"Now," said the captain, "if you care to accompany me on deck, you shall see the last of the ship that carried you here."
The lads followed the captain on deck. The latter summoned his first officer.
"Fuses all set?" he asked.
"Yes, sir. The explosion should occur within one minute."
All turned their eyes to the abandoned Algonquin.
Suddenly there was a terrible explosion. A sheet of flame sprang from the doomed vessel. She seemed to leap high in the sky, then settled down in two pieces. A moment later she disappeared from sight.
"You shall pay for that, Captain Koenig!" said Jack to himself, between clenched teeth.
CHAPTER VI
RECONNOITERING
Jack and Frank leaned against the lifelines, gazing over the stem of the Vaterland as the vessel's triple screws drove her ahead. Jack's eyes were fixed thoughtfully upon the strong if crudely constructed turret on the after deck, from which protruded the glistening nose of an 8-inch gun. His gaze wandered forward past the rakish stacks to the light bridge which spanned the Vaterland's beam. Mounted on the bridge, in addition to the two naval telescopes, were four rapid-fire guns, each capable of spitting bullets at the rate of five hundred a minute, though, sheltered as they were under the tarpaulins, they looked harmless enough.