockets and handed over to
+the spy; "it voss an inspiration dot made me send my men back by der
+huts."
+
+"What will we do with the kid?" asked the man known as Mike.
+
+"I don't know yet," was the rejoinder in a harsh voice. "Ve ought to
+throw him in der sea. He knows too much aboudt us."
+
+"That's right, cap," came from Gyp, the pallid-faced man, "it's just as
+Barton told us, these blamed Boy Scouts are on to us."
+
+"Vell, it don't be goodt to get ridt of him righdt now. Better bring him
+aboard the boat."
+
+"All right, cap. Come on, you young sneak!" said the man known as Mike.
+
+He gave Rob's arm a vicious twist, and with one of the men on either
+side of him, and Berghoff walking close behind with the revolver, there
+was no recourse for Rob but to accept the situation as it came. But in
+mind he was casting about desperately for a means of escape. None had
+occurred to him by the time they reached the motor boat, which was
+moored at a tumble-down wharf, or jetty.
+
+The motor boat proved to be a sixty-foot affair, with a cabin amidships.
+Into this Rob was gruffly ordered.
+
+"Get aboard now, and look slippy about it," was Mike's way of urging the
+Boy Scout on board the craft.
+
+Rob obeyed the order with a sinking heart Things looked about as black
+as they could be, so even his optimistic nature was compelled to admit.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+ON BOARD A STRANGE CRAFT.
+
+
+Once inside the main cabin Rob was thrust into a small stateroom opening
+off the larger apartment. He heard the lock click as the door was
+slammed to, and knew that he was a prisoner.
+
+It was dark inside the cabin, but by feeling about he discovered a bunk
+on one side of the place. Critical as his situation was, the boy was so
+tired that he flung himself down on this, and, before long, while still
+pondering his quandary, he sank into a deep slumber.
+
+When he awakened it was broad daylight. By the motion of the craft Rob
+knew that she was at sea. Getting up from the bunk he peered out of the
+small porthole of the stateroom. Outside nothing but the ocean was to be
+seen. Of course the boy had not the slightest idea where they were, or
+how long the boat had been running.
+
+All he did know was that he was a prisoner, ravenously hungry, achingly
+thirsty and almost fagged out. His slumbers had been uneasy and had not
+refreshed him.
+
+Outside he could hear voices in the larger cabin. Crawling to the
+keyhole he listened intently. Berghoff was talking. Rob heard enough to
+convince him that the plans of the band had been changed.
+
+"There vill be a big hue undt cry ven dey findt oudt der boy is gone,"
+declared Berghoff. "We must findt some place where we can stop till der
+excitement dies out."
+
+"That's right, cap," agreed one of his companions, "but where can we
+go?"
+
+"There are plenty of small islands further down the coast. One of those
+would suit our purpose," struck in another voice, which Rob recognized
+as that of the pallid-faced Gyp.
+
+"Dot's a good idea," agreed Berghoff; "gedt out der chart and look one
+up."
+
+The voice sank into inaudibility and Rob threw himself back on the bunk.
+At least he knew now what to expect, isolation and captivity with three
+desperate men. It would be wrong to say the lad was frightened. Possibly
+the very nature of his predicament had dulled his brain, as is sometimes
+the case.
+
+"I wonder if they are looking for me now?" he mused, and with the
+thought came a glad realization that Merritt knew of the signals from
+the island and would inform the ensign of them.
+
+"If they only follow me up quickly, maybe they can overtake this craft,"
+he said to himself, "although she's a fast one."
+
+At this juncture of Rob's cogitations the door was thrust open and Gyp
+entered with some food and water.
+
+He placed them on the floor and started to leave the room in sullen
+silence, when Rob stopped him.
+
+"What are you going to do with me?" he demanded.
+
+"Don't ask no questions and you'll get told no lies," growled the man,
+slamming the door and relocking it on the outside.
+
+"Well," thought Rob, "it's plain that I'm to be kept in the dark as to
+my fate. Well, it's no use worrying. I'll tackle this food and take a
+good long drink of water and then see if I can come to any conclusion."
+
+The meal brightened Rob up wonderfully. After eating it he sat on the
+edge of the bunk casting about for something to keep his mind off his
+troubles, when he suddenly recollected the mysterious cipher found on
+the _Good Hope_.
+
+Reaching into his pocket he pulled it out and began figuring with the
+stump of a pencil on the back of an old envelope. But ingenious as he
+was, he found it hard to decipher. He tried half a dozen well-known
+systems on it and was about to give up in despair when he recalled the
+"Letter" method of reading cryptic numeral ciphers.
+
+This system requires the operator to figure out the recurrence of
+different numerals and the order in which they appear. Rob noticed that
+the number 5 occurred most frequently. Now E is the most used letter in
+any bit of English writing, so the lad set down 5 as answering for E.
+
+After this he figured industriously till he had managed to make
+something like sense out of the first paragraph of the old writing.
+
+It would be wearisome to take the matter step by step in all its
+details. Suffice it to say, therefore, that Rob found that he had hit on
+a correct system and at the end of two hours had the following message
+before him.
+
+"It is buried twenty-four paces from dead cypress and to the west. The
+island lies in long. 80 degrees 50 minutes and lat. 33 degrees 24
+minutes. To whoever finds this and reads it, I will the ivory. Death is
+close to me now. Good bye to all."
+
+When his task had been completed, Rob sat gazing at the paper before
+him. Unquestionably it gave the location of the dead whaler's cache. For
+an instant the boy thought, with a thrill, that he was within reach of a
+fortune. But the next moment he recalled where he was, which, in the
+interest of his task, he had forgotten. Then, too, he remembered that
+the dead man's two companions who marooned him on his own ship had
+probably carried out their intention of returning and carrying off the
+precious hoard.
+
+"So that's all of that," mused the boy, "but just the same, if I ever
+get out of this scrape, I mean to hunt up that island and see if I can
+locate the fate of those mammoth tusks."
+
+All day the boat moved swiftly along, and it was not till the following
+morning that anchor was dropped, as Rob knew by feeling the motion of
+the craft stopped, and by hearing the rattle of the anchor chain.
+
+"I wonder what is going to happen to me now?" he mused.
+
+He had not long to wait.
+
+"Come out on deck and help us row the dinghy ashore," Gyp muttered as he
+unlocked the door.
+
+Heartily glad to get out of his cramped quarters, Rob obeyed.
+
+Coming on deck he found Berghoff and Mike already there. The former had
+a formidable-looking revolver strapped on him. The boat was lying off a
+small, sandy island, isolated from the others, in one of the groups that
+are common on that part of the coast.
+
+It was wooded and appeared to be a fine spot for Berghoff's purpose of
+remaining in seclusion till Rob's friends gave him up for lost, and the
+mystery of his capture blew over.
+
+The dinghy, which hung on the davits astern, was lowered, and Rob
+roughly told to "pile in and row us ashore." He obeyed the order,
+noticing that in the boat were tent and camping supplies. Evidently
+these had been placed in it before he was called on deck.
+
+His heart sank as he observed these preparations for an extended stay on
+the lonely island. Once ashore, he was forced to help in putting up the
+tent, building a fire and doing other jobs to make the camp habitable.
+Then, without food, he was set to chopping wood. After a hasty meal,
+Berghoff disappeared, leaving Rob guarded by Gyp and Mike, who lay at
+full length smoking lazily while he worked.
+
+When Berghoff returned he announced that there was no trace of humanity
+on the island. With this statement vanished Rob's last hope of help. He
+had nourished a secret aspiration that there might be some campers or
+fishermen living on the place.
+
+When the sun set that night Rob's feelings were down to zero. The very
+fact that he was not closely watched seemed to prove to him the utter
+impossibility of his escaping. True, there was the boat, but that had
+been drawn up on the beach by his wily captors so that it would be
+impossible for him to move it without attracting their attention.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+OFF ON A SEA TRAIL.
+
+
+As minutes and then hours elapsed and Rob did not return, Merritt became
+first anxious, and then seriously alarmed. He knew Rob's daring nature,
+and had a keen fear that it might have led him into doing something
+reckless.
+
+It was almost dawn when he at length determined to return to the
+encampment and seek out Ensign Hargreaves. By the time he had tramped
+back over the sandy dunes day was breaking, and in the camp of the Boy
+Scouts the notes of the morning bugle were ringing out cheerily. The
+first of the Scouts to note Merritt's return was Donald Grant.
+
+He came running toward him, and then stopped short as he noted the
+other's drawn, tired face.
+
+"Why, what in the world's the matter with you, Merry?" he gasped out.
+"You look as if you'd been drawn through a knothole. Where's Rob? Where
+have you been all night?"
+
+"I'll explain that later," said Merritt wearily; "just now I've got to
+find Ensign Hargreaves. Rob's either been kidnapped or lost."
+
+He hastened on, leaving the other lad rooted to the spot with amazement
+and alarm. He knew Merritt well enough already to realize that the other
+was not the sort of lad to overrate a situation. If Merritt was as
+scared and weary as he looked, something serious indeed must have taken
+place.
+
+In the meantime Merritt hastened to Ensign Hargreaves' tent. Hastily
+arousing him, he hurriedly explained the whole matter. The officer was
+out of his cot in an instant.
+
+"You had no business to go off alone like that without notifying me,"
+he exclaimed rather sharply. "Don't you know that the first duty of a
+soldier, a sailor or a scout is to obey orders?"
+
+Merritt crimsoned and hung his head. He knew that the officer was right.
+
+"We thought we were doing a good thing," he said, "but I know now that
+we did wrong in not notifying you."
+
+The ensign's hand fell on the lad's shoulder. Then kindly enough he
+said:
+
+"Well, acknowledging that you did wrong is a manly thing, my boy, and
+we'll say no more about the matter. But about Rob, something must be
+done right away. Arouse Mr. Barr while I am dressing and we'll set about
+searching for him at once. There's little doubt in my mind but that he
+is on that island where you saw the signals flying."
+
+"But how could he get there unless he had an airship?" inquired Merritt.
+
+"Hasn't it occurred to you that he might have hidden in the boat while
+the men were out of it?"
+
+"Gracious! In that case he may be their prisoner by this time!"
+
+"I am afraid that there is little doubt of that. We must get after the
+rascals at once."
+
+By the time the ensign was dressed, Mr. Barr was also attired, and the
+two immediately began a discussion of plans for the rescue of Rob. But
+first the ensign wanted to know about Barton.
+
+It was hard for Mr. Barr to believe that the man whom he trusted
+implicitly could have proved traitor to him.
+
+"The best way to find that out is to look at your papers and models and
+see if anything is missing," was the response.
+
+"I'll do so; but I'm sure the boys must be mistaken in Barton. He has
+worked for me for many years."
+
+"Possibly the large price he was offered to turn over the plans of the
+_Peacemaker_ had something to do with it," suggested Merritt.
+
+"Perhaps; but I'll not say anything till I find out definitely that
+something is missing."
+
+Mr. Barr hastened off toward the shed, but returned before long with a
+countenance filled with apprehension.
+
+"My most important blue prints and models are missing!" he exclaimed.
+
+The ensign made a dry grimace.
+
+"Our young friends were right," he said. "In detecting the rascal they
+have done an excellent piece of scouting work. But now let us hurry off
+in search of Rob at once."
+
+"How will you reach that other island?" asked Merritt.
+
+"We will go in the motor boat. She is fast and does not draw much
+water."
+
+"Can we all go along?"
+
+"No, we'll take one of my sailors, your chum Donald, Tubby Hopkins, you
+and myself. We haven't settled accounts with Barton yet, and I don't
+want him left practically alone on the island."
+
+"Do you think he would try to harm the submarine?"
+
+"I think it likely. He has probably been paid to injure it so that the
+rival power that is working against us can construct its submarines
+first."
+
+"But you are going to make him confess?"
+
+"If he will, yes. If not, he faces a long prison term, although it will
+be hard to prove that he actually stole the papers and models."
+
+"But we saw him answering those signals, and then again, last night we
+saw him meet the men."
+
+"I'm afraid that wouldn't make very good evidence in a court of law,"
+was the rejoinder. "But enough of this now. Tell Hawkins (one of the
+sailors) to get the boat ready, and hurry through your breakfast We'll
+start right afterward."
