The young German bowed again.
"Now," continued Lord Hastings, "I shall take up the little matter of how I happen to be in command of the U-16 and the unfortunate fate of Captain Tarlenhein."
"Fate!" exclaimed Von Rosten.
"It is only too true," muttered Lord Hastings sorrowfully. "But he died as a loyal servant of the Emperor. I shall explain."
"If you will," said the young German.
"Under command of Captain Tarlenhein," said Lord Hastings, "the U-16, as you may possibly know, has been in the Irish Sea, and, at one time or another, off the mouth of the Thames. Whether you knew it or not, Captain Tarlenhein also carried a number. There was work to be done in England.
"Of course, we already had our agents there—in fact, I was one of them, and my two friends here. We were instructed to report to Captain Tarlenhein aboard the U-16 at a certain time. We did so, the vessel at that time lying off the Thames. Captain Tarlenhein had other instructions for us. We went ashore again and there encountered trouble. We were captured.
"In London we were being taken to The Tower, when we all made a break for liberty right in the middle of the city. Captain Tarlenhein was shot down. The rest of us escaped. Through the instrumentality of my peculiar resemblance to a British naval officer, we overcame numerous difficulties, although my young friends here almost came to grief. It was here that my striking resemblance to this British officer of whom I speak enabled them to get away. We were, of course, dressed in British uniforms, but the haste of another agent of the Emperor almost caused our undoing."
The German officer had followed this account with interest. Apparently he was much wrapped up in the narrative. He clenched his hand as Lord Hastings paused.
"And who was this agent?" he demanded.