followed by Bert, the captain rose and
waited for the officer's report.

He gave Bert only one glance, but it was such a keen, searching one, that
our hero felt there was little in his appearance that the other had
overlooked. Then the captain turned his eyes back to the officer, and
returned the latter's salute.

"Well, Mr. Warren, what have you to report?" he asked.

"Why, sir," replied the officer, "I don't exactly know myself. When we
ascended to the surface and I went up on deck, the first thing I saw was
a foundering rowboat with this young man in it. A few seconds later it
sank, and he swam toward the ship. I threw him a life preserver, and we
hauled him aboard. He wouldn't answer any questions, though, and
insisted on speaking with you personally, so I thought it best to bring
him along."

"Very good," responded the captain, and turned slightly toward Bert.
"Now, young man," he said, "you wished to speak to me, and here I am.
What is it you wanted to tell me?"

Thereupon Bert poured out the whole story of the Japanese plot as fast as
he could speak, and the captain and his officer listened attentively,
once in a while asking a terse question. The commander's eyes were
riveted on Bert during his whole speech, and when he had finished he sat
a few moments immersed in deep thought.

Then he sprang to his feet and gave crisp orders to get the submarine
under way. "See that the lad is clothed and well taken care of, Mr.
Warren," he ordered, as his commands were being carried out. "He's
evidently had some rather strenuous experiences, during the last few
hours, and a little food and rest will do him a lot of good. We can wake
him up when we need him."

Lieut. Warren saluted, and motioned to Bert to follow him. He led him
through a long passage to the officers' dining room, and when a place
was set for him at the table Bert fell to with a good appetite. The
officers were naturally very much interested in his adventures, and he
told them as much of his recent experiences as he thought fit, of course
not mentioning details of the plot. Before very long they asked him his
name, and when they learned that he was actually the man who had won the
Marathon race at the last Olympic games, they would gladly have made him
a present of the ship had they been able.

It was with the greatest difficulty that he finally broke away and made
an attempt to get a little sleep. He was so excited that he found this