Was this Tom Cameron, Ruth thought? She had never seen Tom assume such a character before. She had forgotten what army training had done for her childhood’s friend. When he had come to see her on his leaves-of-absence from the front he had seemed all boy as usual. But now!
She found the keys, and in five minutes Mr. Dowd and Mr. Rollife, armed from the right collection of weapons in the captain’s room this time, joined the wonderfully arrived castaway on the open deck.
Dowd had handcuffs, too, and Boldig, Fritz, and the other unwounded seamen were quickly manacled and shut into separate rooms below.
Ruth tried to make the wounded Guelph more comfortable, although he was not seriously hurt. While she was doing this, and her three friends were searching the rest of the crew for arms and separating them so that they could do no harm, the girl chanced to glance over the rail and saw a sight that called forth a cry of rejoicing from her very heart.
There was a gray, swiftly steaming ship, a warship, bearing down upon the Admiral Pekhard, and the Stars and Stripes was at her masthead!
CHAPTER XXV—HOME AS FOUND
To clear up all the mysteries about their adventures—about Tom’s wonderful flight in the airplane, his capture by the Zeppelin’s commander, his wrecking of the Hun machine, his providential escape from the sea; as well, the trials and dangers through which Ruth had passed—to clear up all these things certainly took much time. It was not until the excitement was over that they really could talk it all out.
For at first came happenings almost as exciting as those that had already taken place. The Seattle had more to do than merely to take the Germans aboard as prisoners and Ruth and her friends as honored passengers, while they put a prize crew on the Admiral Pekhard.
For the German plot had been so far-reaching, and it had come so near being carried through to a successful finish, that the commander of the Seattle, of the fast cruiser type, bound home for orders, felt an attempt must be made to punish the Germans connected with the plot.
That U-boat 714 must be caught. They made the assistant wireless operator, Krueger, admit that within the hour he had caught a message from the U-boat and had sent one in reply. The submarine would arrive about nightfall, Krueger said.