"Hello, Aubyn, old chap! what brings you in these parts?" asked a tall, broad-shouldered man in the uniform of a sub-lieutenant of the Motor Boat Reserve.
Terence looked keenly at his questioner. He was mystified, and the officer keenly enjoyed his discomfiture.
"You have the advantage of me," said Aubyn.
"What. You don't remember Dick Waynsford? Come, come, that's base ingratitude."
"Well, old chap, if you will shave off that inelegant moustache of yours—congratulations, old man."
Dick Waynsford was a yachtsman who on the outbreak of the war had applied for and had been given a commission in the newly formed Motor Boat Reserve. His intimate knowledge of the intricate harbours and creeks of the Suffolk and Essex coasts, combined with a strong liking for the sea, made him fully qualified for the post.
In Yarmouth Harbour were a dozen or so weatherly motor-boats, whose duty it was to act as tenders for the fleet in the Roads, and to undertake patrolling work. At all hours and in almost every state of the weather these staunch little craft could be seen as they sped upon their various duties. Unthinking people regarded the Motor Boat Reserve as a soft job—an opportunity to wear His Majesty's uniform and at the same time to be out of any possibility of danger. They had yet to learn that the war was to be brought actually to the shores of Old England, which they had hitherto considered impregnable. Then the slighted "harbour patrol" boats would have their chance.
"Have a run out with us, Aubyn?" suggested Waynsford. "We've just had orders to look for a suspicious trawler—possibly the one to which your friend the spy was signalling. Since you have partly spoiled the game you may just as well see the end of it."
"Right-o," assented Terence. "Lead on."
Aubyn followed his friend to the quayside. Here, floating idly on the dark waters of the tidal river, were four motor-boats, each painted a dark grey and distinguished by a number on the bows, their outlines feebly discernible by the feeble light of a partly shaded light on the wharf.