+
+"We can't start too quick for me," was the brisk reply. "Poor old Rob, I
+wonder what has happened to him."
+
+While he ate a hasty meal Merritt outlined to the other Scouts what had
+happened. Following this, Ensign Hargreaves announced a change of his
+plans. He had decided, he said, to take Barton along, not caring to
+leave the man on the island.
+
+"He is clever and dangerous," he said, "and I want him under my eye till
+I have decided how to dispose of his case."
+
+"You are not going to let him know you suspect him?" asked Merritt.
+
+"For the present, no. As to what I shall do in the future, I have not
+yet made up my mind."
+
+Ten minutes later a black motor boat shot out of the little inlet in
+which she had been moored. As she sped seaward, making for the other
+island, those left behind set up the cry of the Eagle and Wolf patrols.
+
+Barton, looking sullen and suspicious, was at the engines. He knew the
+object of the trip, but, of course, had no knowledge that his part in
+it was suspected. Nor did any of the party show him by looks or words
+that so much as a breath of suspicion attached to him. This was by the
+orders of Ensign Hargreaves, who had determined to give the fellow
+plenty of rope.
+
+As the _Viper_, as the black motor boat was called, raced over the
+water, Merritt found himself gloomily contemplating the future. If
+anything serious had happened to Rob, he felt that he would be in a
+measure responsible for allowing the young leader of the Eagles to go
+off alone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE.
+
+
+Half an hour after her start, the _Viper_ glided alongside the island
+from which Merritt had seen the signals go up the afternoon before. He
+could not forbear to take a glance at Barton as the ensign ordered the
+engines stopped.
+
+The machinist was stooping over the motor to hide his agitation; but by
+the trembling of his hands Merritt could tell that the fellow was
+apprehensive of something that might involve himself. As soon as the
+anchor dropped, the motor boat's dinghy was drawn up alongside and the
+ensign and Merritt boarded it. The others were left on board the _Viper_
+with whispered orders from the officer to watch Barton's every move.
+The island was a small one, and from its highest point it was possible
+to see all around it. To Merritt's bitter disappointment, however, no
+sign of another motor boat was in sight. Their quarry had flown.
+
+"There's but one thing to do," declared the ensign; "we must make for
+that small hut over yonder and search it thoroughly. It may yield a clue
+of some kind."
+
+A short walk brought them to the hut which had been the scene of the
+stirring events of the preceding night. Hardly had they entered the door
+before Merritt gave a start of surprise and a swift exclamation.
+
+"Look! Look there!" he cried. "There's Rob's hat!"
+
+Sure enough, lying in a corner was the boy leader's campaign hat, which
+he had lost in the scuffle with Mike and Gyp.
+
+"Well, that shows conclusively enough that he was here last night, and
+from that upset table and the general look of things, I should imagine
+there had been a pretty lively scrap here," commented the ensign.
+
+"But where can Rob be now?"
+
+"Probably fearing discovery if they remained here, the men who have
+taken the plans and the models carried him off, too."
+
+"How will it ever be possible to obtain a clew as to where they have
+gone?"
+
+The ensign's answer appeared enigmatical.
+
+"Could you describe the motor boat you saw off here yesterday?"
+
+"Well, she was of a very remarkable color--a light green, with a signal
+mast sticking up amidships. Then, too, her cabin was unusually high."
+
+"Good. Such a boat as that ought not to be very hard to locate."
+
+"I don't quite understand."
+
+"Well, then I'll explain. These waters are fairly well traveled, and by
+working our wireless we may be able to get into communication with some
+boat similarly equipped, which may have seen that green motor boat."
+
+"Cracky, that's a good idea," cried the admiring boy; "let's go back and
+try it at once."
+
+"Yes, it's small use our waiting about here. The rascals overreached us
+by getting away as quick as possible. I suppose they didn't want to run
+any chances of discovery."
+
+The return to the _Viper_ was quickly made, and the motor boat was
+driven back to the Submarine Island at top speed. Barton tried with all
+his might to overhear what was said in the bow of the boat where the Boy
+Scouts had gathered; but the ensign was careful to keep his voice low,
+and then, too, the noise of the engines precluded the machinist from
+catching a word, hard as he strained his ears.
+
+Under the tutoring of Hiram Nelson, the wireless scout, the others had
+all become fair operators. It was agreed that day and night one of them
+should be at the apparatus, seeking for news of the green motor boat.
+
+It was the ensign's opinion that the craft would not put into a port
+immediately, fearing a hue and cry, but would cruise about or hide in
+some little frequented part of the coast. But he hoped that if the
+wireless "caught" some vessel that had spoken to her, he could at least
+obtain a line on which direction she had taken.
+
+The first "session" at the wireless was taken by Hiram, then came the
+others in rotation; but when at ten o'clock that night Donald, who had
+learned wireless on his father's yacht, came on duty, there had come no
+word from the air of a green motor boat. Several ships had been spoken
+to, but not one reported anything to give the boys hope.
+
+"Well, good-night, old man," said Merritt, as Donald, who relieved him,
+came on duty, "and good luck."
+
+"I'll keep a good watch out, all right," was the earnest response.
+"It's our only way to get poor old Rob back."
+
+"I'm afraid so," sighed Merritt, leaving the place with a despondent
+air. As Donald had said, it was a chance--but what a long, seemingly
+hopeless one!
+
+Donald, left alone, began sending out calls, and every little while he
+paused for an answer out of space to his appeals. As he pressed the
+sending key the blue, lithe spark leaped and crackled between its points
+like a fiery snake. Then all would become silent again as he listened
+for an answer to his call.
+
+Once he caught a steamer bound north and carried on quite a conversation
+with its operator. He felt quite lonesome when he closed down his
+sending apparatus with a parting "good-bye."
+
+It was very still about the encampment. So still, in fact, that the boy
+began to feel more and more lonesome. He longed for someone to talk to;
+but he knew that chance would not come till Tubby, his relief,
+appeared.
+
+The stout youth was almost due when Donald suddenly got into
+communication with a steamer called the _Cambria_, bound north from New
+Orleans to New York. He put his customary query about the green motor
+boat.
+
+"A green motor boat?" came back the reply.
+
+"Yes," flashed Donald.
+
+"With one signal mast and a high cabin?"
+
+"Yes! yes," shot out Donald, pounding the key excitedly. "Have you seen
+such a craft?"
+
+"We sighted her this evening."
+
+The boy's fingers shook as he wrote down the reply with flying pencil on
+the scratch pad at his elbow.
+
+"Down off some islands about Lat. 80 deg., Long. 33 deg.," came the
+answer. "She was coming straight toward us and then all of a sudden she
+headed away. Seemed like she didn't want to get near us. Is that all?"
+
+"Yes; good-bye, and thank you," flashed back Donald exultantly.
+
+His fingers had hardly left the key before he was startled by a soft
+footfall behind him.
+
+The boy wheeled like a flash and then almost fell off his chair. Facing
+him, with an ugly-looking revolver in his hand, was Barton, the
+machinist.
+
+There was a mean sneer on his sinister face as he snarled out:
+
+"Let me see that message and let me see it quick."
+
+"I've got no message for you," responded Donald, determined not to let
+the man know that he had information of the green motor boat's
+whereabouts.
+
+"That's a lie," snarled Barton; "don't monkey with me. I've got this gun
+and, jingo, I know how to use it, too."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+THE DEPTHS OF OLD OCEAN.
+
+
+Just as Donald, who was no match physically for the burly machinist, was
+pondering what to do, the door which was open became filled by a rotund
+figure.
+
+It was Tubby.
+
+In a jiffy he took in the scene, the threatening attitude of Barton, the
+alarmed look of Donald, who stood staring at the revolver like a bird
+fascinated by a snake. Tubby realized that it was no time for thinking
+the situation over. Instead, he crouched low, and then, darting forward
+with surprising agility, he seized the machinist around the legs before
+the fellow knew what was happening.
+
+Taken utterly by surprise, and borne off his feet by Tubby's rush,
+Barton came crashing to the floor in a heap. As he fell the revolver
+exploded, the bullet passing by Donald's head.
+
+Barton struggled desperately with Tubby, but the stout youth held on to
+him like a leech, at the same time yelling for help. In a few seconds
+the ensign and Mr. Barr came rushing in, followed by the Boy Scouts and
+the sailors. There was an end to the battle then and there. After a
+brief resistance Barton, snarling and cursing, was tied hand and foot,
+and the ensign ordered him locked up in the dining room shed for the
+present.
+
+Donald soon told his story and proudly exhibited the message from the
+air which told of sighting the green motor boat. All agreed that it was
+a cheering bit of news.
+
+"If they were near a lot of islands when sighted, it is most probable
+that they are hiding on one of the group. At all events, having the
+latitude and longitude, it will be easy to go down there and see."
+
+"What are you going to do about Barton? We have full proof of his
+villainy now," struck in Merritt.
+
+"I suppose we shall have to take him along with us. We can't waste time
+going ashore now and risking the law's delays. We will go down the coast
+in the submarine with the _Viper_ acting as escort, and Barton a
+prisoner on the _Peacemaker_," decided the ensign.
+
+"I wonder why he was so anxious to see that message?" spoke Tubby.
+
+"I guess he knew we were trying to trace the green motor boat, and was
+watching the wireless through that window. When he saw Donald busy
+taking a message, he guessed what it was, and decided that it was
+necessary for him to see it," hazarded Mr. Barr. "How I have been
+deceived in the rascal!"
+
+"You certainly have. His actions show him to be a scoundrel of the
+worst type," agreed the ensign.
+
+There was not much more sleep for anybody that night. Excitement ran far
+too high for that. An attempt was made to force Barton to confess his
+part in the conspiracy, but he sullenly refused to talk.
+
+"You've got nothing on me," was all he would vouchsafe. "Anything those
+tin soldier kids tell you is patched up out of whole cloth."
+
+Slumber being out of the question, the rest of the night was devoted to
+stocking both craft with food and water in good quantities. In this work
+the Scouts helped with a will. They were aided by the three sailors, who
+were to be left behind to guard the island, and therefore did not work
+any too hard.
+
+Dawn found all in readiness, and at the summons of the bugle all lined
+up before Ensign Hargreaves to receive their orders. To the submarine
+were assigned Merritt and Donald, besides Mr. Barr, Ensign Hargreaves,
+and the prisoner Barton. The _Viper's_ crew was captained by Tubby, a
+capable motor boat engineer, and Hiram and the others. When this had
+been done, Barton was led before Ensign Hargreaves.
+
+"Barton," said he sternly, "you have acted the part of a scoundrel and
+should be behind the bars now. But I need you for work, and upon the
+manner in which you perform it, will depend just how severe your
+punishment will be. Cast him loose, men, and take him into the engine
+room of the submarine. You are to stand by for orders."
+
+"I'll try to do my best, sir," rejoined Barton in a soft tone of voice,
+very unusual for him. "I'm sorry, sir, for what I did, but I was led
+astray by promises of money."
+
+This change in the man was almost startling. From a sullen, morose
+fellow he had suddenly, or so it seemed, become a dutiful, attentive
+man, willing to obey orders and do his best. Was all this genuine? We
+shall have to go further to see.
+
+There being no excuse for delay, and as all were anxious to get off as
+quickly as possible, the two craft were boarded. The hatch of the
+submarine was left open for the present, for it was the intention of the
+ensign to run "awash," as it is called.
+
+The motor boat running very nearly as fast as the submarine, they kept
+each other company down the coast with little difficulty. It was fine,
+exciting sport in the motor boat as it cut its way over the swells,
+hurling spray and water out to either side of its sharp bow. If only the
+boys had had Rob with them, they would have enjoyed it much more,
+though.
+
+All that was visible of the submarine was the top of her conning tower,
+and the slender, needle-like "eye" of the periscope. The water surged
+round her conning tower as she rushed along, for all the world like
+some sea monster speeding on an errand of destruction. She was not going
+full speed, for the ensign wished to keep company with the motor boat.
+
+At noon, just as the lads on the motor boat were settling down to lunch
+cooked on a blue-flame stove, a head was thrust out of the conning
+tower. It was that of Mr. Barr.
+
+"We are going to run under the surface in a short time," he said; "just
+follow your same course, and you'll pick us up when we rise again."
