“Who’s been putting that kind of idea in your head?” said Elkins.
“Not you,” answered Evans.
Commander Elkins looked off over the blue sea with a puzzled expression and watched the speed launches dashing to and fro on their errands among the ships of the fleet. Then, as the truth dawned on him, he turned to Evans and said, “Has Ensign Coffee been bothering you?”
“Since you ask me,” said Evans, “he was rather a nuisance yesterday.”
“He’s young yet,” said Elkins, “and takes himself a bit seriously. Then there’s another thing; he told me when he came that Commander Rich had spoken to him before he left Washington and told him to keep his eyes open for insubordination or unmilitary conduct on the part of warrant officers or chief petty officers with whom he had to do, and, if he found such, to deal severely with it. I don’t know why Commander Rich should have said that; it looks as if he had heard some rumors of things being too free and easy and unofficial here in the fleet. Anyway, the fact that Commander Rich saw fit to say that to him has doubtless increased his sense of importance. It will probably wear off; but remember, his rank is above yours, and respect for rank has to be maintained as part of the system. So be as tactful as you can, and try to avoid rows with him, even if it involves a little sacrifice of your working time now and then.”
Before the next schedule the remaining defects had been eliminated, and that night Evans felt ready to trust the receiver for the performance of its delicate task. Soon Kendrick’s training was complete and all was ready for him to start on his adventurous errand. A few days after Kendrick’s departure, Evans was to listen in at stated times every day, and at these times Kendrick was to make a special effort to establish communication.
With the aid of Jeremy at the weather station, a calm spell was chosen in which to send him off. A scout cruiser equipped with the necessary gear for launching a seaplane was ordered to prepare for the voyage, and a fast seaplane was tuned up for a long flight. When the weather conditions were pronounced favorable and the day was set for departure, Evans and Kendrick went as soon as it was dark to the hiding-place of the kayak, Kendrick carrying a nondescript bundle containing his personal effects for the voyage, including the means of effecting a wonderful array of disguises. Evans helped him launch the kayak, and exhorted the little ship to do her best; then Kendrick, stowing his bundle under the deck, stepped in and paddled off into the darkness, now quite at home with this mode of locomotion, and in a moment was lost to view. In a few minutes he came alongside the scout cruiser, at the foot of a ladder hanging over the ship’s side, where he was met by an officer. No enlisted men were in sight, for it had been arranged by this officer that none should be where they could witness the arrival of this peculiar-looking craft. The officer lowered a rope which Kendrick secured around the kayak before coming up the ladder. These two then hoisted her on board and stowed her in a prearranged hiding-place. A few minutes later the cruiser let go her mooring and slipped out through the gate in the net, which was opened as she approached, and closed at once behind her.
It was now early in December and the long nights afforded the cruiser the cover of darkness during most of her journey. All night and all day, and the next night till after midnight she steamed eastward. At two in the morning she stopped about two hundred and fifty miles from Cape Trafalgar. With none but those needed for the work to witness the proceeding, the kayak was removed from her hiding-place and lashed to the seaplane in such a manner that she could easily be cast loose when the seaplane had alighted on the water. Kendrick took his place in the plane, followed by the pilot and mechanician, and in a moment they shot out into the air, the engine roaring in their ears.
The first red streak of dawn was showing over the eastern horizon when the seaplane hovered and came down on the calm surface of the sea, trailing a white streak of spray for a moment, then coming to rest. Fifteen miles away lay the Spanish coast. Losing no time, Kendrick cut loose the kayak from her lashings, climbed in, waved good-bye and paddled off into the northeast, keeping the light of the dawn on his starboard beam. The seaplane rose and flew away, and in less than three hours was hoisted aboard the cruiser, which headed for Punta Delgada, and not ten of all her complement of officers and men had even a vague idea of the purpose for which their excursion had been made.
Kendrick had a compass by which to steer as soon as it was light. He wished to land in the twilight, and with ten hours at his disposal it was not necessary to paddle constantly to reach the shore before dark, so, without exerting himself, he was near enough the shore to study its character by the middle of the afternoon. Then he took it easy, waiting so far from shore that his tiny boat would scarcely be visible to the naked eye, and watching land, sea, and sky for observers who might detect his arrival. Then the sun set, and, choosing a lonely-looking spot, Kendrick paddled quickly in shore to avail himself of the fast-fading light in choosing a place to land. Through the line of white foam that fringed the shore he picked out a recess where the force of the waves appeared broken, dodged the outlying rocks, and soon, with a vast sense of relief, was dragging the kayak up on dry land. In the dark he studied the ground about him, and found a place to hide the kayak so completely that he could feel assured she would not be found, and thus give a dangerous clue to the enemy sleuths.