adwick, please come to my
cabin."

The lads went below together.

"Now," said Frank, after he had taken a seat, "what's it all about?"

"Well," was Jack's reply, "the admiralty wants the Brigadier back in
Dover. That's all I know about it. I'm instructed to report to Lord
Hastings immediately on my return."

"No other explanation?"

"No."

"Funny," commented Frank. "Must be something up, though."

"So it would seem. However, I guess we'll learn soon enough. Hope they are
not going to deprive me of my command."

"No fear, I guess," declared Frank.

The return trip was made in record time and without incident. Jack saw the
victims of the Hazelton landed safely and then, turning the ship over to
Lieutenant Hetherton, went ashore with Frank to report to Lord Hastings.

The latter greeted them with a wry smile.

"It seems that my warning to America is not to be delivered after all," he
said.

"And why, sir?" asked Jack. "Are you not still convinced that the warning
is necessary?"

"I am," declared Lord Hastings, "but, as I told you, I was sending the
warning without knowledge of the Admiralty. Naturally, then, when it was
announced that the Brigadier was to be recalled to take part in other
operations, I could not announce that you carried secret dispatches from
me."

"I see," said Jack. "And what is the nature of the other operation?"

"It is a desperate undertaking," said Lord Hastings slowly, "and one that,
at first, I was tempted to advise against. And still, if successful it
will do much toward insuring an allied victory."

"Since when have you become so cautious, sir?" asked Frank with a smile.

"It's not a matter of caution, Frank," replied Lord Hastings. "It's simply
a matter of prudence. In a word, the Admiralty is determined to block the
harbors of Ostend and Zeebrugge."

Frank was on his feet and clapping his hands.

"Fine!" he exclaimed. "I don't see why it hasn't been done sooner. I
remember what Hobson did to the Spanish fleet at Santiago in the
Spanish-American war."

"It's an exploit of the same nature," Lord Hastings admitted, "though it
will be attended with even greater danger. If successful, as I say, it
will do inestimable good. The admiralty has been training specially for
this move for months, but the matter has now come to a head."

"And how does it happen that we shall be fortunate enough to lend a hand?"
asked Jack.

"My fault, I suppose," returned Lord Hastings. "Admira