+
+"All right," shouted Tubby, his mouth full of ham sandwich, which he
+held in one hand, while with the other he clasped a big wedge of pie.
+
+The hatch on top of the conning tower closed shortly after with a
+metallic "clang." The next instant the craft vanished from view in a
+swirl of water. For a time the tip of the periscope tube, which was
+twenty-five feet long, projected above the surface; then that, too,
+vanished, and the motor boat was alone on the ocean.
+
+On board the submarine the lads were enjoying themselves as much as
+their fellow Scouts on the motor boat. This second experience was even
+more novel and enjoyable than their first dive. Mr. Barr sat in the
+cabin reading some scientific works. Barton, seemingly a changed
+character, was at work in the engine room. The negro cook was in the
+galley, while in the conning tower the ensign was giving Donald and
+Merritt a lesson in handling a diving craft.
+
+In fact, it was Merritt who was at the deflecting apparatus when the
+occupants of Tubby's boat saw the submarine sink.
+
+"That is the descending lever and this the ascending one," explained the
+officer before Merritt sent the boat under the surface.
+
+The levers were small affairs and looked fragile for the work they did
+of starting up the mighty pumps that caused the boat to rise or sink at
+will.
+
+"What if one of them should break or be lost?" asked Donald.
+
+"Well, if we were under water and the ascending lever happened to be
+missing, we should be in an awkward position, and I don't believe that
+Mr. Barr carries an extra one."
+
+"Gracious! Then if the lever was lost we should have to stay at the
+bottom of the sea?"
+
+"That's about the size of it," was the reply.
+
+Mr. Barr, coming into the conning tower just then, confirmed the
+officer's suspicion that no extra lever was carried.
+
+"I admit there ought to be one as a matter of precaution," he said, "but
+we were in such a hurry to give the boat her tests that we forgot about
+it."
+
+All the afternoon the submarine ran under the water, rising about sunset
+to the surface. In the distance was the motor boat, but far in the rear.
+The _Peacemaker_ was sent around in circle and soon came alongside her
+companion craft.
+
+Then the hatchway was opened and the ensign shouted some orders to
+Tubby. The submarine was going to dive once more, but would come up
+before dark. When night fell a red light would be carried astern which
+the motor craft was to follow throughout the night. When this had been
+made clear, the _Peacemaker_ dived once more, but this time it had been
+decided to send her down to a good depth.
+
+"We will eat an early supper under water just for the novelty of it,"
+declared Mr. Barr.
+
+While the meal was going forward Barton was sent into the conning tower
+to navigate the craft. He obeyed with the same smooth complacence with
+which he had received every order since his attack on Donald. Evidently
+the man was hoping, by good behavior, to save himself from a long jail
+sentence.
+
+After supper Barton was relieved, and Merritt sent to the wheel in his
+place. He had been in the conning tower but a short time when he was
+joined by Ensign Hargreaves and Mr. Barr.
+
+"I guess we'll go to the surface now," said the inventor; "it must be
+almost dark up above."
+
+Merritt reached for the lever that operated the ascending pumps. Right
+then he received the most acute and alarming shock of his life.
+
+There was no lever there!
+
+"It's gone!" he shouted.
+
+"What? What's gone?" repeated the inventor in a puzzled tone.
+
+"The lever! The ascending lever! We can't rise to the surface without
+it."
+
+The inventor turned pale. Drops of sweat stood out on his forehead. Even
+the ensign turned a shade whiter than usual.
+
+If the lever could not be discovered, they were doomed to an awful death
+in the depths of the sea!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+ROB MAKES A DISCOVERY.
+
+
+Rob, disconsolate and miserable, passed a bad night, and rose early. As
+his captors were still asleep and had, apparently, made no effort to
+guard him, he decided to make a tour of the island himself. For one
+thing, he was by no means sure that Berghoff had been speaking the truth
+when he said that the place was uninhabited; and again he thought that
+some form of escape might present itself if only he investigated the
+place thoroughly.
+
+So the lad tiptoed out of the camp, first taking the precaution to fill
+his pockets with food. He headed straight into the woods, planning to
+come out again when he had traveled a safe distance from the camp. He
+followed out this idea, pushing his way through the brush for a time,
+and then emerging on a strip of white beach that seemed to extend around
+the island.
+
+He trudged along, keeping a bright lookout, but saw nothing that would
+further his prospects of getting away. All at once, though, as he came
+around the other side of the little spot of land, he saw another island
+lying at no great distance off. And on the beach of this island was a
+boat.
+
+A more welcome sight could not have presented itself to the boy's eyes
+just then. It meant that there was somebody on the island,--somebody who
+would surely be glad to help out a lad in his predicament.
+
+"But how on earth am I to get over there?" mused the lad. "The tide is
+running like a mill race, and I don't know whether I'm a strong enough
+swimmer to buck it."
+
+Then another idea occurred to him. Just above him was a small point of
+land. By going into the water from the end of this, he would be some
+distance above the island he wished to gain, and the current, would,
+therefore, carry him down.
+
+"If I only could get a log or something," thought the boy; "it wouldn't
+take me long to get over there."
+
+He started to hunt for a log that would suit his requirements; but logs
+didn't seem very plentiful in that vicinity. In his search, he reentered
+the woods, and after looking about a bit succeeded in finding one that
+would just suit his purpose.
+
+Stooping down, he lifted it, and then jumped back with a startled
+exclamation. A huge black snake had been coiled under the log, and now
+it struck at him, hissing and darting its red tongue in and out, and
+showing its vicious fangs!
+
+Before Rob could avoid the creature's attack, it had wrapped itself
+around his arm, fastening its fangs into his sleeve.
+
+[Illustration: HE TOPPLED BACKWARD OVER THE BRINK AND PLUNGED DOWN INTO
+THE SWIFTLY FLOWING CURRENT BENEATH.]
+
+Rob battled desperately with the reptile, which lashed its tail and
+hissed with vicious intonations. The feel of the creature's grip was
+loathsome to the boy, and although its fangs had not penetrated his
+tough khaki coat, they might do so at any moment.
+
+In the battle Rob backed out of the woods, striving all the time to free
+himself, and unconsciously stepped nearer and nearer to the water's
+edge. Before he realized his position he toppled backward over the brink
+and plunged down into the swiftly flowing current beneath.
+
+Down he went until it seemed he must strike the bottom! But his fall
+into the channel had had one good effect. The snake was not gripping his
+arm any more. When he shot to the surface he saw it swimming for its
+life, but being carried away from the shore.
+
+In fact, the same thing was the case with Rob. The grip of the water
+drew him far from the island he had just vacated in such an
+unceremonious manner, and hurried him toward the spot of land where
+he had seen the boat. Striking out with all his might, the lad fought
+the current so as to reach the other island before the water hurried him
+past it. It was a hard fight even for a powerful swimmer like Rob. His
+clothes encumbered him cruelly, too; but at last, almost exhausted, he
+touched bottom and reeled ashore.
+
+For a time he could do nothing but lie there gasping. Had his life
+depended on it, he could not have moved hand or foot. But at length his
+youthful vitality came to his aid and he rose to his feet to look about
+him.
+
+The current had landed him on a part of the beach from which the boat he
+had spied was not visible. But he knew in which direction it lay, and
+started out for it. As he rounded a small promontory he came upon it, a
+heavily-built, rickety-looking old thing, but still a boat.
+
+Rob in his present situation would have taken anything that would
+float.
+
+"I'll examine it first and then go hunt up the owner and make a bargain
+with him for it," he thought.
+
+With this intention he approached the craft, and the next instant
+received one of the cruellest shocks of his life.
+
+The boat was a mere shell, falling to pieces from age and exposure to
+the hot sun. It must have been years since she had been used, and Rob's
+experienced eye saw that she would have sunk like a stone the instant
+she was put in the water. It was a bitter blow to the lad, and for a
+time he sank down on the sand, completely knocked out.
+
+But after a time he rallied his spirits.
+
+"After all," he mused, "there may be somebody living on the island and
+that boat may be just an old one they have discarded. I'll dry my
+clothes and then start out to investigate."
+
+With the drying of his clothes, Rob made an alarming discovery. The food
+he had taken was most of it reduced to pulp by its immersion, some
+canned goods alone remaining edible.
+
+"That makes it all the more urgent for me to find some aid," he said to
+himself; "I don't think that bunch on the motor boat will trouble to
+look for me. I guess they'd be glad to leave me here if this is a
+deserted island. In that case, I might die here before aid came."
+
+But thrusting all such thoughts as that aside, Rob determined to meet
+the situation like a brave Scout.
+
+"I won't give up till I'm at the last ditch," he said to himself with
+determination, as he put on his clothes. "I'll fight it out to the end."
+
+Somehow this resolution of his made the boy feel better. With renewed
+courage he set out to explore the island. But he made the circuit of it
+in vain. There was not a trace to be found of human habitation nor any
+indication, except the stranded, sun-dried boat, that anyone but himself
+had ever landed there.
+
+So despondent did he feel over this discovery that had he possessed the
+strength to do so, he would have swum back to the other island and
+thrown himself on the mercy of his recent captors. But this was now out
+of the question.
+
+Unless he could find some way out of his dilemma, it looked as if he
+would indeed be doomed to leave his bones on those sands. The thought
+was a dreadful one, and although it was a warm, almost tropical day, the
+boy shivered and cold sweat ran down his face.
+
+If he were indeed to die there, nobody would ever know his fate, in all
+probability. He had failed in his mission to recover the papers, too.
+Altogether he felt in a very miserable frame of mind. It was in this
+mood that, in order to keep his mind off his predicament, more than
+anything else, he fell to examining the old boat again. There might be
+some way to patch her up, he thought desperately, hoping against hope.
+
+Suddenly he made a discovery that set his heart to beating wildly. On
+the stern board of the boat was cut the name "_Good Hope_!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+THE DEAD MAN'S HOARD.
+
+
+The "_Good Hope_!"
+
+What a crowd of memories the name brought buzzing about the boy! The
+lone derelict, the figure in the mouldering cabin, the--the plan in his
+pocket!
+
+With fingers that trembled Rob drew out the solution of the cryptogram
+and read it over.
+
+Then he held his head in his hands a moment to keep it from whirling
+round.
+
+Could it be possible that this was the island where the hoard of
+century-old ivory was buried? Had he stumbled by a complete accident
+upon the cache that had sent one man to his death?
+
+Then he recalled that on his trip of exploration he had noticed a big
+dead cypress on the other side of the island. But if this was the
+veritable island where the whalers had buried their ivory, why was the
+boat lying there mouldering on the beach? Why had they not left again?
+
+The more the boy thought of it, the more mysterious and inexplicable the
+whole thing became. He resolved to go back to the dead cypress and
+follow the directions of the cryptic message of the captain of the _Good
+Hope_.
+
+As has been said, the island was not a large one, and he was not long in
+reaching the gaunt, dead tree. Somehow he felt a chill go through him as
+he stood beneath its leafless gray limbs. It reminded him oddly of that
+skeleton in the deck house of the derelict.
+
+But he pulled himself together and struck off into the woods in a
+direction that, by using his watch as a compass, he knew to be the west.
+The undergrowth was thick, but after going a few paces, he reached an
+open space.
+
+In the centre of this was a sight that made his heart jump and then beat
+wildly. Strewn in every direction were big tusks of yellow ivory,
+evidently lying just as they had been dug from the ground.
+
+Rob was still contemplating them when his eye caught the flutter of a
+rag of cloth at the edge of the open space. Attracted by a curiosity he
+could not account for, he made his way toward it. If the sight of the
+ivory had made him jump, what he now saw sent a chill of horror down his
+spine. The rag that had fluttered had been part of the clothing of what
+had once been two men.
+
+Both lay close together, their bones showing where the cloth had worn
+away under Time's finger. A pair of rusty pistols lying by each showed
+how they had come to their death. The whole tragedy was as clear to Rob
+as if he had seen it:--the quarrel between the two ivory stealers, the
+duel with the pistols, and the death of both combatants beside the
+treasure pile they had done so much wickedness to acquire.
+
+"Truly that figure in the deck house is avenged," thought Rob, gazing
+with horror-stricken eyes at the things before him. "Death was indeed
+the wages of sin in their case."
