t motor I ever heard in a power boat," said Dick.

"Exhaust under water and a special muffler as well," said Steve. "She'd
be useless if she gave herself away when she was a mile from anyone,
wouldn't she?"

"It means less speed, though."

"Yes, that's so. But it doesn't make difference enough to make up for
the safety it gives. You see, we could pass within a cable length of one
of those Austrian monitors now and they'd never know it. We'll have to
do just about that, too, before the night's over, I'm afraid."

"Where are you going to land, Steve? In Semlin itself?"

"No. That would be too risky and there's no need for it. I'm going to
keep right on up the Danube, past the mouth of the Save, and we'll land
above the town and circle back. They'll keep a very sharp lookout now
along the river bank in Semlin, but I don't think they'll be so careful
on this side. They'll trust to their river patrol and the mines."

"You think the river will be mined?"

"Oh, surely!"

"Wouldn't it be a good thing for your side to do some mining, too?"

"It's probably been done already, especially in the Save. We have only
one or two small gun-boats, which wouldn't have a chance in a fight with
the Austrians on water. But I think we'll be able to make them see that
it isn't any too safe for their monitors. We can't beat the Austrians
by main strength, so we'll have to use all the tricks we can. I think
they'll find out before very long that there are more ways of killing a
dog than by shooting him."

Now they were out in midstream. Perhaps a mile above them, as they swung
diagonally across the river, an Austrian monitor, painted a dun color so
that she was almost the hue of the river, was swinging at anchor, squat
and ugly, but menacing and business-like in her appearance, too. Steve
did not lay his course up the middle of the broad stream, however.
Instead, he slipped well over to the east bank, and began moving swiftly
upstream when he was under the shadow of the eastern bank, here rising
fairly well.

If anyone on the monitor observed them there was no sign of it. They
passed her, and another of the same type. On the Hungarian shore, above
them, occasionally they could hear the calling of sentries. The
Austrians were guarding the river carefully, and Steve chuckled a little
as he heard these evidences of careful watching. Then they passed the
mouth of the Save, and were wholly in Austrian or, rather, Hungarian
territory. For