he
last man wakened, and Hawkes, the first to surrender, with the
neckerchief of Kelly.

"On deck with you all," commanded Denman, and he drove them up the steps
to the deck, where they lay down beside Riley, King, and Davis. None
spoke or protested. Each felt the inhibition of the presence of a
commissioned officer, and Denman might have won--might have secured the
rest and brought them under control--had not a bullet sped from the
after companion, which, besides knocking his cap from his head,
inflicted a glancing wound on his scalp and sent him headlong to the
deck.

CHAPTER VII

After the rescue of the woman, all but those on duty had mustered
forward near the bridge, Jenkins with a pair of binoculars to his eyes
inspecting a receding steamer on the horizon, the others passing
comments. All had agreed that she was a merchant craft--the first they
had met at close quarters--but not all were agreed that she carried no
wireless equipment. Jenkins, even with the glasses, could not be sure,
but he _was_ sure of one thing, he asserted. Even though the steamer
had recognized and reported their position, it made little difference.

"Well," said Forsythe, "if she can report us, why can't we? Why can't we
fake a report--send out a message that we've been seen a thousand miles
north?"

"That's a good idea," said Casey, the wireless man off duty. "We needn't
give any name--only a jumble of letters that spell nothing."

"How far can you send with what you've got?" asked Jenkins.

"With those aerials," answered Casey, glancing aloft at the long
gridiron of wires, "about fifty miles."

"Not much good, I'm afraid," said Jenkins. "Lord knows where we are, but
we're more than fifty miles from land."

"That as far as you can reason?" broke in Forsythe. "Jenkins, you're
handy at a knockdown, but if you can't use what brain you've got, you'd
better resign command here. I don't know who elected you, anyhow."

"Are you looking for more, Forsythe?" asked Jenkins, taking a step
toward him. "If you are, you can have it. If not, get down to your
studies, and find out where this craft is, so we can get somewhere."

Forsythe, hiding his emotions under a forced grin, retreated toward the
fore-hatch.

"I can give you the latitude," he said, before descending, "by a
meridian observation this noon. I picked up the method in one lesson
this morning. But I tell you fellows, I'm tired of getting knocked
down."

Jenkins watched him