ey spot us! Look at the
rats!"

The last was caused by quick movements on the bow deck of the
approaching U-boat. A machine gun had been set up, and the man behind it
was training the gun on the floating raft. For a couple of seconds
Dave's heart came up to jam hard against his back teeth, as he half
expected to see fire spurt out from the muzzle of the machine gun, and
to feel the hot sting of bullets biting into his flesh.

The gun did not fire, however, and presently the U-boat was practically
on top of the raft. Dark blue garbed Japs seemed to be swarming all over
the place, and Dave's hatred for them mounted to white fury as he
watched them, agate-eyed. Then suddenly the head and shoulders of a
bull-necked officer of the Nazi Navy appeared up out of the conning
tower hatch. He put a small megaphone to his lips and bellowed the words
across the water.

"Make any effort to resist, and you will be killed where you are!" he
thundered. "Be sensible! We are taking you aboard. I warn you to keep
your hands in sight!"

The man spoke almost perfect English, and both boys blinked in surprise.

"Yes, I would, if I only had a machine gun!" Dave grated under his
breath. "Nothing I'd like better than to knock you and your little brown
pals kicking."

"Shut up, Dave!" Freddy ordered him: "Stop trying to play blasted
soldier. You know perfectly well you wouldn't shoot, even if you did
have a gun. You'd be too thankful for the chance to get out of this
raft, just as you are now. And you know it!"

"Okay, okay, let me up; I'm all cut!" Dave grunted at him. "Just the
same, pal, I never did care much for U-boat rides."

"Well, I'm afraid we have no choice in the matter, old thing," Freddy
sighed, and let the subject drop.

The U-boat was close to the bobbing raft now. And just as a matter of
precaution both Dave and Freddy made very sure that they kept their
hands in full view of all those aboard the undersea craft. The two Japs
behind the deck mounted machine gun leered at them over the bead sight,
and it was easy to see they wouldn't mind at all an order to pull the
trigger. No such order was given, however, and a couple of moments later
one of the Jap sailors caught hold of the raft with a boat hook, pulled
it close, and the two youths clambered up onto the wet deck of the
U-boat.

No sooner had they climbed up on deck than a couple of Jap Navy officers
moved in on them quickly, and searched for weapons. They found non