G. Harvey Ralphson

“ Until the gauges showed a depth of twelve fathoms, Jimmie held the levers in position. Then he brought the craft to an even keel.
“It’s plain to be seen that we’ll not get much help from any ship on the North Sea!” declared Jack at length, as the ballast tanks were found to trim the vessel. “They’re scared of us, I believe!”
“They haven’t any reason to be scared of us!” stoutly protested Jimmie. “We have never done a thing to them. We’re absolutely neutral!”
“It seems to be one thing to be neutral,” laughed Ned, “and quite another thing to convince other folks of the fact!” ”

“ The strange magnetism that seems to exist in all objects at sea slowly drew the submarine toward the ship. Its drift had been sufficient to bring the vessel to a point abreast the main rigging before it stopped.
By this time the craft had approached close to the wreck. A very slight jar told the boys that their vessel had touched the other. Eagerly all watched from the portholes, now but a short space above the level of the rail across which they looked. Directly all was still. At this depth, no movement of water was discernible. ”

“ But a tiny speck of deck house was visible. The stacks were low. Great billows of black smoke vomited forth from the short funnels came drifting down the wind.
In a short time the vessel approached near enough so that the boys could distinguish a small gun mounted at the bow.
“I know what that ship is!” announced Jimmie, directly. “That’s what they call a torpedo boat destroyer or despatch boat!”
“I believe you’re right, Jimmie,” decided Ned. “They certainly have got the speed!” he added admiringly as the craft approached.
“Get ready to hail ’em!” cried Frank. “Get out a flag!” ”

“ One look over the rail showed that the swimmer was losing control of his muscles. Both hands went up into the air only to disappear beneath the crest of an oncoming wave. The boy stayed under.
“Stand by to get me, boys!” shouted Jimmie.
A splash told that he had gone overboard. His companions crowded eagerly to the rail, watching for his reappearance. In a moment they were relieved to see his red head come up close to the spot where the other had sunk. Emptying his lungs of the pent up air with a loud “Whoosh!” the boy instantly refilled them to plunge again under water. ”

“ That incident seemed to mark the passage of the vessel.
Gradually settling by the stern the schooner quietly slipped backward, settling deeper and deeper, until a large wave overwhelmed the craft, leaving only the masts projecting above water. In another instant these, too, had disappeared, leaving but a few floating pieces of wreckage to mark the spot where the boys had only a short time before been standing.
“And goodby, Grey Eagle!” almost sobbed Ned. “No more flying in that little airship! I wish we could have saved the machine!” ”

“ As if in answer to his query, the voice of Mackinder reached the ears of the lads.
“Bring an axe!” he shouted. “I’m fast in the bight!”
Wrenching an axe from its pocket on the bulkhead, Ned sprang up the ladder at his best speed. On deck he found Mackinder 237 caught in a bight of the hawser by which the other vessel had been towed. His leg was jammed against the fairleader. Only one glance was required to show the boy that serious injury had been done.
Without waiting for words, the lad stepped to the side of the fallen man. Swinging his axe quickly, he struck at the taut bond of hemp. ”

“ The waves rose and fell without hint of its location.
“Oh, Captain von Kluck!” Ned called. “They have gone!”
“Vhat?” asked the captain in a tone expressing doubt.
“Yes,” continued the boy. “They have slipped back into the ocean again and have left us. Possibly they think we’re too small for them to waste a torpedo on. Torpedoes cost a lot of money, you know!”
“Vhell, dot’s lucky!” answered the captain, much relieved.
“Sure is!” assented Jimmie, throwing out his chest. “You see, Captain, we’re mascots for you. We’ve brought you good luck!” ”

“ It did, indeed, appear as if von Kluck was right. A big cargo steamer, now dimly discernible to the boys, was rolling in the trough of a heavy sea, urged on by a vicious wind from the northwest. Her range lights showed clearly at the mast heads. A gleam of red indicated that the vessel was showing her port 78 side. With every roll great masses of water boarded the weather rail, sweeping the decks of every movable object.
“Look!” cried the mate, excitedly pointing toward the steamer. ”

“ I don’t want any more Boy Scouts mixed up in this! It isn’t fair!”
“Just the same, he’s there!” laughed Harry.
“Well, then,” stated Jimmie, with a sigh of resignation, “we are in for another siege of it. I never knew it to fail! Just as quickly as we get going somewhere and a Boy Scout shows up there’s trouble ahead and lots of it! Why can’t they stay home?”
“Now, Jimmie,” cautioned Ned, “you know we’ve never in all our adventures found a Boy Scout that really brought us ill luck. ”

“ Harry lost no time in acting on this suggestion. The electric pumps were not long in emptying the ballast tanks. With this weight removed, the boat quickly shot upward to the surface.
As the conning tower portholes rose above the surface, the boys noticed that the afternoon was far spent. Darkness already was gathering.
Ned was working frantically at the clamps securing the hatch cover. With a cry of delight he swung the cover out of position, admitting a cool breeze. The wind had died down, leaving the surface of the ocean comparatively smooth. ”

“ Ned fumbled a moment at the fastening. Presently he found the catch sliding the sash back in its channel. An exclamation escaped him as he did so. The face of the visitor was none other than that of their missing acquaintance, Mackinder. Ned was astounded.
“Thought you were dead!” he cried in amazement.
“Hush!” cautioned the other. “Not so loud. Now, if you lads want to get out of here this is your time. Everybody’s busy or asleep!”
“How do you know we want to get out of here?” demanded Jimmie in a low tone as he approached the opening. ”

