in Captain Carrington briskly. The years had
dropped away from him, and he was again the naval officer.

'Get down, Ken, and you too, Horan. Williams and Johnston, hide yourselves
under that tarpaulin forward.'

Very shortly all the younger men of the party were stowed away, some under
the thwarts, others under a couple of tarpaulins which Strang had put in
for the purpose. All weapons were carefully hidden, and the dozen older
men, who were all that were left in sight, were directed to loll about, as
though suffering from long exposure or fatigue.

The haze was thickening, so there was little danger of the people aboard
the launch noticing the manoeuvre.

The launch had, however, sighted the boat. There was no doubt about that,
for she had altered her course, and was coming straight towards them.

'Beastly fuggy under here!' growled Roy in Ken's ear.

'Take it easy, old chap. We shan't have long to wait.'

Ken's father heard, and bent down.

'She's within a mile. Mind you don't move till I give the word.'

'All right, dad,' came the muffled response from under the tarpaulin. 'How
big is she?'

'A good size. She looks as if she carried a score of men. And there's a
6-pounder in her bows.'

Soon she was so near that Ken clearly heard the beat of her engine. His
breath came quick and short. The critical moment was very near.

The revolutions slackened, and a man hailed from the launch, speaking, to
Ken's dismay, in harsh German.

'Who are you? What are you doing there?' the speaker demanded
suspiciously.

'We are British and French from Constantinople,' answered Captain
Carrington, using the same language. 'We were aboard the Turkish transport
"Bergaz" which was sunk earlier in the day by a British submarine.'

'Blitzen!' exclaimed the German angrily. 'Then the message was true after
all. Those verdomde British have managed to pass the mine-fields.

'And where is the submarine?' he demanded savagely.

'She was forced to abandon us. One of your warships hove in sight.'

The German paused a moment. His eyes scanned the surface in every
direction. But there was no sign of G 2's periscopes. Either she had gone
under altogether, or withdrawn to such a distance that her periscopes were
invisible in the mist.

'Train the gun on them,' growled the German officer. Then, raising his
voice, 'If this is a trap, every one of you will pay for it with your
lives.'

'I have told you the literal truth,' said Captai