"Look at the smoke; she's coming this way," shouted Ralph.
The captain waved his hand to the lieutenant on the chaser, as he shouted: "They have responded to your signals."
As l'Orient approached and took up position, the chaser, with a parting salute, turned and started for its former course along the line of buoys. The boys looked back and kept their eyes on the moving buoys as far as they could see them.
"It will never get away," said the captain.
The chaser described a long curve, and changed its course due east, and, following it, they were at the entrance which had been left free. Beyond were several other small vessels, two of which dashed up and steamed alongside. The crews cheered as the boys emerged from the conning tower and waved their caps.
The lieutenant quickly informed the officers aboard the other boats of the prize, which had been taken by those aboard of her, and the news redoubled their noisy welcome. The tell-tale number on the side of the conning tower, U-96, was sufficient to inform the crews of the passing vessels that another of the dreaded boats was out of action.
Once within the lane, as the path between the two lines of buoyed nets is called, they turned and steamed north. Vessels were passing and repassing; transport and hospital ships; immense freight carriers, and saucy little tugs drawing barge-like flat-boats; innumerable fast launches and large war vessels, going to and fro between the shores of England and France.
Within a half-hour they again approached the place where l'Orient was watching the struggles of the entangled submarine. The boys thought of the trying hours when they, too, were thus imperilled, and could hardly refrain from shuddering at the thought of the human beings in the narrow prison house below the waves.
Evidently, something exciting was taking place, for the cruiser was constantly manoeuvering, and the men at the howitzers were keenly alive. Occasionally, there would be a lull in the movement of the buoys and it was during those moments that the most intense activity was shown on board the guarding vessel.
"I don't understand how it is that the submarine can get fastened to the nets," said Ralph to the captain, as they leaned over the rail of their vessel.