et ashore for the watch below," was the perfectly serious
reply, "every man gets a hook to hang on."

"You mean to hang his hammock on?"

"No such luck! There isn't room for hammocks on one of these chasers.
Why, even the officer commanding has to sleep on a hammock slung out
over the stern in pleasant weather."

"Good-night!" gasped Al Torrance. "Where does he sleep when it isn't
pleasant?"

"He doesn't sleep at all--or anybody else, as you'll probably find out
to-night, garby," was the reply.

There was bound to be a deal of joking of this nature; but it was all
good-natured. The crew of the chaser were of course just as proud of
their craft as the crew of the battleship is of their sea-home. They
ignored the inconveniences of the S. P. 888 and dilated upon her speed
and what they hoped to do in her. She was even better than a destroyer
for getting right on top of a submarine and sinking that rat of the sea
with depth bombs.

The latter--metal cylinders weighing more than a hundred pounds
each--were lashed in their stations at the bow and at the stern of the
chaser. They were rigged to be dropped overboard a little differently
from the method pursued upon the destroyers.

As the chaser shot across the harbor the strangers aboard remarked in
wonder at the way in which she picked up speed. Within a couple of cable
lengths from the shore she was going like a streak of light.

It was evident that the S. P. 888 was fully prepared for rough weather.
Not only the depth bombs, but everything else on her decks were lashed.
Passing between the capes, she plunged into a regular smother of rough
water, and at once the decks were drenched from stem to stern.

"What do you know about this?" demanded Al Torrance of Morgan. "A
fellow wants to hang on to a handline like grim death to be sure to keep
inboard. Hope they won't pipe us to quarters while this keeps up."

There seemed to be, however, no prospect of the sea's abating; and the
commander of the chaser had a considerable distance to go before
morning, so he urged the engineer to increase rather than diminish the
speed.

With no regard to the comfort of her crew, the craft plowed along on her
way to the port where the _Kennebunk_ awaited them. Naval vessels cannot
wait on weather signals. "Orders are orders."

The forward deck was comparatively dry; but the after part of the vessel
was in a continual smother of spume and broken water. Now and then a
wave would cha