“Great gracious, then that message wasn’t a joke and that British cruiser may overhaul us and take all that bullion?”
“If she can catch us,—yes. She will also make prisoners of the Germans on board and take the ship to an English port.”
“What had I better do?”
“Here comes young Poffer now. Tell him of zee message and get it to zee captain at once. If we are caught we may be delayed indefinitely and zee haste is imperative with me at zee present time.”
The German wireless man entered the cabin, gnawing at a huge pretzel. At Jack’s information of the message that had come, he dropped it to the floor in his astonishment and stood staring for a moment.
“Himmel!” he exclaimed, when he found his voice. “Englandt is go var midt Yarmany! Undt a Bridish sheep chase us. Ach du lieber, if they catch us, Hans Poffer goes by a prison yet midt nudding to eat but bread undt vater——”
“Never mind about that now,” interrupted Jack quickly; “take that information to Captain Rollok at once. Take it yourself. Don’t give it to a steward. If the passengers knew of this, there’d be a panic in a jiffy.”
Poffer, still with his mouth and eyes wide open, hurried off on his errand.
“Captain Rollok will probably come back himself,” declared de Garros, “and vee will be ordered out of the cabin. Ve had better go now. But vee must not say a word of zees till zee time comes. Vee have more as two thousand passengers on board and if zey zink a warship chase us,—sacre!”