“I shall be pleased to do so, sir.”
“By the way,” said the German, “what is the speed of this remarkable submarine of yours?”
“I wouldn’t like to say,” replied Frank, “but I can say that it is fully as great as that of your fastest battleship.”
The German puckered his lips in a long expressive whistle.
“Well,” he said, “it’s too bad for us. Now, if you care to wash up I shall have you shown to your temporary quarters.”
It was a pleasant meal to which the lad sat down that evening, and he enjoyed himself immensely. He found the German officers a likeable lot and was treated more as a guest than as a prisoner.
It was while at table that he learned that German submarines had been sent down in search of the British vessel, and that each battleship was being guarded by an under-the-sea fighter so that no surprise attack by the D-16 might be made.
At a late hour the lad retired and slept the sleep of the exhausted.
He was up bright and early the following morning, and after breakfast took his place in the ship’s launch, which immediately headed toward the shore. The captain bade him a pleasant good-bye, and added:
“If I get to Berlin I shall look you up.”