“The submarine launched a torpedo at us, but it only smashed our rudder. We had good headway on. That, of course, put us in a mighty bad fix, as the submarine could then have easily sent a torpedo into us, but for some unknown reason they turned and left us.
“The captain was nearly crazy when he discovered what damage had been done. The vessel had been bad enough before, but it became ten times worse. I got a crack or two with a rope’s end that sting yet!”
“How could they navigate?” asked Jimmie.
“They couldn’t!” answered Frank. “We just lay in the trough of the seas and let the old tub roll. They even put preventer stays on the masts and on the boilers to keep them from rolling out of the crazy old wagon. You never saw such a place as that ship was!”
“And then when the captain got her under the lee of this land and you saw this schooner you just concluded that you’d jump the ship?”
“Exactly!” agreed Frank. “I had lost my kit when the sailing vessel went down, so I left nothing on the steamer.”
“I’m awful glad you got here safely,” stated Ned, grasping Frank’s hand in a hearty clasp that spoke eloquently of the friendship between the two boys. “But you’re too late to help capture the Panama Canal plan thief. He’s out of his misery quite a while ago!”
“But he’s just in time to get mixed up in this ‘U-13’ business!” urged Jimmie. “He’s right in the midst of the excitement!”
“But since you don’t want any more Boy Scouts along we’ll pitch Frank overboard again!” declared Harry, with mock gravity.
“Aw, you go on!” scorned Jimmie. “I didn’t know it was Frank!”