"General Waller might have hired someone to—"
"Don't go making any unwarranted charges," warned the young inventor.
"Or perhaps that German, Tom, might—"
"Hush!" cautioned Tom. "Here he comes now," and, as he spoke, General von Brunderger came strolling along the deck.
"I am glad to see that the accident of last night had no serious effects," he said, smiling.
"It was no accident!" burst out Ned.
"No accident? You surprise me. I thought—"
"Oh, Ned means that some of the cables look as though they had been cut," hastily put in Tom, nudging his chum in the ribs as a signal for him to keep quiet.
"The cables cut!" exclaimed the German, and his voice indicated anxious solicitude.
"Or else filed," went on Tom easily, with a warning glance at Ned. "But I dare say they were old cables, that had been used on other work, and may have become frayed. Everything is safe now, though. New cables were lashed on this morning."