beside
her, from which she was taking in an extra complement of her own shells
and material for making Lennard's explosive, as well as a full load of
fuel for her engines. They pulled up at the door of the Bear and Key
Hotel, and as the motor came to a standstill a man dressed in the
costume of an ordinary worker on the oyster-beds came up, touched his
sou'wester, and said:

"Mr Lennard's car, gentlemen?"

"Yes, I'm here," said Lennard, shortly; "we've just left the Emperor at
Canterbury. How about those oysters? I should think you ought to do well
with them in Canterbury. Got plenty?"

"Yes, sir," replied the man. "If you will come down to the wharf I will
be able to show you a shipment that I can send along to-night if the
train comes from Canterbury."

"I think we might as well have a drop of something hot first, it's
rather cold riding."

The others nodded, and they went into the hotel without removing their
caps or goggles. They asked a waiter to show them into a private room,
as they had some business to do, and when four glasses of hot whisky and
water had been put on the table, Lennard locked the door and said:

"My lords, allow me to have the pleasure of introducing to you
Lieutenant Denis Castellan of His Majesty's cruiser _Ithuriel_."

Lord Whittinghame's and Lord Kitchener's hands went out together, and
the former said:

"Delighted to meet you, Mr Castellan. You and Captain Erskine have done
magnificently for us in spite of all our troubles. In fact, I don't know
what we should have done without you and this wonderful craft of yours."

"With all due deference to the Naval Council," said "K. of K," rather
bluntly, "it's a pity they didn't put down a dozen of her. But what
about these oysters that you telegraphed to Mr Lennard about?"

"There is only one oyster in question at present, my lord," said Denis,
with an entirely Irish smile, "but it's rather a big one. It's the
German Emperor's yacht, the _Hohenzollern_. She managed to run across,
and get into Ramsgate, while we were up here in the Thames--that's the
worst of there being only one of us, as we can only attend to one piece
of business at a time. Now, she's lying there waiting the Kaiser's
orders, in case he wants to take a trip across, and it seems to me that
she'd be worth the watching for a day or two--she'd be a big prize, you
know, gentlemen, especially if we could catch her with the War Lord of
Germany on board her. I don't think myse