THE FACE AT THE TRANSOM.
"Of course what I am going to say will be held strictly confidential?"
began Ensign Hargreaves, looking about him at the bright, eager faces of
the young Eagles.
"We are Boy Scouts, sir," responded Rob proudly.
"I beg your pardon; but what I am going to say is so important to the
nation that one word of it breathed abroad might cause endless
complications and the ruin of certain plans. I have come to see you
because my friend, Lieutenant Duvall, told me that he did not know
anywhere in the country of a band of boys of similar resourcefulness,
courage and high training."
"That's going some," whispered Tubby, behind a plump hand, to Merritt
Crawford.
"I said no more than they deserved, Dan," observed Lieutenant Duvall.
"So I should imagine from what you told me about the part they played in
the matter of the biplane and the tunnelled house," responded the young
officer. "I came to you for another reason, also," he went on reverting
to the subject in hand; "I have heard that as well as being land scouts
you are thoroughly at home on the water."
"Well," said Rob, "we've all of us been brought up here on the south
shore. I guess we are all fair sailors and know something about
sea-scouting as well as the land variety."
"It is mainly for that reason that I came to you," rejoined the naval
officer. "For the mission which I am desirous to have you undertake a
knowledge of sea conditions is essential."
"Gee! He's a long time coming to the point," mumbled Tubby impatiently.
"Have any of you boys ever heard of the 'Peacemaker submarine'?"
"So called because the nation possessing it would be so formidable as to
insure naval peace with other countries?" exclaimed Rob quickly. "Yes,
sir, I've heard of it."
"What has reached your ears about it?"
"Why, a week ago the papers said that a submarine of that type had been
sold to Russia and shipped for that country from the factory of the
inventor at Bridgeport, Connecticut," said Rob, with growing wonder as
to what all this could be leading.
"Correct. But that submarine never reached Russia!"
"Did the ship that was carrying it sink?" asked Tubby innocently.
"No," smiled the ensign, amused at the fat boy's goggling eyes and
intent expression; "the _Long Island_, the freighter conveying it, did
not sink. Instead, it hung about the coast, and then, under cover of
fog, slipped into the harbor of Snug Haven on the South Carolina coast.
Snug Haven is a small place and a sleepy one. Under the blanket of fog
the _Long Island_ slipped in, as I have said. Then the submarine was
hoisted overboard by means of a derrick, and under her own power run to
anchorage off a small island not far from Snug Haven. The captain and
crew of the _Long Island_ were sworn to secrecy, and so far as we know
not a soul, but those directly interested, is aware of the present
location of the _Peacemaker_."
"But why, if the submarine was sold to Russia, was she not sent there?"
inquired the mystified Rob.
"For the excellent reason that she was _not_ sold to Russia at all," was
the naval officer's rejoinder; "that was simply announced for the
benefit of inquisitive newspapers who have been trying for a long time
to get at the details of the 'Peacemaker submarine.' But it is not alone
the newspapers we have had trouble with. Foreign spies, anxious to
secure the _Peacemaker_ for their governments, have harassed us at
Bridgeport ever since the keel plates were laid."
"Then the United States has bought the submarine?" asked Merritt
Crawford.
"Not yet. But the construction and principles of it are so efficient
that Uncle Sam wishes to have first call on the craft."
"And you are going to test it at this lonely island in South Carolina?"
cried Rob, guessing the truth.
"Perfectly right, my boy," was the response. "Off that little-frequented
coast, beset with islands and shoals, we hope to carry out our tests
unobserved. At Bridgeport this would have been an impossibility, and for
that reason the story of the sale to Russia was concocted. Russia, I
may add, was about the only country not represented by spy service at
Bridgeport."
"And you say that nobody but the officials directly connected with the
craft has any knowledge of its whereabouts?" asked Rob with deep
interest.
"As far as it is humanly possible to be certain, such is our positive
belief."
"But where do we fit into all this?" sputtered Tubby, acutely coming to
the main point.
"I am coming to that," was the response. "From what I have told you, you
will have gathered that no ordinary class of watchmen could be trusted
to keep quiet about what is to go forward on the island. Yet it is
necessary to have sentries of some sort to keep constant watch that no
one approaches unexpectedly. For that purpose we have adopted various
mechanical precautions, such as submarine detector bells, etc. But our
main reliance must be on human intelligence."
"I see," said Rob, nodding. The object of the officer's visit was
beginning to dawn on him.
