cious, Ned, just as you were in the case of General Waller."

"Maybe so."

From Santiago, swinging around the island of Jamaica, the warship took
her way, with the big gun, to Colon. When half way across the Caribbean
Sea they encountered rough weather.

The storm broke without any unusual preliminaries, but quickly
increased to a hurricane, and when night fell it saw the big ship
rolling and tossing in a tempestuous sea. Torn was anxious about his
big gun, but the captain assured him that double lashings would make it
perfectly safe.

Tom and Ned had seen little of the German officer that day, nor, in
fact, since he came aboard. He kept much in the quarters of the other
officers, and the report was current that he was a "jolly good fellow."

Rather anxious as to the outcome of the storm, Tom turned in late that
night, not expecting to sleep much, for there were many unusual noises.
But he did drop off into a doze, only to be awakened about an hour
later by a commotion on deck.

"What's up, Ned?" he called to his chum, who had an adjoining stateroom.

"I don't know, Tom. Something is going on, though. Hear that thumping
and pounding!"

As Ned spoke there came a tremendous noise from the deck.

"By Jove!" yelled Tom, jumping from his berth. "It's my big gun! It has
torn loose from the lashings and may roll overboard!"

CHAPTER XXII

AT GATUN LOCKS

"Steady there now, men! Pass forward those lashings! Careful! Look
out, or you'll be caught by it when she rolls! Another turn around the
bitts!"

It was the officer of the deck giving orders to a number of marines and
sailors as Tom hastily clad, leaped on deck, followed by his chum. The
warship was pitching and tossing worse than ever in the heaving
billows, and the men were engaged in making fast the giant cannon,
which, as Tom had surmised, had torn loose from the steel cables
holding it down on deck.

"Come on, Ned!" cried Tom. "We've got to help here!"

"That's right. Look at her swing, would you? If she hits anything it's
a goner!"

The breech of the gun appeared to be the end that had come loose, while
the muzzle still held fast. And this immense mass of steel was swinging
about, eluding the efforts of the ship's officers and crew to capture
it. And it seemed only a question of time when the muzzle would tear
loose, too. Then, free on deck, the giant cannon would roll through the
frail bulwarks, and plunge into the depths of the sea.

"L