+
+Turning from the grisly relics of that far-off duel on the lonely
+island, Rob fell to examining the ivory. There was a large quantity of
+it.
+
+"It must be worth an immense sum," he thought.
+
+But in the very moment of his triumph, Rob suddenly recollected what, in
+his excitement, he had entirely forgotten for the moment. He was a
+castaway on a strange, uninhabited island, with only a few tins of beef
+between him and starvation. Thirst he did not fear, for close to where
+he had struggled ashore was a spring of sweet, cool water.
+
+Rob made his way back to the beach and the boat. Inside the boat he now
+noticed what had hitherto escaped his attention. There were several
+hundred feet of light rope which seemed to be still in fairly good
+condition. There was, too, a pair of oars. At the same moment the boy
+was seized by a sudden idea. He could get away from the island, and in a
+boat, too!
+
+His Boy Scout training had made him fertile in ideas, and if the present
+one succeeded it would mean his escape from a terrible fate.
+
+       +       +       +       +       +
+
+Ensign Hargreaves and Mr. Barr looked sternly at each other.
+
+"There is only one man who could have taken that lever," said the
+ensign.
+
+"And that is who?"
+
+"The rascal Barton."
+
+"But for what possible object?"
+
+"I cannot think unless he has hidden it and will only give it up as the
+price of his liberty."
+
+"But if he keeps us down here, he will die, too."
+
+"He is playing his life against ours and he holds the cards."
+
+"Not for long. Come below at once. We must act quickly. There is a
+chance he still has it on his person."
+
+Down the stairs they ran, leaving Merritt at the wheel with a sinking
+feeling of fear clutching at his heart. If Barton, turned desperate, had
+hidden the key and would not reveal its hiding place, it meant that they
+must remain in the depths till death put an end to their sufferings.
+
+In the meantime, the ensign and Mr. Barr, both excited, had rushed
+through the cabin and toward the engine room. As they approached the
+door, it was slammed and a pistol thrust through a small hole in it,
+which had been cut for ventilation.
+
+Then Barton's voice came ringing out:
+
+"Don't come a step closer unless you want to get a bullet in you."
+
+"What's the matter, man, are you mad?" exclaimed Mr. Barr.
+
+A shriek of demoniacal laughter was the sole response.
+
+It sent a shudder through everyone who heard it. The man was mad,
+violently insane. The seeds of lunacy, which had been germinating in his
+brain for a long time, had burst forth into a terrible harvest.
+
+"And on that man everyone of our lives depends," breathed the ensign.
+
+Then in a louder tone, which rang with authority:
+
+"Barton, did you take that ascending lever?"
+
+"Yes; ha-ha-ha! It's a good joke on you! You thought you'd put me in
+prison, but now we'll all die together."
+
+"Barton," pleaded Mr. Barr, "be rational. Return that lever and you
+shall have immunity."
+
+"It's too late now!" screamed the demented wretch. "We'll all die
+together in the depths of the sea, where dead men's bones rot and the
+fish eat their eyes out."
+
+A hasty consultation followed between the ensign and Mr. Barr. The man
+was undoubtedly violently insane, and there didn't seem a chance in the
+world of dislodging him from his position.
+
+The situation was the more serious from the fact that the fresh air
+devices were not working properly and the air inside the submarine was
+already getting noticeably stale and foul.
+
+"We must rush that door; it's our only chance," declared the officer in
+a whispered voice.
+
+"But he is liable to shoot," objected Mr. Barr, eying the blued-steel
+muzzle of the revolver which was pointed threateningly at them.
+
+"It cannot be helped. It means death in a fearful form if we do not
+dislodge him from that position, and a man in his condition cannot
+listen to reason."
+
+"Well, what do you propose?"
+
+"That you start talking to him to distract his attention, offer him
+money or anything to give up the lever. Then I'll watch my chance and
+rush in on him; thank goodness, that door has no lock on it."
+
+"Barton!" said Mr. Barr, in a resonant voice.
+
+"Well?" snarled the lunatic.
+
+"Be calm now and listen to reason. Is it money you wish?"
+
+"No, blood! Human lives!" shrieked the maniac.
+
+At precisely that instant, like a projectile from a gun the ensign's
+powerful body shot forward. Crash came his solid one hundred and
+eighty-five pounds against the door.
+
+At the same instant there was another crash, the sharp crack of a
+revolver! In that confined space it sounded terribly loud.
+
+"He's shot him!" cried Mr. Barr.
+
+But Barton had done nothing of the kind. The attack had been utterly
+unexpected by him, and as the door banged against him with terrific
+force, he had been knocked down. As he fell the revolver exploded;
+before he could pull the trigger a second time the powerful young
+officer of Uncle Sam's Navy was upon the man. Barton fought like a
+wildcat, and with the superhuman strength of those afflicted with
+insanity.
+
+At last, however, he was overpowered and, raving incoherently, was tied
+hand and foot and carried out to the cabin where he was placed on a
+lounge. Mr. Barr, who knew something of medicine, gave him a calming
+dose from the submarine's medicine chest, and he became less violent.
+
+"Barton, where did you put that lever?" demanded the ensign.
+
+The man whimpered like a child.
+
+"I--I don't remember," he gasped out.
+
+Consternation showed on every face. Already the air was getting worse
+and worse.
+
+The ensign bent over the bound man, who was now crying weakly.
+
+"You must remember, man. You must, I say!" he snapped, in tones that cut
+like the crack of a whip. "Think! think! our lives depend upon it!"
+
+"If I knew, I would tell you," murmured the man; "but I don't. I don't
+remember."
+
+A stillness like death itself settled on the occupants of the cabin.
+Barton had accomplished his insane purpose only too well, it seemed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+WHICH WILL WIN?
+
+
+Rob's idea was a simple enough one. With his knife he would cut bundles
+of branches and then bind them to the sides of the boat with the rope.
+This would at least keep the crazy craft afloat and offer him a means of
+reaching the shore.
+
+He set to work at once with great enthusiasm, and by dusk his
+strange-looking boat was ready to be launched. By placing round branches
+under it for rollers and using another branch as a lever, he soon
+succeeded in getting it into the water. But it was hard work, and he
+paused to eat some of his canned beef before going any further.
+
+To his huge delight the boat, though lopsided and half full of water,
+was buoyed up by the branches, and he had no doubt that he could
+navigate her with the oars. As soon as he had finished his unappetizing
+meal, Rob clambered on board his "ark," as he mentally called her, and
+thrust the oars into the rowlocks. The boat was very heavy, and owing to
+her waterlogged condition pulled very hard. Worse still, Rob encountered
+a current that carried him toward the other island, the one he had left
+that morning; and even worse, a fact he presently perceived, his craft
+was being carried around a point, on the opposite side of which he could
+see the glow of a fire against the night sky; for by this time it was
+dark. Rob was heartily glad that this was the case, for he knew that the
+fire must be that of the rascals who had abducted him, and in the
+darkness he might slip by them unnoticed.
+
+Luckily the current set a bit from the shore at this point, and
+although the boy could hear the three rascals carousing around their
+fire over a keg of spirits, and singing and shouting at the top of their
+voices, they could not see him, partly because of their condition, and
+partly because of the firelight.
+
+Past the camp, with its carousing inmates, the boy was carried, and
+suddenly his boat was bumped against something. Rob looked around. At
+first he thought he had struck a rock. Instead he saw before him the
+green motor boat.
+
+Like a flash an inspiration came to him. He clambered on board, and not
+till he was fairly on deck did he recollect that he had neglected to tie
+his ark to the side.
+
+He looked over the stern rail. In the dim light he could see his clumsy
+craft drifting off, bobbing up and down on the tide.
+
+"Well, I've burned my bridges behind me now," he exclaimed to himself.
+"If I can't carry this thing through, I'll be cold meat by morning."
+
+Just at that moment came a shout from the outlaws carousing on the
+beach.
+
+Keener-eyed than his companions, Berghoff had spied a dark form on the
+motor boat, silhouetted against the thickly sprinkled stars.
+
+"There's someone stealing our boat. After him, boys!" Rob heard the
+fellow roar.
+
+Then he ducked as a volley of bullets came whizzing over his head. His
+next move was to clamber forward, keeping as low as possible till he
+reached the anchor chain.
+
+There was no time to haul in, for the men had already run down the beach
+and launched their small boat.
+
+Rob merely knocked out a shackle pin and let the whole thing go. This
+done, he scrambled back and descended to the engine room.
+
+"If I can't make this old tea-kettle go, I'm a gone coon," he admitted
+to himself with grim humor, as he switched on gasoline and spark, and
+turned the fly wheel over. Outside the shouts were coming closer every
+instant, and the motor showed no signs of intending to start.
+
+       +       +       +       +       +
+
+It was Donald, the Wolf Scout, who saved the day for the prisoners of
+the submarine.
+
+As Barton rolled about whimpering and cursing by turns, he spied a
+bright object protruding from the man's pocket.
+
+"Is--is that the lever?" he asked, in tones that trembled with
+excitement.
+
+Mr. Barr darted on the object and pulled it out with a shout of triumph.
+
+"Once more the Boy Scouts have saved the day!" he cried. "It is the
+lever, sure enough!"
+
+Close as the atmosphere of the cabin had by this time become, they all
+found breath enough to give three ringing cheers. In the conning tower
+Merritt, at the wheel, heard them, and guessed what they meant.
+
+Fifteen minutes later the submarine was shooting upward to the surface
+toward the blessed air. With what speed the hatch was opened when they
+reached the surface and could inhale the pure ozone once more, may be
+imagined. As soon as they had somewhat recovered a red light was shown
+from the stern, and presently the _Viper_ came chugging up.
+
+"Well, where in the world have you been?" asked Tubby.
+
+"Where _under_ the world, you mean," laughed Merritt; "but for a time it
+was no laughing matter, I assure you."
+
+He then gave his fellow Scout a description of all they had undergone.
+When the excitement was over, word was given to get under way once more,
+and with the submarine leading, and the _Viper_ following the red light,
+they held their courses toward the south.
+
+It was dawn when they found themselves off a maze of small islands and
+islets. Donald had the wheel, and was gazing ahead as the submarine, at
+reduced speed, threaded her way among the shoals and sand bars.
+
+All at once he saw something coming toward them that made his pulses
+beat far above normal.
+
+It was a green motor boat, with a single military mast and a high cabin.
+
+He lost no time in notifying everybody, and the submarine decks were
+soon crowded.
+
+"Better get below, boys," warned the ensign; "that is undoubtedly the
+rascals' boat. In fact, Merritt says he recognizes it. They are
+desperate fellows, and when they see we have them cornered, they will
+put up a fight. If they run, I mean to pursue them to the bitter end."
+
+Reluctantly the boys went below, while the ensign and Mr. Barr stood on
+the foredeck, revolvers in hand.
+
+But although whoever was on the green boat must have seen them, the
+craft came right on.
+
+"Why, they actually mean to fight," gasped Mr. Barr.
+
+"They're nervy fellows, all right," commented the ensign; "we may have a
+tougher time of it than we think, Barr."
+
+He turned and warned Tubby to take his boat back out of range. On and on
+came the green boat without making a sign of any kind, hostile or
+otherwise.
+
+"What can they be up to?" wondered the ensign in tones of blank
+amazement.
+
+Scarcely twenty feet intervened between the two boats now, when suddenly
+a boyish figure, bareheaded and clad in a Boy Scout uniform, leaped to
+the rail of the green craft.
+
+"Kre-ee-ee-ee!" he shrilled out.
+
+"The call of the Eagle Patrol!" gasped Mr. Barr.
+
+"Yes, and by all that's wonderful, that lad is Rob Blake!" fairly
+shouted the ensign, waving his cap.
+
+By this time Tubby, too, had recognized his leader. The air rang with
+cheers, shouts, questions and answers in a perfect babble of sound.
+
+"Well, who on earth but a Boy Scout could get himself kidnapped and then
+kidnap his abductors' boat!" exclaimed the ensign that evening as they
+lay at anchor off Rob's "Ivory Island."
+
+The climax of a wonderful day had been reached. Only one thing marred
+it. The rascals who had pursued Rob, for he only got the engine going in
+the nick of time, had got clear away in the rowboat. Possibly they
+hailed a passing steamer and were picked up.
