Matt was listening with intense interest.
"The crew that Captain Pons took out to the submarine wasn't the right one?" he observed.
"No. The real crew arrived in the afternoon, agreeably to schedule, and found Captain Pons without a submarine and very much up in the air. If he can't recover the submarine from the thieves, his firm may hold him responsible for the loss of the stolen boat."
"There were torpedoes in the French submarine?"
Matt began to grow excited as the situation cleared before him.
"Two," replied Glennie.
"And the bogus crew—who were they?"
"Instead of coming from Coronel, it was discovered that they came from the south—by railroad from Valdivia, on the coast. It has also been discovered that they were Japanese—Japs who had their eyes straightened. It is supposed that they are from the mysterious steamer that escaped from Captain Sandoval, below English Reach."
Matt's astonishment almost lifted him off the stone step on which he was sitting.
"Our old enemies!" he exclaimed. "The Sons of the Rising Sun have secured a submarine boat, and that means that they can follow us wherever we go."