“Nevertheless,” replied Frank, “the second might not be a miss. Keep your eyes open.”
“I’ll keep them open, never fear,” said Jack. “Now, you go to bed.”
“All right,” said Frank, and left his friend alone.
CHAPTER VIII.
HELIGOLAND.
“Off there,” said Lord Hastings, pointing over his shoulder, “lies Heligoland, one of the strongest harbors in the world, and regarded by the Kaiser and his subjects as impregnable. A raid by an enemy has been deemed as impossible by strategists.”
“Nevertheless,” said Frank drily, “it is not impossible, as the Kaiser and his subjects will find out.”
“As I understand it,” said Jack, “Heligoland is a natural stronghold.”
“To a certain extent, yes,” replied Lord Hastings. “Heligoland, as you know, is an island, and nature has done her best to make it immune from attack. To nature’s work has been added the brains and brawn of the best German strategists and workers. An attack by a hostile battle fleet could have but one result—failure. But, so far as I have been able to determine, there as yet has been nothing devised that will ward off the attack of a submarine.”
“Except mines,” said Frank.
“True. But it is certain there can be no mines in the harbor proper, for they would be an eternal menace to the German fleet. Of course the entrance is strongly guarded by mines and the powerful guns of the forts. But it is our business to get beneath these and torpedo a few of the enemy’s vessels before we are discovered.”