+
+But, after all, their escape, while annoying, was not of so much
+importance, for in their haste they had left behind the most important
+papers and models, and the ones they had taken were valueless, Mr. Barr
+declared, without the missing ones.
+
+The next day, after a long evening of jollity, the _Viper_ set out for
+Jamesport, S. C., with the unfortunate Barton bound with ropes to keep
+him from further violent manifestations. The poor man never recovered
+his reason, but died shortly after being admitted to an asylum. It
+appeared that in his youth he had been an inmate of an institution for
+the feeble-minded, but had been discharged as cured.
+
+On the _Viper's_ return, work was begun on transferring the ivory, which
+was ultimately sold for an amount that netted all of them a handsome
+sum; for Rob insisted on sharing his good fortune with all his
+comrades.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+THE ENDURANCE RUN.
+
+
+The ensuing days, following the return to the island, were filled to
+overflowing with activity. Exhaustive tests only made the _Peacemaker_
+appear to be more and more the ideal type of boat for her particular
+work. By means of the island wireless Ensign Hargreaves, using "code" of
+course, sent glowing accounts to Washington of the progress of the
+tests. In these despatches, too, the Boy Scouts were favorably mentioned
+for their pluck and heroism in the pursuit of Berghoff and his rascally
+companions.
+
+One day, about two weeks after the return to the island, it was
+determined by the ensign and Mr. Barr to make quite a run out to sea to
+test to the full the endurance capacity of the _Peacemaker_. Rob and
+Merritt were chosen to accompany them. The rest of the boys were left to
+guard the island, which, among other valuable property, now housed the
+precious ivory hoard recovered in such a strange manner.
+
+The day dawned with a red, angry sky proclaiming nasty weather. But
+this, instead of dampening the ardor of the inventor and his aides, only
+increased it. It meant that the submarine was in for a real test in a
+bad sea.
+
+By the time they were ready to start, the wind had freshened into half a
+gale and a high sea was running, heaping up big gray combers with white
+tops which broke angrily.
+
+Into this storm the _Peacemaker_ was headed without hesitation. On board
+were the ensign, the inventor, Rob and Merritt. The two latter were to
+serve watch and watch in the engine room, while the inventor and the
+ensign placed themselves under a similar arrangement in the conning
+tower.
+
+Both Rob and Merritt were by this time fully conversant with the running
+of the _Peacemaker's_ intricate machinery and were trusted to the full
+by their superior officers.
+
+"Gee! This feels like being afloat in an empty bottle!" exclaimed
+Merritt as the _Peacemaker_ headed into the tumbling seas.
+
+"It sure does," responded Rob, hanging on to a handhold while he oiled a
+bearing. "I suppose they want to see how much she'll stand on the
+surface."
+
+"Wonder they wouldn't dive and give us a chance to get a little quiet,"
+observed Merritt as the rolling, bucking _Peacemaker_ leaped, as it
+seemed, skyward and then plunged dizzily down again.
+
+"There must be a hummer of a sea outside. Guess, as I'm off duty, I'll
+go up and see what's doing," said Rob presently.
+
+He made his way with much difficulty toward the steel ladder leading
+into the conning tower. The passage could only be made by fits and
+starts, and the boy for the first time realized the necessity of the
+handholds placed at frequent intervals on the cabin walls, to which
+reference has already been made.
+
+Reaching the ladder he scrambled up into the conning tower, and, once
+inside, braced himself against the wild and erratic motions of the
+_Peacemaker_. To see through the lenses was impossible. The seas that
+swept over the little craft blurred the glass with green water and
+obscured everything outside. But on the _Peacemaker_ this condition did
+not matter. The contingency had been provided for.
+
+The long arm of the periscope with its "eye" on top had been raised, and
+it reached far above the biggest combers. In front of the helmsman, who
+happened to be Mr. Barr, was a big plate of ground glass on which every
+object outside was plainly shown, although of course in miniature.
+Those of my readers who have ever seen a "camera obscura" will recognize
+what I mean.
+
+Upon the ground glass, as within a picture frame, was reproduced the
+motion of the furious seas, the scurrying clouds and the angry storm
+wrack. It was an inspiring marine painting, with the motion and sweep
+that an actual painting could never possess. It thrilled Rob as he gazed
+at it and realized that it was through this pandemonium of the storm
+that the _Peacemaker_ was bravely fighting her way.
+
+"Better slow down a bit, hadn't I?" asked Mr. Barr as the _Peacemaker_,
+urged by her powerful engines, ploughed right through a mountainous sea.
+
+As she bored her way through the mighty wall of green water, a roar like
+that of a railroad train resounded and the craft pitched as if she were
+going to plunge to the bottom of the sea. This latter, in fact, Rob
+rather wished she would do. He knew that in the depths all would be
+quiet and undisturbed.
+
+In reply to Mr. Barr's question, the ensign nodded.
+
+"The strain is already pretty strong," he said; "we don't want to force
+her too hard."
+
+Accordingly the inventor, utilizing the auto control device, cut down
+the speed till, instead of ploughing through the waves, the _Peacemaker_
+skimmed over them. Unlike most submarines, which cannot do otherwise
+than plunge into heavy seas, the _Peacemaker's_ hull was so constructed
+that she rode the waves like a duck.
+
+After a while the sensation of heaving and falling began to get upon Mr.
+Barr's nerves.
+
+"I'm feeling a bit squeamish," he declared; "let's dive and get out of
+this."
+
+The ensign nodded and laughed.
+
+"Our friend Rob here is getting a bit pale, too," he said; "and as we
+don't want a sea-sick crew, maybe we had better seek the seclusion of
+Davy Jones' locker."
+
+An instant later the _Peacemaker_ was plunging downward. At a depth of
+twenty feet the angry motion of the waves was unfelt. In those dim
+depths all was as quiet and undisturbed as if the elements were at
+perfect peace above.
+
+Down, down dropped the submarine till her depth indicator showed that
+she was submerged five hundred fathoms.
+
+"The chart gives seven hundred hereabouts," commented Ensign Hargreaves,
+glancing at it; "so I guess we are safe for forty miles more before the
+floor of the ocean slopes upward. We must go up a bit higher then."
+
+The inventor nodded.
+
+"I understand," he said, and then, "we are now running at what speed?"
+
+The ensign turned to the speed indicator.
+
+"A trifle under twenty miles an hour," he said.
+
+Mr. Barr glanced at the clock before him, which was illuminated by a
+tiny shaded electric bulb.
+
+"I'll keep on this course at this speed for about two hours then," he
+determined.
+
+"That will be all right, I imagine," was the rejoinder, "but don't keep
+on too long. The bed of the sea, according to the chart, rises up very
+rapidly further on. It must be almost cliff-like in its sudden
+elevation."
+
+"I'll be on the lookout," the inventor assured him.
+
+Rob descended the ladder once more and reentered the engine room to find
+out how Merritt was getting along. He found the young engineer seated on
+the leather lounge alongside the engines watching them lovingly.
+
+"Work smoothly, don't they?" he said.
+
+"They sure do," was the other's response; "smoothly as a Geneva watch."
+
+The boys sat chatting on various matters, and the time flew along
+rapidly till Rob suddenly looked at his watch.
+
+"Almost two hours. It's time we were rising," he said.
+
+"What do we want to rise for? It's deep enough here, isn't it?"
+
+"That's just it. The ensign says that the chart shows that a sort of
+submarine cliff looms up right ahead of us somewhere hereabouts."
+
+"Great ginger snaps! I thought the bottom of the sea was as level as a
+floor."
+
+"Not a bit of it. It's as full of mountainous regions and flat,
+depressed plains and valleys as the Rockies themselves."
+
+"Gee whiz! I'd hate to hit one of them. I----"
+
+Merritt stopped short. A terrific crash shook the submarine from stem to
+stern. Rob saved himself from falling into the machinery by seizing a
+rail.
+
+For an instant the vibration lasted, and then the diving craft came to a
+dead stop.
+
+The boys gazed at each other with blanched faces.
+
+Did the crash mean that they had actually struck one of the submerged
+ranges that make deep sea traveling full of dangers? Had Mr. Barr
+delayed too long in rising?
+
+On the answer to these questions both boys felt that their lives
+depended.
+
+They were still regarding each other with consternation when the ensign
+burst into the cabin.
+
+"Shut off the engines instantly!" he ordered.
+
+"What have we struck? That submerged cliff that you feared?" Rob managed
+to gasp out, while Merritt hastened to obey the officer's command.
+
+"I--I don't know," was the reply, "but I fear that we are in serious
+danger!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+THE SUPREME TEST.
+
+
+"Open the side window panel and turn on the searchlight!"
+
+The order came from Mr. Barr five minutes after the _Peacemaker_ struck.
+Naturally enough, everyone on board was seriously alarmed; but in the
+face of danger the Boy Scouts took their example for action from the
+naval officer and the inventor.
+
+Although deadly pale, Mr. Barr kept his voice as cool as an icicle.
+Ensign Hargreaves, while fully realizing the danger, yet steeled himself
+to calmness; and both Rob and Merritt simulated the courage of their
+elders.
+
+Rob hastened to obey Mr. Barr's command. After a few seconds of
+manipulation the slide drew back, exposing the large plate glass panel.
+To bring the powerful searchlight into play was the work of but a
+moment.
+
+As its white rays pierced the gloomy depths of the ocean like a scimitar
+of light, all on board peered intently from the panel and strove to make
+out what it was that the diving boat had struck.
+
+At first nothing could be seen but the dark water with myriads of fish
+swarming about the bright light, which appeared to attract them as moths
+are attracted to an arc light.
+
+"Swing the light," ordered Mr. Barr; "bring it to bear a little more
+forward."
+
+Rob obeyed, and the ray of light swung in an arc through the obscurity
+outside of the _Peacemaker_. All at once, with a sharp exclamation, Rob
+stopped it.
+
+"Look! look!" he cried, pointing from the window.
+
+They looked and saw before them what appeared to be a steep acclivity,
+ribbed and rocky as a mountain side. It was against this submerged cliff
+that the _Peacemaker_ had struck.
+
+"That submarine cliff appears to be of a soft formation," declared the
+ensign after a brief scrutiny; "our bow has driven into it."
+
+"Then we are doomed to remain here?" asked Merritt with a bit of a
+quiver in his voice.
+
+"Not necessarily. It's up to us now to do all we can to extricate
+ourselves."
+
+"But how?"
+
+The question came from Rob, whose voice, try as he would, persisted in
+faltering. It was an awful feeling to experience, this of being penned
+scores of fathoms beneath the ocean's surface in a diving boat.
+
+"Well, I have a plan in mind. It is a desperate one, but possibly it may
+work."
+
+"What do you propose to do?"
+
+This time it was the inventor who propounded the query. Clearly enough
+Mr. Barr himself could think of no way out of the quandary.
+
+"I don't care to say just yet," responded the naval officer.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because it is a sort of forlorn hope that I don't care to advocate
+until absolute necessity arises."
+
+In the dire extremity into which they were plunged, not one of them
+cared just then to waste time by asking questions. Clearly Uncle Sam's
+officer was at the head of affairs. In silence they awaited his next
+word.
+
+"Rob, you must reverse the engines. Give them all the power they will
+stand. It's just possible that we may be able to back out without
+injury, although I fear that we are pretty deeply buried in this cliff."
+
+Rob, accompanied by Merritt, hastened to obey. Together the two boys
+entered the engine room, and Rob at once operated the mechanism which
+caused the _Peacemaker_ to go backward.
+
+As he pulled over the lever and the engines began to whirr and buzz,
+everyone on the boat waited breathlessly for the result. But the
+_Peacemaker_ did not move. Under the strain of her laboring engines the
+steel fabric shook and chattered, but not an inch did the diving boat
+budge.
+
+Rob and Merritt exchanged despairing glances.
+
+"Can't you get any more power out of her?" asked Merritt anxiously.
+
+Rob shook his head.
+
+"Not a bit more, old man. She's running at her utmost now."
+
+"Then we're stuck?"
+
+"It looks that way."
+
+"And we're doomed to die right here unless the nose of the boat can be
+got out of that cliff!"
+
+"Never say, 'die,' Merritt. We've done the best we can, and remember the
+ensign said that he had a plan if all else failed."
