officer, as Ensign MacMasters' second in command. "Why, at the present
time, freight rates are so high and wages so much advanced, that
shipowners can find skippers and crews willing to take regular sieves to
sea!"

"She looks peculiar," Mr. MacMasters said. "If it wasn't for Grant,
here, being in such pain, poor fellow, I'd throw a shell at her and hold
her up. But we've got our orders to hasten to the Roads and return again
to the _Kennebunk_ as soon as possible."

Therefore the strange craft was allowed to pass unchallenged. Later they
had reason to believe that they had made a small mistake regarding the
unknown vessel, yet they had made no mistake in allowing her to go
unmolested.

In time they raised the Capes of Virginia, and a few hours later steamed
into the dock at Fortress Monroe. Grant, the injured fireman from the
_Kennebunk_, was taken ashore and sent to the marine hospital.

Ensign MacMasters had his full orders from the commander of the
battleship; but he had a wireless message relayed to the _Kennebunk_
stating his arrival. The wireless instrument aboard the steamer was of
too narrow a radius to reach the superdreadnaught in her present
position.

Orders were soon repeated for the auxiliary craft to make for the
battleship again, and laying the course for Ensign MacMasters to follow.
There were storm signals flying; but the steamer was to keep near the
shore until she got around Hatteras. It was presumed that she would find
the _Kennebunk_ within a week at the most, and the tender was well
provisioned and took on extra fuel at the dock.

She went to sea without the boys having had an hour of shore leave; but
they did not mind that. The fun of running on the steamer was all right;
but they were getting eager now to return to the superdreadnaught.

They ran out between the Capes into what the warrant officer called "a
Liverpool particular," meaning a fog almost thick enough to cut with a
cheese-knife.

Every once in a while the nose of a steel-gray ship, small or large,
poked through the mist, and her growling siren warned the smaller craft
to get out of the way.

These patrol boats were very plentiful off the Virginia Capes at that
time. A mine-laying enemy submarine would have small chance getting into
Hampton Roads.

But that such a craft was in the vicinity the crew of the _Kennebunk's_
tender learned was the fact within a few hours. Their course was
southerly, and almost in sight of the