infernal machine, and a big one at
that, relieved the tension of feeling aboard the warship. As Frenchy
Donahue remarked:

"It's bad enough to have a banshee _tick-tocking_ around the place; but
that tidy little bunch of cylinders would have made a lot more noise if
they had been exploded."

But the matter was serious. The captain took the opportunity to lecture
the entire ship's company regarding foolish rumors and gossip.

"If there is anything strange comes under your notice, report it
properly," he said. "Don't camouflage it with a lot of superstitious
nonsense so that the officer you report to must disbelieve the yarn.
There never was a strange occurrence yet that could not be explained."

"How does he explain Jonah being swallowed by the whale?" whispered
Frenchy.

"He doesn't have to explain it," retorted Torry. "If you don't believe a
whale can swallow a man, jump down the throat of the next one you see."

As a whole, the crew of the _Kennebunk_ were not inclined to consider
the incident of the infernal machine carelessly. A serious impression
was made upon them all.

But the mysterious prospect of what was ahead of them shortly smothered
the matter of the peril escaped. There might be greater perils ahead.

The superdreadnaught halted but for an hour at a port of the Azores.
This was to send mail ashore. Then she picked up speed again and
traveled north.

She passed convoys of merchant vessels guarded by French, British and
American destroyers. The _Kennebunk_ exchanged signals with several
cruisers of the United States Navy as well.

Drill at the guns went on daily. Once they spied and shelled a German
submarine, but she escaped. This incident greatly enraged the crew of
the gun that missed her. It was not the gun to the crew of which
Whistler and Torry belonged.

"Can't expect to get the Hun every time," was the soothing remark of one
of the division captains.

"Why not?" asked somebody else. "That's what we are here for, isn't it?
I don't believe Uncle Sam wants excuses."

The standard the men set themselves in our Navy is higher than their
officers require.

The boys from Seacove, as well as Hans Hertig and Mr. MacMasters, kept
a sharp lookout for their beloved _Colodia_. But they were fated not to
meet the destroyer until the great event which had brought the
superdreadnaught into European waters.

The _Kennebunk_ steamed into a certain roadstead one evening where lay
more huge battles