e stern.

Just as he took a wild, headlong leap over the rail the captain fired.
While the captain, through a speaking tube, was instructing the man in
the pilot house to signal below "Reverse engines," the others rushed to
the stern of the ship.

Far behind them in the foamy trail left on the moonlit water by the
vessel they saw what seemed to be the head of a man bobbing up and
down--and then it entirely disappeared. The ship was turned, and that
portion of the sea searched, but without avail.

"Gone," said the captain in tones of very evident relief. "Well, it was
death for him, one way or another, and he took his choice."

As the captain and surgeon moved away from the stern rail of the
_Everett_, the three lads and the lieutenant still stood there, gazing
far out to sea.

"The man who made me nearly freeze to death in the water," spoke Joe, as
though thinking aloud.

"And pummeled my stomach until it was sore for three days," echoed Slim,
in sad reminiscence.

"And made me run a mile in nothing, flat," added Jerry.

"And fought me to a knockout finish later," mused Joe.

"And nearly smothered me to death," spoke the lieutenant.

"And was finally corralled by an Irish engineer!" said Slim.

"Gone," concluded Jerry, "and no one here will mourn his departure."

CHAPTER IX

THE PERISCOPE AT DAWN

That night the boys had ample evidence that they were inside the
submarine zone, where anything might happen at any minute. Not a light
was permitted on any of the ships, and they traveled along in the most
peculiar fashion and over the most irregular course, never going at more
than half speed and not more than a mile or so without a complete change
of direction.

For no apparent reason whatever the engines would slow down and entirely
stop, and in that position they would remain for ten, fifteen, twenty
minutes or even half an hour, and then start up again on another tack.

"I believe we've become separated from our convoy," said Slim, who had
been upon deck, and now entered the wireless room where Joe and Jerry
were watching Lieutenant Mackinson make some readjustments of the
wireless mechanism. "The pilot doesn't seem to know the course. Say,
wouldn't it be great sport if we should be lost from the others? But I
wonder why the captain does not wireless them?"

"No need," Lieutenant Mackinson assured him, "for we are not lost, nor
are we separated from them. Every vessel in this fleet is simply