+
+"Yes, 'a forlorn hope' he called it."
+
+"In a case like this we can endure anything. Desperate situations
+require desperate means to solve them."
+
+As the young Scout leader spoke, Ensign Hargreaves burst into the engine
+room.
+
+The engines were still whirring and buzzing, and the hull of the
+_Peacemaker_ was quivering under their powerful stress.
+
+"Have you developed every ounce of power they are capable of?" asked the
+naval officer.
+
+"Yes, sir," responded Rob respectfully; "they can't do another
+revolution."
+
+The officer looked anxious.
+
+"In that case, we shall have to resort to my forlorn hope," he said.
+
+"And what is that, sir?" asked Rob, his heart beating uncomfortably
+fast.
+
+"Come forward and you shall see."
+
+The ensign turned and swung out of the engine room, followed closely by
+two anxious boys, Rob having waited only to shut off the engines.
+
+In the main cabin Mr. Barr, his face white and strained, sat on one of
+the leather divans.
+
+He looked up as the boys and the naval officer entered.
+
+"The engines won't back her out?" he asked in a voice harsh and rough
+from anxiety.
+
+"No. I'm sorry, Barr, but we're in a mighty bad fix. This submarine
+cliff must be of a sort of blue clay formation that is common off this
+coast. We have apparently driven into it so far that nothing short of an
+earthquake would dislodge us."
+
+"An earthquake?"
+
+"Yes; such a spasm of nature alone can set us free."
+
+"Then we are doomed to remain here."
+
+"Not of necessity; we have still a chance of escape."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"That my plan offers a mere chance."
+
+"Then let us not delay in putting it into execution."
+
+"But it is a dangerous one!"
+
+"Never mind that. Nothing could be more serious than our present
+predicament."
+
+"Very well then, we will try out my idea. It's our last chance."
+
+"Our last chance!" The words sounded to the boys almost like a requiem.
+Plainly enough, whatever Ensign Hargreaves' plan might be, there were
+dangers attached to it, and no light dangers, either, to judge from his
+grave tones. Eagerly they awaited his next words.
+
+"My plan is nothing more nor less than this," he said; "I propose to
+create an earthquake."
+
+"To _create_ an earthquake!" Mr. Barr echoed the words, staring at the
+ensign as if he thought he had gone suddenly insane.
+
+"Precisely. I intend to produce by artificial means an eruption which
+will destroy enough of this cliff to set us free, or else blow the
+_Peacemaker_ herself into atoms."
+
+Mr. Barr buried his head in his hands. Skillful inventor and scientific
+expert though he was, the last words of the naval officer had sapped
+even his iron courage.
+
+"Is there no other way?"
+
+"No other way. It's a gamble for our lives."
+
+"What do you propose doing?" asked Mr. Barr in a strange, broken voice.
+
+"As I said, to create an artificial earthquake."
+
+"I am unable to follow you."
+
+"Then I'll make it clearer. In the torpedo compartment forward you have
+six Red Head torpedoes fully charged with gun cotton?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+The inventor was regarding the naval officer with intense interest now,
+and the boys also stood transfixed, their eyes riveted on the ensign as
+he unfolded his plan.
+
+"What I propose to do," he continued, "is to discharge from the side
+torpedo tubes two torpedoes. They will be aimed at the cliff and, of
+course, when they strike it, will explode."
+
+"But in that case our bow would be blown off also, and we should perish
+almost instantly," declared Mr. Barr.
+
+"Wait a minute. I didn't say we would discharge them _directly_ at the
+cliff. What I propose doing is this: We will aim one on each side of the
+spot where our bow drove in, taking care to train the tubes so that the
+torpedoes will not strike too near."
+
+"Yes, the tubes are movable. That is one of the features of the
+_Peacemaker_."
+
+"Very well, then, they will be as easy to train in any desired direction
+as a rapid fire gun."
+
+"Exactly. But I never thought when I designed them that I might some day
+owe my life to that very feature."
+
+"Well, we are by no means out of the woods yet," responded the ensign
+drily.
+
+He led the way to the forward torpedo room. This was right in the bow of
+the boat and most of the space was occupied by odd-looking machinery.
+Wheels, worm gears and strange-looking levers were everywhere. At the
+farthest end of the steel-walled chamber was a sort of derrick
+contrivance. This was the piece of machinery used to raise the torpedoes
+and swing them into the tubes.
+
+Like the other machinery on the _Peacemaker_, the derrick was operated
+by electricity. A pull of a lever and Mr. Barr had set its machinery in
+motion. The torpedoes were placed on racks so that it was a simple
+matter to secure them to the lifting chain of the derrick. First one and
+then another of the polished steel implements of deadly warfare were
+raised to the mouths of the torpedo tubes which projected into the
+chamber.
+
+Despite their immense weight, the torpedoes were placed within the tubes
+with no more difficulty than a sportsman experiences in shoving two
+cartridges into the breech of his gun.
+
+In ten minutes from the time the party entered the torpedo chamber, the
+steel implements of death had been "rammed home" and the breech of the
+tubes clamped and fastened. On the _Peacemaker_ type of submarine
+compressed air at an enormous pressure was used to give the torpedoes a
+start, although, of course, they contained the usual machinery within
+themselves to drive them through the water after they left the tubes.
+
+There followed a moment of suspense as the compressed air, with a
+hissing sound, rushed into the tubes.
+
+Mr. Barr, deadly pale but without a tremor in his voice, announced that
+all was ready.
+
+The ensign merely nodded and began to operate a worm gear which swung
+the tubes at an acuter angle to the body of the submarine vessel.
+
+"I think we are all right now," he said presently.
+
+"Very well," spoke the inventor, his hand on a lever, "when you say the
+word, I'll discharge the torpedoes."
+
+"You might as well do it right now," was the response.
+
+The inventor, with hands that shook, swung the lever back.
+
+There was a hissing sound and a slight tremor as the compressed air shot
+the torpedoes from the tubes. Less than a second later, simultaneously
+it seemed, the submarine was rocked and swayed by a terrific convulsion.
+The boys and their elders were thrown right and left with a force that
+almost knocked them senseless.
+
+It was but a few moments after the explosion of the two torpedoes that
+Ensign Hargreaves uttered a shout that thrilled them all.
+
+"We're rising!" he cried. "My plan succeeded after all!"
+
+"I think that we ought to give thanks to Providence," said Mr. Barr
+reverently. "As the ensign has said, the plan succeeded, but it was
+taking one chance in a thousand. Had that cliff not been shaken so as to
+release us, we might have perished miserably and left our fate a
+mystery."
+
+The boys were in the conning tower by the conclusion of Mr. Barr's
+words. The barograph showed them to be rising a hundred feet a minute.
+No words were exchanged between the two young Scouts, but each grasped
+the other's hand in a firm grip and gazed into the other's eyes. There
+was no necessity of speech. Both realized that they had passed through
+the gravest peril that even they had experienced in all their
+adventurous lives.
+
+When the _Peacemaker_ reached the surface once more, the storm had
+subsided. With their hearts full of deep gratitude for the miraculous
+chance that had saved their lives, her occupants headed the speedy
+diving craft back for the island at top speed. The _Peacemaker_ had been
+through the supreme test and had not been found lacking.
+
+"I tell you what, Barr," declared Ensign Hargreaves, as they neared the
+familiar island, "you have the most wonderful boat on earth, and Uncle
+Sam has _got_ to have it. My report goes in to Washington to-morrow and
+you can guess what it will contain."
+
+"Thank you," said the inventor simply, extending his hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH.
+
+
+"That's queer, Rob!"
+
+"What's queer, Merritt, the way you've been sitting and staring for the
+last ten minutes?"
+
+"No; that odd noise. Don't you hear it?"
+
+The two lads were seated in the cabin of the submarine on "night guard
+duty," as it was called. Following the anxious days when Berghoff had
+made affairs on the island so filled with uneasiness for the Scouts and
+their friends, this sentry duty had been regularly maintained.
+
+On this particular night the task had fallen to Rob and Merritt. There
+was nothing very arduous about it, the only duty involved being to keep
+ears and eyes open. Both lads had been engrossed in books dealing with
+their favorite subjects when Merritt called Rob's attention to the odd
+sound he had noticed.
+
+"Maybe my ears are not quite so sharp as yours, old boy," said Rob,
+after an interval of listening. "I've got a slight cold, anyhow, and
+perhaps that's why I don't hear so readily."
+
+"Possibly so."
+
+"You are sure you weren't mistaken?"
+
+"Think I'm hearing things?" indignantly responded Merritt. "No, siree,
+I'm willing to bet. Hark! There it is again!"
+
+"By Hookey! I heard it that time, too. What can it be?"
+
+"Hush!"
+
+The noise was a most peculiar one. It seemed to be a sort of scraping on
+the outside of the submarine's hull. The diving craft was anchored at
+some distance from the shore, so as to be more readily prepared for a
+projected run the following day. This made the noise all the more
+inexplicable, as, had the craft been in the shed, it might have been
+caused by the inventor or the ensign paying a night visit to see that
+all was well, which they sometimes did.
+
+"Perhaps it's a log bumping against the side."
+
+"No; it appears to come from under the water."
+
+"That's so," agreed Rob; "tell you what, Merritt, it's up to us to
+investigate."
+
+"Yes, let's go on deck and see what we can find out."
+
+Together the two lads climbed the steel stairway leading to the conning
+tower, and presently emerged on the rounded steel back of the diving
+craft. They stood here for a minute or two, trying to get their eyes
+used to the sudden change from the bright light of the cabin to the inky
+darkness of the night. It was overcast and starless, and it was
+impossible under any condition to see more than a few yards about them.
+
+Suddenly Rob clasped Merritt's arm with a grip that made the other lad
+wince.
+
+"Look! Look there!" he cried. "Off there. It's gone now. It only showed
+up for an instant."
+
+"It's your turn to be nervous," rejoined Merritt; "blessed if I saw
+anything!"
+
+"My eyes must be as sharp as your ears, then. I'd swear I saw a shadowy
+thing sneak away from us across the water."
+
+"What sort of a thing?"
+
+"A boat. I only saw it an instant, of course; but I'm sure I wasn't
+mistaken."
+
+"You think that somebody in that boat was monkeying with the
+_Peacemaker_?"
+
+"That's the only reasonable explanation."
+
+"But what could they have been doing?"
+
+"That remains to be seen; but it's our duty to try to find out."
+
+"What's your plan?"
+
+"Well, that scraping noise appeared to me to come from the under side of
+the hull."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then that's the place to look for mischief."
+
+"But how are you going to get at it?"
+
+"Dive over and feel around at about the place where we heard the sound."
+
+"That was on the port side and apparently right under the cabin floor."
+
+"Then that's the place to look."
+
+As he spoke, the young leader of the Eagles stripped off his shirt, for
+the night was warm and he was coatless, and then divested himself in
+turn of his shoes and trousers.
+
+This done, he turned to Merritt.
+
+"I don't know just why, old fellow," he said, "but I've got an idea in
+my head, somehow, that there's some sort of dirty trick being put up
+to-night."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+Merritt asked the question looking into his comrade's eyes as he clasped
+Rob's extended hand. For some reason he felt a cold shudder run through
+him. What the danger was that Rob dreaded he did not know, but there
+was something in the hand-shake that his leader gave him that almost
+seemed like a farewell clasp.
+
+Before his inquiry was fairly out of Merritt's mouth, Rob had disengaged
+his palm and slipped silently over the side of the submarine. As the
+waters closed above him, Merritt almost cried out aloud. The same
+mysterious sense of a danger, terrible and imminent, had run through his
+brain like a warning flash. But it was too late to recall his comrade
+now.
+
+Whatever peril Rob was facing, he was called upon to brave it out alone.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Earlier that evening a small, but fast and high-powered motor boat had
+glided almost silently out of Bellport, a fishing village on the coast,
+and, waiting till darkness had descended, made at top speed for the
+vicinity of the submarine island.
+
+The men who had chartered the craft were two in number. Both were
+strangers in Bellport, having driven over there that afternoon from the
+adjacent railway station of Farmington. One was an old man,
+stoop-shouldered and bleary-eyed. The other was an individual of about
+thirty, tall, emaciated, and with a wild light dancing in his crafty
+eyes, which darted back and forth as if constantly on the lookout for
+something.
