"Now tell me what you're going to do, Jack," said Frank, as he followed his chum and commander on deck.
"It's very simple," said Jack. "As you have said, I believe that the submarine commander will intercept the Ventura again farther along toward the shore. Now, I'm going to turn the Essex over to you temporarily and go aboard the Ventura. You know the Germans as well as I do. This man will no more think of sinking the Ventura without doing a bit of bragging to the captain, who fooled him once, than he will of flying."
"That's true enough," Frank admitted.
"All right. Now I'll be aboard when he gets there. If he comes aboard, I'll grab him there. If he doesn't I'll jump to the deck of the submarine after him and tumble him overboard. I'll trust to you to keep the submarine occupied and to get a boat to me."
"It's a desperate venture, Jack," Frank protested.
"So it is," was Jack's reply, "but I've a longing to capture this fellow. If we just sink the submarine, I can't do it of course. Another thing, it may be that I am not doing just right in leaving my ship, but it will only be for a couple of hours and I know you can handle it as well as I can."
"Oh, I won't sink her," grinned Frank. "But why not let me be the one to go?"
"Because I'm not sure you can handle the German commander."
"But you're sure you can, eh?"
"He'll have to be something new in the line of a German if I can't."