riscope
tube invented by himself, but perfected by others. Part of his
investigation extended into the night. Externally, the light resembled a
huge cup about two feet in diameter, with a thick disk fitted around it
in a vertical plane. This disk he removed; then, hailing Smith to rig
his fire-hose and get off the deck, he descended the hatchway and turned
on the light, viewing its effects through the periscope. This, be it
known, is merely a perpendicular, non-magnifying telescope that, by
means of a reflector at its upper end, gives a view of the seascape when
a submarine boat is submerged. And in the eyepiece at its base Metcalf
beheld a thin thread of light, of such dazzling brilliancy as to
momentarily blind him, stretch over the sea; but he put on his smoked
glasses and turned the apparatus, tube and all, until the thin pencil of
light touched the end of the torpedo-boat's signal-yard. He did not need
to bring the two-inch beam to a focus; it burst into flame and he
quickly shut off the light and shouted to Smith to put out the
fire--which Smith promptly did, with open comment to his handful of men
on this destruction of Government property.

"Good enough!" he said to Smith, when next they met. "Now if I'm any
good I'll give the Japs a taste of their own medicine."

"Take me along, captain," burst out Smith in sudden surrender. "I don't
understand all this, but I want to be in it."

"No, Mr. Smith. The chief might do your work, but I doubt that you could
do his. I need him; so you can take the prisoners home. You will
undoubtedly retain command."

"Very good, sir," answered the disappointed youngster, trying to conceal
his chagrin.

"I don't want you to feel badly about it. I know how you all felt toward
me. But I'm on a roving commission. I have no wireless apparatus and no
definite instructions. I've been lampooned and ridiculed in the papers,
and I'm going to give them my answer--that is, as I said, if I'm any
good. If I'm not I'll be sunk."

So when the engineer had announced his mastery of his part of the
problem, and that there was enough of gasoline to cruise for two weeks
longer, Smith departed with the torpedo-boat, and Metcalf began his
search for the expected fleet.

It was more by good luck than by any possible calculation that Metcalf
finally found the fleet. A steamer out of San Francisco reported that it
had not been heard from, and one bound in from Honolulu said that it was
not far behind