+
+Going directly to the Bellport Hotel, they had inquired of Enos
+Hardcastle, the proprietor, where they could hire a motor boat.
+
+"A fast one?" croaked the old man.
+
+"The faster the better," supplemented his companion, in a queer, rasping
+voice.
+
+Enos scratched his head.
+
+"Wa'al, motor boat's is scarce around here, though some of ther boys
+uses 'em in fishing," he said finally.
+
+"Good!" exclaimed the younger of the pair of strangers. "Direct us to
+the man who has the fastest one."
+
+"That's Lem Higgins; but Lem drives a hard bargain. It'll cost ye----"
+
+"Never mind the cost; never mind the cost," croaked the old man
+impatiently. "Come, Ivan, let's find this Higgins."
+
+"You go ter ther foot of this street and you'll find Lem down on ther
+wharf," directed the landlord of the Bellport Hotel, whose curiosity was
+by this time aroused. There was something odd about the two strangers,
+almost as odd as the large black bag the younger one carried. This
+receptacle he held as gingerly as if it contained some article of the
+most fragile description.
+
+"Beg pardon, strangers," spoke up Enos, "but what might you be after
+havin' in that bag?"
+
+The slender man turned a pair of blazing orbs on him.
+
+"What business is that of yours?" he snapped out, his queer eyes
+appearing to emit sparks of malignant fury.
+
+Enos hastened to extend the olive branch.
+
+"Oh, no harm, no harm," he hurriedly exclaimed. "I thought thet you two
+might be sellin' suthin' the wife 'ud have a use fer, thet's all. Wanted
+to give you a chancet ter drive a trade."
+
+"I reckon your wife wouldn't care much for what's in this bag," snarled
+the old man viciously; "and let me give you a bit of advice, my friend:
+Don't ask questions and you'll be told no lies."
+
+So saying, the two oddly assorted strangers made off down the street,
+the tall one still carrying the black bag with precise care.
+
+Enos reentered his hotel, wagging his head sententiously.
+
+"Suthin' queer about them two fellers," he muttered to himself; "ain't
+sellin' nuthin' an' they don't look as if they was on a pleasure trip.
+Wa'al, it's none of my business, but if Lem makes a dicker with 'em
+he'll hev ter come across to me with a commission, an' that's all I care
+about."
+
+Lem Higgins was sitting on the wharf, swinging his legs and regarding
+with interest an imminent fight between two dogs of the "yaller"
+variety, when the old man and his tall companion came up.
+
+"Your name is Lem Higgins?" asked the old man sharply.
+
+"That's what they usually say when they want me," responded Lem. "Do you
+want me?"
+
+"We want your boat."
+
+Lem's eyes lightened. Fishing had been poor, and perhaps here was a
+chance to make some easy money. He scrambled to his feet, showing
+unusual animation.
+
+"You want my boat? You want ter hire her, you mean?"
+
+"Yes. What's your figure?"
+
+The old man was doing all the talking now. His tall companion stood
+silently by. At his side was the black bag, which he had deposited on
+the ground with the same curious care that had marked all his dealings
+with the mysterious article.
+
+Lem ruminated a minute, looked seaward, ejected a small fountain of
+tobacco juice, and then asked, with his head cocked on one side:
+
+"Where might you be a-goin'?"
+
+"Never mind that, my friend. That is none of your business."
+
+The old man spoke sharply. Lem regarded him blankly.
+
+"None o' my business! Then how in Sam Hill am I a-goin' ter run the
+boat?"
+
+"You are not going to run it."
+
+"I ain't, eh?"
+
+Lem was all "taken back," as he would have put it. He had been figuring
+on a good price for the hire of the boat and a further fee for himself
+as skipper. Certainly neither of the pair before him looked capable of
+handling a power boat.
+
+"No; if we take your boat we shall run it ourselves."
+
+"You will?"
+
+The astonished Lem gazed at the stooped figure before him. He was almost
+bereft of words.
+
+"Yes, I will; does that satisfy you?"
+
+"Wa'al, I'll be plumb dummed," choked out the fisherman; "I should think
+you'd know more about crutches an' arm-chairs than about running
+gasoline boats."
+
+"Your opinion is not of the slightest interest to me. How much do you
+want for the boat?"
+
+"Fer how long?"
+
+"From about sunset till daylight to-morrow."
+
+"Fer all night, you mean?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"That's a queer time to go out."
+
+"Possibly; but we choose to do it. If you don't want to let your boat,
+say so, and have done with it. We'll find another."
+
+"Oh, as far as thet's consarned, ef you kin run her I don't mind ef you
+go out any old time. But I'd like ter see ef you kin, afore we go any
+further."
+
+"Where is she?"
+
+"Right out there. I'll row you out to her. Come on down this ladder;
+easy, now. You're pretty old for this sort of work."
+
+But, despite the old man's apparent decrepitude, he stepped down the
+steep and rather rickety ladder, at the foot of which lay a dory, with
+the agility of a youth. His companion declared that he would remain on
+the dock.
+
+Guessing that he didn't want to leave the bag, of which he seemed so
+careful, Lem hailed him.
+
+"Come on and bring your grip, ef ye scared o' leavin' it," he said.
+
+But the other shook his head, and Lem pulled out toward his launch with
+only the old man as passenger. The launch was a black, rakish-looking
+craft, and once on board the old man expressed approval of the powerful,
+two-cylindered engine with which she was equipped.
+
+"Say, you do know suthin' about ingines, don't yer?" admired Lem, after
+a few sharp questions had shown him that the queer old man really knew
+what he was talking about.
+
+A muttered grunt was the only reply. The old man was spinning the
+fly-wheel over, after making a few adjustments of the gasoline and spark
+supply. A moment later the motor was sputtering and coughing, and the
+launch was struggling at her moorings.
+
+Lem cast off and ran the craft about the harbor for a while. At the
+conclusion of the test he was satisfied that the old man actually did
+understand the workings of gasoline motors. Returning to the wharf, it
+only remained for a bargain to be struck, and this was speedily done.
+But Lem still held out for something more.
+
+"Seein' as I don't know you an' you're takin' ther boat out alone, I
+ought ter hev a deposit or suthin'," he declared, his eyes narrowing.
+
+"What's your boat worth?" demanded the old man.
+
+"Wa'al, I paid a thousand fer her," rejoined Lem, who had only doubled
+the actual sum the launch cost him.
+
+"Here you are."
+
+The old man reached into a recess of his black coat and produced a roll
+of currency, which Lem later declared to his cronies would have "choked
+a horse." Rapidly peeling off several bills of large denomination, he
+paid the exorbitant deposit, plus the price agreed upon for the hire of
+the boat for the night. Lem, too astonished to do more than stutter,
+pocketed the money without a word.
+
+"One thing more," said the old man; "we shall need a small boat to tow
+along."
+
+"Oh, then yer goin' ter land some place?"
+
+Lem, having recovered the use of his voice, had also regained his rural
+curiosity.
+
+The old man regarded him angrily, and then, in his peculiar, snarling
+voice, he whipped out:
+
+"What's that to you? We've paid you too much for your boat, and you know
+it. Here's fifty dollars more. That's not to ask any questions and not
+to answer any."
+
+"Oh, I'll keep mum," Lem assured him, pocketing the extra money with
+sparkling eyes. "When you're ready to go, I'll have a small boat ready
+for you, never fear."
+
+"Good. We'll be here at five o'clock sharp."
+
+The old man and his companion sauntered off up the street. Lem watched
+them till they entered the Bellport Hotel. Then, to himself, he
+exclaimed in tones that fairly burst out of him:
+
+"Wa'al, what d'ye know about that? Them chaps is either lunatics or
+millionaires, or both. Wa'al, it's none of my affair, an' there might be
+things I wouldn't do for fifty dollars, but keepin' my mouth shut for a
+while ain't one of 'em. What a yarn I'll have ter tell when them two
+chaps gets out of town! Kain't get over thet old feller, though. Fer all
+his years, he's spry as a boy; suthin' mighty funny about both on 'em."
+
+With this, Lem resumed his seat on the edge of the wharf and dismissed
+the matter from his mind as far as was possibly consistent with the
+knowledge of the--to him--gigantic sum reposing in his blue jeans.
+
+Yet, had he known it, he was letting slip through his fingers the
+possibility of earning a far larger sum. For the man with the queer eyes
+was Ivan Karloff, a notorious anarchist, for whom a reward of five
+thousand dollars was offered, following a bomb outrage in New York, and
+his companion was Berghoff himself.
+
+What were these two men doing in Bellport? Why did they want a fast boat
+for a mysterious night trip?
+
+The answers to these questions would have held a burning interest for
+our friends on the submarine island. Like a vicious snake, Berghoff was
+preparing to strike what he hoped would be a vital blow at the
+_Peacemaker_ and her guardians. Crafty and unscrupulous, he had invested
+in his services Ivan Karloff, whose price for dangerous undertakings
+was high, but whose skill in his nefarious line of endeavor was supreme.
+
+It was about midnight when Lem Higgins' motor boat crept up to a spot
+not far from where the _Peacemaker_ lay at anchor. Behind her she towed
+the promised small boat. Berghoff, as we must now call the old man, was
+at the engines. His companion was steering.
+
+"Is this near enough?" inquired Karloff, in a low tone, as Berghoff
+slowed up the engines.
+
+"Yes. We want to run no chances. It would not be pleasant for either of
+us to be nipped now."
+
+No more words were exchanged till the anchor was noiselessly let drop.
+
+Then Berghoff spoke.
+
+"Have you got everything?"
+
+"Yes; it's all in the bag--the wire, the batteries, and all. Wonder what
+those farmers would have done if they could have guessed what else we
+had in there?"
+
+"Gone through the ceiling, I reckon," chuckled Berghoff grimly; "but
+come on, let's get to work. We may have a long job to find the
+submarine."
+
+"Yes, and we've no time to lose. After the job's done the quicker we put
+the Atlantic between us and Uncle Sam, the better," was the reply.
+
+"You're not nervous, are you?"
+
+"Nervous! My friend, I have done more dangerous jobs than this."
+
+Depositing the bag carefully in the small boat, the two men rowed off.
+They made absolutely no noise as they proceeded, the reason for this
+being that the oars had been carefully muffled soon after they left
+Bellport, and felt free from observation.
+
+After ten minutes or so of rowing, Berghoff laid a hand on his
+companion's arm.
+
+"What is it?" asked Karloff, who was rowing.
+
+"Look right ahead. What's that?"
+
+"The glow of a light. Can that be it?"
+
+"It must be. That light is reflected from the conning tower. There is
+somebody on board."
+
+"That matters not, if they are not on deck. Even so, we can take care of
+them."
+
+"You mean to hurl it?"
+
+"Yes; but I'd rather fasten it to the craft itself. It's safer for us
+and more effective."
+
+A diabolical grin stole over the anarchist's face as he spoke. He
+resumed his cautious rowing.
+
+"There's no one on deck," declared Berghoff, as they crept closer to the
+dark outlines of the anchored submarine.
+
+"Good; then we can do our work quickly. Have you everything ready?"
+
+"Yes; we'll be alongside in a minute. Don't make a failure of it."
+
+"I have never failed yet," was the quiet reply, spoken in a voice so
+menacing and evil that it would have caused a shudder to run through any
+one less hardened than the man to whom it was addressed.
+
+Rob flashed to the surface after a longer interval than Merritt would
+have believed it possible for anybody to remain submerged. As he
+appeared, Merritt rushed to aid him upon the slippery deck of the
+_Peacemaker_.
+
+Rob shook his head, as Merritt tried to draw him up. Instead, he choked
+out:
+
+"A pair of pliers. Quick! Our lives depend upon it."
+
+Merritt, who had been working on the engine, happened to have the
+required tool in his pocket. Without a word, he handed it to Rob. From
+his leader's manner he knew that down there under the water the boy had
+discovered some deadly hidden peril. Breathlessly, he watched for his
+reappearance, for the instant he received the pliers Rob had dived.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the rowboat which they had towed out from Bellport, Berghoff and his
+companion sat bending over some object. Had it been daylight it could
+have been seen that this object was a battery box.
