fortified, and shortly after that the island was given over solely to military and naval purposes. The civil population had to clear out. It's a sort of second Kronstadt. Our Intelligence Department would dearly like to know a great deal more about it than they do at present."  

"Don't you think the British Government was a bit of a fool to give the place away?"  

"No, certainly not. We did jolly well out of the deal. Had a vast tract of territory in Africa in exchange for a little lump of sandstone that looked very much like falling into the sea."  

"That's the average Britisher's notion—that is, if he thinks about it at all. The German view is very different. As colonists the Teutons do not shine, except, curiously enough, when under any Government but their own. Very well. They give you a slice of virgin territory. You develop it, and it increases in value a thousandfold in a couple of decades. When 'The Day' comes, should Great Britain be overwhelmed by the Triple Alliance, Germany takes back her former territory—and a lot besides—all ready for her much-wanted place in the sun."  

"You're a jolly old croaker, Detroit," exclaimed the Sub. "I'll bet my last halfpenny that the British navy will be top dog for a good many years to come. I don't fancy that you and I will see the Teutons walking through London with fixed bayonets, and the Kaiser dictating terms of peace in Buckingham Palace. Hallo! The searchlights are out. Evolutions finished for the night. What's the time, I wonder?"  

Thrusting back the sliding hatch, Hamerton looked at the clock on the fore bulkhead of the cabin. It was just 2 a.m.  

As he reclosed the hatch his foot slipped on the wet grating, and his rubber-soled boot came in contact with a hard substance close to where the yacht binnacle stood.  

"Good job I didn't sit on the compass, by Jove!" ejaculated the Sub. "But what's this? What idiot placed it there?"  

For the object he had kicked was a large belaying pin that unaccountably had been propped up against the binnacle.  

"I'll swear I didn't," declared Detroit.  

"The mischief is done, at all events," continued Hamerton. "The attraction of that lump of iron has affected the compass. We may be points out of our course. Just watch."  

Bringing the belaying pin back to its former position, 

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