"Mark Taylor," exclaimed Lieutenant Palmer, who appeared as prosecutor, "you are accused upon direct evidence of having broken out of this vessel and having sought to obtain a refuge on board the German ship Afrika. That in itself is a serious charge; but not content with that breach of discipline you wittingly informed the master of the aforesaid Afrika of the secrets appertaining to the ordnance of this cruiser, the Olive Branch. Do you plead guilty or not guilty?"
"Not guilty," replied the accused man, with a forced tone of defiance. "I——"
"That will be sufficient for the present," said the lieutenant. "Your evidence will be taken in due course."
Five witnesses for the prosecution having been called, the prisoner was allowed to speak on his own behalf.
The accused scientist tacitly admitted that he had broken out of the ship, but strenuously denied having given any information regarding the cruiser to the master or any member of the crew of the Afrika. At first his speech was delivered in perfectly pure English, but by degrees he waxed excitable and spoke with a decided foreign accent.
"And I claim," he continued, "ze protection of ze German flag, for I am a German by nationality."
"Is that so?" demanded Captain Brookes. "How is it that this fact was concealed when you joined this vessel? And why has it remained a secret till this moment?"
"I am a German," reiterated the prisoner. "My name is Schneider, not Taylor. I told zese gentlemen it was so," indicating Gerald and Jack with a wave of his hand. "I told zem I was a German subject, and zat I was about to run away from ze ship as soon as I was able, and zey know it."
"Then why did you not report this to me, sir?" asked Captain Brookes, turning to Gerald.
"The man came into my cabin one evening in an excited manner," replied Gerald, calmly. "He certainly said his name was Schneider, and began to tell us a long rigmarole concerning his private affairs. We told him that if he had a grievance, you, sir, were the best person to hear it. With that we kicked him out."