With hardly a sound Sub-lieutenant Webb made his way to the side of his sleeping chum, and roused him effectually and silently by the simple expedient of grasping him firmly by the hand.
"'Ssh!" cautioned Tom.
Side by side the two officers crawled to a place of vantage from which the three men could be kept under observation.
"By Jove!" thought Osborne. "Two German officers and our old pal Alfonzo. Jabbering away in German, too; and I don't understand the lingo. Now if they were to try Spanish——"
"Ach, friend Georgeos Hymettus!" exclaimed the senior Hun officer in execrable English. "Your German a disgrace is. You kultur have neglected. We confused are in your explanations. Therefore, since we talk not Spanish nor Greek it will be more easy to talk in der accursed English. You say you no haf der list of ships?"
"No," replied Perez, or, to give him his true name, Hymettus. "It no safe. Me no trust ze writing. Carry all here," and he tapped his forehead significantly. "S'pose me caught and nodings found in ze writing. Zen, nodings doin' as ze Englise say."
Thereupon, with great fidelity the Greek spy named the British war-ships on the station and their probable destinations. One exception was the Portchester Castle. Either the name had slipped his memory, or else he was ignorant of her presence in the Bay of Gibraltar. He then proceeded to detail the names of British and foreign merchantmen at Gib. and their probable date of departure, which information the Germans jotted down in a notebook.
An off-shore wind, rustling across the sand-dunes, rendered a considerable portion of the following conversation inaudible, but the chums could see that a sum of paper money changed hands.
"U-boat officers!" whispered Webb, taking advantage of the hush of the grass. "Game to tackle them?"
"Yes, I'm game," replied Osborne, "but it can't be done yet. I'll explain later. Steady!"