father was a scholar and from him the boy had
acquired a good education.

Jack's father died, leaving the boy as a legacy nothing but the little
African trading store; and Jack set about to make his own living there
and to put by enough so that within a few years he would be able to
return to the land of his birth.

And then fate took a hand in shaping his career.

A party from a passing schooner stopped for supplies at Jack's store,
and, in the lad's absence, departed without paying for the provisions.
Jack set forth to collect. He climbed aboard the schooner before it hove
anchor, and, payment being refused by the schooner's crew, a fight
ensued.

Jack was forced to take refuge in the hold, while the ship got under
way. He succeeded in making his way to the next compartment, where he
was surprised to find two other prisoners. These he released, and they
proved to be a British secret service agent and Frank Chadwick.

Frank was an American boy. He had been separated from his father, and
while seeking him in Naples had been shanghaied aboard the schooner, and
there he was, following a mutiny among the crew, as Jack found him. By
some resourcefulness and not a little fighting, the lads overcame the
crew and made their way back to Jack's home, taking the other prisoner
with them.

Here they joined an expedition in which the secret service agent was
implicated, and in this manner met Lord Hastings. The latter took an
interest in them at once, and, after they had proved their mettle, the
British nobleman took them aboard his own vessel as midshipmen.

Then followed a series of exciting adventures, which had led them to
many parts of the world. They had been instrumental in the first big
victory of the British fleet off Heligoland; they had taken part in the
pursuit of the German cruiser _Emden_, "the terror of the seas," and had
been in at the death; they had been with the British fleet that had sunk
the last German squadron upon the oceans--off the Falkland Islands; they
had taken part in many and dangerous other exploits, having more than
once been in the heart of the enemy's territory; and always they had
returned safely.

But there was once when it seemed that all--Lord Hastings, Frank and
Jack--had come to their end. It came about in this wise: After a long
cruise, which resulted in great successes, their submarine, D-16, had
come to grief in the Dardanelles. They were caught below and it seemed
that all mus