All at once the box over him landed several feet away with a crash.
Dan was on his feet in a twinkling. The door leading into the hallway stood open. Freedom was at hand, but the boy was not yet ready to take advantage of the opportunity offered him.
With a bound he threw his whole weight against the pile of packing cases.
For one giddy moment the cases trembled, then fell inward toward the men on the floor. Those above emitted a yell. Down they went, howling and shouting, their companions not having had time to get out of the way, being caught under the falling boxes and buried beneath them. All of the men were fighting, kicking and struggling to extricate themselves from the wreckage.
"Hip, hip, hooray!" yelled the Battleship Boy, unable to control his delight at the downfall of his enemies. "Next time maybe you'll think twice before you try to beat the United States Government."
With that Dan sprang out into the hallway. He slammed the door, turned the key in the lock, then hurled the key from him.
"Let them stay there and think it over for the rest of the day. It will do them good," he laughed, starting for the other end of the hall. He stepped into the room from which he had been taken a short time before.
There were still a number of men there, but they had not observed his entrance. Dan's eyes swept the room. In a far corner, crouching low in his chair, sat Kuhn, making himself as inconspicuous as possible. There was a frightened expression on the young sailor's face.
Dan walked quickly around the outer edge of the room. Kuhn did not happen to look his way. The fellow's eyes were fixed on the door leading out into the office in momentary expectation of seeing a squad of blue jackets enter the place.
"I've got you this time, young man!" exclaimed Davis, pouncing upon the sailor.