"To come straight to the point," went on the officer, "how would you
boys like to take a camping trip to the South Carolina coast on Uncle
Sam's service?"
"You mean to act as guards to the submarine?" almost shouted Rob.
"Just that," responded the officer. "I have----"
But a roar of cheers drowned any further remarks he might have had to
make.
"I knew it would happen," cried Merritt when the riot had, in a measure,
subsided.
"What?" demanded Tubby.
"Action!" responded Merritt briefly.
The hubbub grew tumultuous. All the Eagles were trying to talk at once.
The wonderful prospect opened up before them of fresh adventures fairly
set them wild.
At last, above the turmoil, Ensign Hargreaves managed to make his voice
heard.
"Boys! Boys!" he exclaimed, "one minute till I outline the plans."
A respectful silence at once ensued in which each Scout was prompt to
join.
"Of course, it will be necessary for you to obtain written consent of
your parents," spoke the naval officer.
At this some of the faces in the room fell several degrees.
"The government will absolutely require such authority," he continued.
"The service on Barren Island, as it is called, while not necessarily
hazardous, may prove dangerous, and each boy's parents must be so
informed."
"We'll get plenty to eat, I suppose?" inquired Tubby anxiously.
"Why, of course," laughed the officer; "moreover, I forgot to inform you
that there is a wireless plant on the Island, and other conveniences
unusual in so remote a situation."
"Well, so long as the grub holds out, I'm satisfied," muttered Tubby in
a contented tone.
"How soon will we start, supposing our parents allow us to go?" asked
Rob, as soon as the laughter over Tubby's remark had subsided.
"At the end of this week if possible. Mr. Danbury Barr, the inventor of
the _Peacemaker_, will meet us in New York. We shall voyage south on the
U. S. Derelict Destroyer _Seneca_."
"Derelict Destroyer," repeated Rob. "Those are the craft that Uncle Sam
sends out to destroy drifting wrecks that might prove a menace to
navigation, aren't they?"
"Correct, my boy," rejoined the officer. "Our reason for making the
voyage on the _Seneca_," he continued, "is that no regular passenger
steamer makes a stop near Barren Island. Furthermore, if we went down on
a naval vessel some of these sharp reporters would be sure to make
inquiries, with the result that our retreat might be discovered."
"And that would be a serious matter?" put in Rob.
"Yes, very serious. Several nations are on the _qui vive_ to discover
just what the _Barr Peacemaker_ is. They have sent shrewd, cunning men,
versed in the art of espionage, to this country on that mission. These
men will stick at nothing to ferret out the secret if they can. Mr. Barr
has been approached with all sorts of offers. But he is a staunch
American to the backbone, as you will discover when you meet him. If
anyone is to have the _Peacemaker_ it is to be Uncle Sam, first,
foremost and all the time."
"Kree-e-ee-ee!" shrilled the Boy Scouts of the Eagle Patrol in unison.
The sharp, screaming note of the Eagle was still resounding when Merritt
uttered a startled cry, and pointed to the open transom above the door.
The others were still staring at him when he darted toward it and flung
the portal open. The passage beyond was empty, and the boy turned to his
companions with a puzzled look on his face.
"What's up, Merritt?" asked Rob.
"Seeing spooks?" inquired Tubby.
"Seeing nothing," snapped out Merritt; "I _saw_----"
"Saw what?" demanded Lieutenant Duvall.
"A face peering at us over that transom. It dodged into the darkness as
I looked up, but I saw it as plain as daylight."
Both officers bent forward almost breathlessly. Merritt's communication
appeared to affect them strangely.
"What kind of a face was it?" demanded Ensign Hargreaves.
"A wild looking one. Very pale, and fringed with dark whiskers."
The effect on the officers was electrical. They both sprang up and made
for the door followed by the puzzled Scouts.
"Was--was it anyone you know?" demanded Rob, as he paced beside
Lieutenant Duvall.
"Yes. From the description it was Berghoff, the spy of a powerful
European nation whose ambition it is to outgeneral all other powers on
the sea. We must apprehend him if possible. It is only too clear that he
followed us here from Washington and must have heard a great part of our
conversation."
"Phew! This is action with a capital A!" gasped Rob as they ran down the
stairway and out into the lighted street.
But although a rigorous search was made and all trains watched, no trace
was found of Nordstrom Berghoff, the naval spy. It was surmised that he
must have made good his escape in a speedy "roadster" car in which he
had crept into Hampton earlier in the evening.