"Has she accomplished anything lately?" asked Frank.
"Yes," replied Lord Hastings, "she has indeed. I suppose you have not heard the story of her raids?"
"No," replied both lads, and Jack added: "Will you tell us what you know of her?"
"Well," began Lord Hastings, "the Emden is commanded by Captain Karl von Mueller, a courteous gentleman and a competent officer—also, by the way, in times of peace, a friend of mine."
"Then you know him well?" asked Frank.
"Very well," returned Lord Hastings. "He has visited me more than once, and I have been his guest in Berlin. But to proceed. The first report of the activity of the Emden was received on August 6, when word came that the German cruiser had sunk the steamer City of Winchester the day before.
"The Emden has contributed to the history of the war one of its most remarkable chapters. For sheer audacity and success it has few parallels. Twenty-two ships, mostly British, have been sunk and one has been captured by this German cruiser, rightly named 'The Terror of the Sea.'
"Since early in August the Emden has been at work. Most of this time she has been preying on shipping in the Indian Ocean. The vessels destroyed by Captain von Mueller had a total value of about $4,000,000, exclusive of their cargoes. The Emden's largest guns, according to the best figures obtainable, are only 4-inch, and of these she has ten. Her speed of 24.5 knots is her greatest asset, but the Sylph has the heels of her. She has been able to run down merchant ships with ease and then escape from larger but slower vessels that pursued her. British, Russian, French and Japanese warships in the East have been trying for weeks to put an end to her, but without success."
"But," Frank broke in, "how has she been able to keep to sea month after month without replenishing her coal supply?"
"That," said Lord Hastings, "is a mystery that is as yet unsolved. It is assumed, however, that she has obtained sufficient food and fuel to meet her needs from captured ships. In at least one instance this is known to have been done. The captain of the British steamer Exford, captured by the Emden, informed his owners that Captain von Mueller said that before he sank the Exford he intended to take on board his cruiser the 7,000 tons of steam coal with which the Exford was laden."