+
+Also, daylight would have revealed Berghoff's face as being white and
+drawn under his disguise; but his companion's evil countenance never
+changed an iota, as his long fingers sought and found the button of the
+battery box which lay before him on a thwart.
+
+From this box two wires led off into the darkness. When the button was
+pressed a flash of electricity would pass through those wires and the
+climax of a fiendishly ingenious plot would be reached. In the tense
+silence that preceded the pressing of the button, Berghoff's breath
+could be heard coming gaspingly. His companion, on the other hand,
+appeared as cool as an icicle.
+
+"Are you certain we are far enough away?" stammered Berghoff.
+
+"Absolutely. I have no desire to be hoisted by my own petard. Now then,
+if you are ready, say the word."
+
+"I--I----" stammered Berghoff.
+
+"Bah! You are a coward; come, I am all ready."
+
+"I don't mind the submarine, curse it; but it's the thought of the lives
+on board her."
+
+"My friend, you are too sensitive. Come, are you ready?"
+
+"Ye-es," choked out Berghoff, his teeth chattering, and the sweat
+pouring off his face. The man was shaking like a leaf, and his breath
+came raspingly from between his half-opened lips.
+
+"Now!"
+
+He steeled himself to utter the signal firmly, but it was merely a harsh
+whisper that issued from his dry throat.
+
+The long fingers pressed down. Berghoff, swaying like a stricken thing,
+placed his hands before his eyes. But the sound that both had been
+expecting did not come. No roaring explosion followed the pressing of
+the button, no flash of livid flame and shattering of the wonderful
+structure of steel they had hoped to destroy. A death-like stillness
+prevailed.
+
+"You've failed!" choked out Berghoff.
+
+His companion's eyes flashed in the darkness like a cat's. He swallowed
+convulsively.
+
+"There is only one explanation," he snarled.
+
+"And that is?"
+
+"That they have discovered the mine. My friend, we had better be leaving
+as soon as possible. It will not be good for us to be found in this
+vicinity."
+
+At that very moment two boys were standing with horror-stricken eyes on
+the deck of the submarine. In his hands Rob held a peculiar looking
+cylinder of steel. From one end of it hung two severed wires. It was so
+weighted and balanced as to float a distance of about five feet under
+the surface of the water.
+
+"If I hadn't found those wires and cut them," Rob said, in an
+awe-stricken voice.
+
+But Merritt did not answer. He could only clasp his companion's hand.
+The realization of the fearfully narrow limit by which they had escaped
+death almost overcame him. The night was hot, but both boys shivered as
+if stricken with the ague. It was some minutes before they could give
+the alarm to those on shore. Then the rapid blowing of the whistle used
+by the submarine when on the surface signalled their companions.
+
+Some fifteen minutes later two pale-faced, wild-eyed lads were
+explaining to an absorbed group the foiling of the diabolical plot
+against Uncle Sam's diving boat. It was not long after, that the
+submarine was rushing through the water for the nearest harbor.
+
+"If we can arouse the police along the coast we may yet be able to
+capture the authors of this outrage," exclaimed the ensign, as at full
+speed the _Peacemaker_ clove through the waters.
+
+"Yes; it's hardly probable that they had as swift a boat as this,"
+agreed Mr. Barr. "If we can get ashore ahead of them, we can cause a
+police net to be spread that they can scarcely break through."
+
+But it was decreed that the fate of Berghoff and his companion should be
+a different one. Suddenly, off to port of the _Peacemaker_, the night
+was split by a roar and a red flash of flame.
+
+"Great Scott! What was that?" gasped out Ensign Hargreaves.
+
+"The searchlight--quick!" cried Mr. Barr.
+
+In an instant the great beam of white light was cutting the night like a
+fiery sword. Suddenly its rays concentrated on a dark object not far
+distant from the _Peacemaker_.
+
+Within the radiant circle was limned a strange picture. Two men were
+struggling in the water, while beside them the outline of a boat showed
+for an instant and then vanished forever.
+
+At top speed the _Peacemaker_ was rushed to the scene. She reached it in
+time for those on board to see one of the two men struggling in the
+water throw up his arms. The next instant, with a shuddering cry, that
+might have been either defiance or agony, he vanished as had the boat.
+
+The other man was picked up. He was an old man, seemingly, and almost
+exhausted from his struggle with the waves. But, as he was being dragged
+on board, a strange thing occurred. The salt water, with which he was
+drenched, had likewise soaked his beard and hair. As he was hauled over
+the sloping deck of the submarine his beard and hair slipped away, and
+there before them lay Berghoff, seemingly dead or dying.
+
+As soon as they had recovered from their amazement, he was carried below
+and made as comfortable as possible; for it was found that he was
+shockingly burned. The chart was consulted, and it was reckoned that
+Bellport was the closest place at which to land. And so it came about,
+that Berghoff--or the wreck of the man--was brought back to the very
+spot from which he and his ill-fated companion had set out on their
+diabolical trip.
+
+Under close police guard the injured man was carried to the local
+hospital, and with his first conscious breath he cried aloud for
+Karloff. He was told of the man's fate, and then made a full confession
+of the plot to blow up the submarine. As for the accident that had
+destroyed their own craft, he explained that Karloff, stooping to light
+a cigarette, had ignited some leaked gasoline in the bilge. In a flash
+the flames had reached the fuel tank, and an explosion that ripped the
+boat apart followed.
+
+For days the man lingered in the hospital, apparently contrite and
+suffering great pain. But one night a drowsy nurse and an open window
+aided him in a plan of escape that must have formed itself in his mind
+some time before. In a weak voice he begged his police guard to get him
+a drink of water. When the man came back, Berghoff had gone. Nor was he
+ever heard of again. Whether he managed in some way to communicate with
+his friends, or whether he gained financial resources to aid his escape
+by robbery or other means, will never be known.
+
+"Wa'al, I'm glad I stuck to that thousand," said Lem Higgins, when he
+heard of the escape. "I'll git another boat now."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And so ends the tale of the Boy Scouts' services for Uncle Sam. Of
+course, they remained on the island till the conclusion of the tests.
+But they were molested no more, and so far as they were concerned
+Berghoff and his evil designs ceased to exist. Their experiences had
+proved of much value to them, and broadened and developed their
+characters to a marked extent.
+
+We shall meet our friends and fellow Scouts again in a succeeding volume
+of this series, for strong, healthy lads like these cannot seem to help
+meeting with adventures. When they face them in the true Scout spirit,
+that of bravery mixed with brains, it is a combination hard to beat.
+This new volume will be called "THE BOY SCOUTS AT THE PANAMA CANAL," and
+will relate their experiences at the "Big Ditch," that remarkable
+engineering achievement that is holding the interest and attention of
+the entire world. The book will contain authentic photographs of the
+canal in process of construction and include accurate descriptions of
+the engineering feats.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+The Boy Scout Series
+
+BY HERBERT CARTER
+
+[Illustration: The BOY SCOUTS' FIRST CAMPFIRE]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          For Boys 12 to 16 Years
+          All Cloth Bound      Copyright Titles
+          PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH
+          Postage 10c Extra
+          New Stories of Camp Life
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS' FIRST CAMPFIRE; or, Scouting with
+          the Silver Fox Patrol.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS IN THE BLUE RIDGE; or, Marooned
+          Among the Moonshiners.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS ON THE TRAIL; or, Scouting through
+          the Big Game Country.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS IN THE MAINE WOODS; or, The New
+          Test for the Silver Fox Patrol.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS THROUGH THE BIG TIMBER; or, The
+          Search for the Lost Tenderfoot.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS IN THE ROCKIES; or, The Secret of
+          the Hidden Silver Mine.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS ON STURGEON ISLAND; or, Marooned
+          Among the Game-Fish Poachers.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS DOWN IN DIXIE; or, The Strange
+          Secret of Alligator Swamp.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS AT THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA; A story
+          of Burgoyne's Defeat in 1777.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA; or, The
+          Silver Fox Patrol Caught in a Flood.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS ON WAR TRAILS IN BELGIUM; or,
+          Caught Between Hostile Armies.
+
+        THE BOY SCOUTS AFOOT IN FRANCE; or, With The Red
+          Cross Corps at the Marne.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by
+                         the Publishers
+      A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Boy Allies
+
+          (Registered in the United States
+          Patent Office)
+
+With the Army
+
+BY CLAIR W. HAYES
+
+[Illustration: THE BOY ALLIES IN GREAT PERU]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          For Boys 12 to 16 Years.
+          All Cloth Bound      Copyright Titles
+          PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH
+          Postage 10c extra.
+
+In this series we follow the fortunes of two American lads unable to
+leave Europe after war is declared. They meet the soldiers of the
+Allies, and decide to cast their lot with them. Their experiences and
+escapes are many, and furnish plenty of good, healthy action that every
+boy loves.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES AT LIEGE; or, Through Lines of
+          Steel.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES ON THE FIRING LINE; or, Twelve Days
+          Battle Along the Marne.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE COSSACKS; or, A Wild Dash
+          Over the Carpathians.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES IN THE TRENCHES; or, Midst Shot and
+          Shell Along the Aisne.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES IN GREAT PERIL; or, With the
+          Italian Army in the Alps.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALKAN CAMPAIGN; or, The
+          Struggle to Save a Nation.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES ON THE SOMME; or, Courage and
+          Bravery Rewarded.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES AT VERDUN; or, Saving France from
+          the Enemy.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES; or,
+          Leading the American Troops to the Firing Line.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH HAIG IN FLANDERS; or, The
+          Fighting Canadians of Vimy Ridge.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH PERSHING IN FRANCE; or, Over
+          the Top at Chateau Thierry.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH MARSHAL FOCH; or, The Closing
+          Days of the Great World War.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by
+                         the Publishers
+      A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Boy Allies
+
+          (Registered in the United States
+          Patent Office)
+
+With the Navy
+
+BY
+
+ENSIGN ROBERT L. DRAKE
+
+[Illustration: THE BOY ALLIES ON THE NORTH SEA PATROL]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          For Boys 12 to 16 Years.
+          All Cloth Bound      Copyright Titles
+          PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH
+          Postage 10c Extra
+
+Frank Chadwick and Jack Templeton, young American lads, meet each other
+in an unusual way soon after the declaration of war. Circumstances place
+them on board the British cruiser, "The Sylph," and from there on, they
+share adventures with the sailors of the Allies. Ensign Robert L. Drake,
+the author, is an experienced naval officer, and he describes admirably
+the many exciting adventures of the two boys.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES ON THE NORTH SEA PATROL; or,
+          Striking the First Blow at the German Fleet.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES UNDER TWO FLAGS; or, Sweeping the
+          Enemy from the Sea.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE FLYING SQUADRON; or, The
+          Naval Raiders of the Great War.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE TERROR OF THE SEA; or, The
+          Last Shot of Submarine D-16.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES UNDER THE SEA; or, The Vanishing
+          Submarine.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALTIC; or, Through Fields
+          of Ice to Aid the Czar.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES AT JUTLAND; or, The Greatest Naval
+          Battle of History.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH UNCLE SAM'S CRUISERS; or,
+          Convoying the American Army Across the Atlantic.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE SUBMARINE D-32; or, The
+          Fall of the Russian Empire.
+
+        THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE VICTORIOUS FLEETS; or, The
+          Fall of the German Navy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by
+                         the Publishers
+      A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Golden Boys Series
+
+          BY L. P. WYMAN, PH.D.
+          Dean of Pennsylvania Military College.
+
+[Illustration: The GOLDEN BOYS IN THE MAIN WOODS]
+
+A new series of instructive copyright stories for boys of High School
+Age.
+
+          Handsome Cloth Binding.
+
+          PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH
+
+          POSTAGE 10c EXTRA
+
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS AND THEIR NEW ELECTRIC CELL
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS AT THE FORTRESS
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS IN THE MAINE WOODS
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS WITH THE LUMBER JACKS
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS RESCUED BY RADIO
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS ALONG THE RIVER ALLAGASH
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS AT THE HAUNTED CAMP
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS ON THE RIVER DRIVE
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS SAVE THE CHAMBERLAIN DAM
+          THE GOLDEN BOYS ON THE TRAIL
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by
+                         the Publishers
+      A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUTS FOR UNCLE SAM***
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