dberg.

"You see," smiled the professor, "we meet again."

"It is a great pleasure, surely," declared Jack, as he shook hands. The
officer stepped a few paces away.

"And now, when, my dear young friend, are you going to give me your
word that you and your comrades will enter the German torpedo service?
I have somewhat better terms to offer you than when we last met. I have
since been authorized to promise you that you shall enter the German
service as commissioned officers, and that you shall all three be in
line for promotion as merit earns it. So, then, it is all settled, is
it not!"

Herr Professor Radberg rubbed his hands with a self-satisfied air.

"Yes," Lieutenant Jack admitted, "it is all settled. But not the way
that you would wish, Herr Professor Radberg. There may be soldiers
of fortune who follow any flag, for hire. But we submarine boys would
not enter your German naval service if you created all three of us
high admirals at the outset."

"Admirals?" cried Herr Professor Radberg, protestingly. "Oh, but that,
my dear young friend, would be quite impossible."

"You are wasting your time with us, sir," Jack continued, firmly. "We
may, one of these days, be asked to enter the American service
permanently. We would not enter any other country's service, no matter
what the bait. Do not give the matter any further thought, please, for
we won't."

The German officer had been standing a few paces away, twirling his
moustache and frowning. Now, he came forward.

"Herr Benson," he broke in, "I fear that you are so young that you do
not fully understand the honor and dignity of being officers in the
German service."

"Very likely we do not, Captain," Jack returned, with a bow. "And it
is absolutely certain that we shall never find out from experience."

Lieutenant Jack excused himself, turning to seek his friends. As
Benson entered the reading room once more he came upon Eph and another
whose face was decidedly familiar. It was the Chevalier d'Ouray.

"Just in time, Jack," nodded Eph. "Tell the Chev. for me, please as
he doesn't seem to understand my talk, that we wouldn't even give the
slightest consideration to his idea that we should enter the French
naval service in the submarine division."

"It is quite hopeless, Chevalier," laughed Jack Benson, shaking his
head. "The honor is quite enough to turn our heads, but we can serve
only the United States."

The Chevalier d'Ouray made a