“ It seemed to the lads that the vessel was being torn asunder by every billow.
“I wonder what weather the old ‘U-13’ is making of it about now?” said Frank, as the boys grouped themselves about the little table.
“She’s in smoother water than this, I’ll venture to say,” put in Jimmie, clutching the edge of the table in an effort to support himself.
“If they are not in better water than this,” remarked Harry, “they’re getting shaken up some! I’d like to be under water right now!”
“Why, Harry,” spoke up Ned, “you shouldn’t say that!”
“I mean in a tight little submarine!” explained Harry. ”

“ I wanted the package badly. I thought he would assist me.”
“That wasn’t a very nice way to go about it,” declared Jimmie with emphasis. “After searching our baggage twice, and after we had told you how the package was in our kits without our knowledge, also that it had been stolen away from our possession, why didn’t you believe us?”
“There is an old saying that all is fair in love and war!” replied Mackinder. “You know that my country and Germany are at war. As an officer in the British army, it is my duty to do everything possible to assist my country. ”

“ Ned procured a pair of binoculars and spelled out the name.
“That steamer is the Anne of Melbourne,” he announced. “I wonder if it isn’t an Australian vessel. They have had a hard time of it.”
“She’s close to us now,” cried Harry. “I wonder what they’ll do.”
“If they’re wise they’ll let go an anchor and ride it out,” answered Jimmie. “If I had sense enough to bring a vessel through a tight place like that I’d get a hook overboard as soon as I could.”
“That’s just what they are doing!” announced Ned. “There’s a group of men at the forward end preparing to get the anchor over.” ”

“ Then we could steer a course with intelligence.”
“Aw, what do we need of a chart?” scorned Jimmie. “We know that England lies to the southwest of us. It’s big enough so we can’t miss it. If we blunder into the coast we can just cruise along a ways until we come to some place or other and then head in.”
“That’s a good idea, too,” agreed Frank. “When we get to a port we can turn the submarine over to the English authorities as a prize of war. They’ll probably be glad enough to get the machine.” ”

“ In common with others, we have been on the sharp lookout for a submarine named ‘U-13,’ which has been doing considerable damage to our shipping. We capture it without difficulty, to find it manned by Boy Scouts instead of Germans, as we had expected. Can you explain that?”
“Yes!” laughed Ned. “That is easy. The boat you have captured is owned by a private individual named Mackinder, who has been amusing himself in a perfectly innocent pastime. He, like ourselves, is neutral, but unfortunately has gotten into rather compromising situations.” ”

“ After supper we’ll manage to slip back to the submarine, paint ‘U-13’ on the side, every man to his post, let go lines easy and skedaddle for the open sea.”
“It sounds easy enough,” assented Harry.
“Yes, unless you happen to get caught!” agreed Ned.
“What is there to catch us?” asked Jimmie, bristling at this hint of opposition. “The guards are all wise to the fact that the channel is mined. They will be sleepy and lazy. They know that the torpedoes are not aboard yet and believe it impossible for the submarine to leave without a crew. ”

“ With a jerk that nearly threw the boys off their feet, the “U-13” came to a rest. The gauges still showed the same depth as before.
Ned’s face turned ashen as he sank upon a locker. The others gathered around him, expressing sympathy. The boy was clearly distressed.
“Never mind, Ned!” spoke up Frank. “We’re coming out all right! The only trouble is that we haven’t tried the right thing yet!”
“But I can’t seem to think of a thing to do in this case,” protested the other. “I’m all out of ideas! I’m sorry that we tried to follow that other submarine. I wish we had taken Jimmie’s advice!” ”

“ Bracing himself against a thwart amidships Jimmie waved the improvised distress signal. His efforts were not unavailing.
“They see you, Jimmie!” shouted Jack, presently. “There’s a man on the bridge looking at you with glasses. They’re shifting the helm!”
“I can see two or three men standing on the bridge!” announced Ned. “They are examining us pretty closely. Wonder who they are?”
The boys were not long left in doubt. Way was checked on the stranger. As the vessel drew close to the small boat a churning of foam at the stern told the lads that the engines were reversed in an effort to stop. ”

“ Curiously the others crowded about the object glass of the periscope. Each declared in turn that they recognized Mackinder.
“Now, I wonder what he’s doing aboard that vessel!” mused Jack.
“Quite likely this ship met the fishing boat and took him off so as to save the other the trouble of going clear back to England!”
“No doubt that’s it,” agreed Jack. “But look!” he continued, “he’s discovered us! See him pointing toward us!”
“Better get ready to dive, then,” cautioned Harry. “If he’s able, he’ll get them to shoot at us. If they hit the ‘U-13’ it’ll be a long way to Tipperary for us! ”

“ Surrendering the wheel to Frank, and with Jack at the engines, Jimmie insisted upon mounting to the deck again to look about them.
Cool and sweet the air gushed down the little open hatchway upon the injured man. Under its influence and aided by the ministrations of Ned, the proprietor of the third “U-13” rapidly gained control of himself.
“Head west southwest,” he instructed Ned. “We’ll be mighty apt to find the mouth of the Thames on that course. There are many places I’d rather go, but you are right—we must have a surgeon!” ”

“ A strong wind was coming out of the northwest, favoring the maneuver of von Kluck, but kicking up considerable commotion on the harbor. Waves were running so high as to make navigation of small craft exceedingly difficult if not dangerous.
Carrying full staysail, jib, foresail and mainsail the schooner plunged into the waves, sending cascades of water over her forecastle with every leap. She was loaded deeply and the boys could see that she would prove to be what the sailors term a “wet ship.” 69
Every moment the speed was increasing. ”