“I had no idea you were so hard pressed,” replied Lord Hastings.  “I fired the moment I caught sight of the foe.  Even when the searchlight was turned from The Hawk, it was a moment or so before I could make out the enemy.  The light had all but blinded me.”

“There is no harm done, anyhow,” Jack put in.  “The enemy is at the bottom of the sea and we are safe again.”

“Then we may as well continue a bit,” declared Lord Hastings.  He turned to give an order, when Frank interrupted him.

“Are you sure we are safe, sir?” he questioned.

“What do you mean?” demanded his commander.

“Why, I was just wondering if by any chance there might be more of the enemy in these waters?”

“To tell the truth, I hadn’t thought of that,” replied Lord Hastings.

Without another word, he turned on his heel and made his way to the searchlight, which still threw its brilliant rays across the silent waters.  Quickly he snapped it off; then returned to the lads.

“We won’t be spotted so easily now,” he remarked.

“Unless we have been spotted already,” said Jack dryly.

And Jack proved to be a better prophet than he really meant to be.

At a signal from Lord Hastings, The Hawk now moved slowly forward again.

“Can you tell us just where we are bound, sir?” asked Jack.

“Well, not exactly,” was his commander’s reply.  “I have information that leads me to believe an enemy, or several enemies, may be prowling about around——­”

An interruption came suddenly and from an altogether unexpected source, and with the interruption all aboard became suddenly silent, except Lord Hastings, who sprang quickly to the wheel, and before the astonished helmsman knew what was going on, threw the wheel over hard.

For the interruption which had come so suddenly was the voice of a big gun.

Lord Hastings threw the wheel over with such violence that the motorboat careened desperately and all but capsized.  Frank and Jack saved themselves from being thrown overboard by a quick grasp at the rail, to which they clung with all their might.

And then, before Lord Hastings could flash the searchlight across the water, had such been his intention, a blinding glare lighted up The Hawk.  The enemy had been too quick for those aboard.

Now another shot rang out and the boys heard a terrible whistling overhead.

“Pretty close,” said Jack quietly.  “They are liable to get us next time.”

An idea suddenly struck Frank, and he dashed aft.  There he picked up his rifle and hurried forward again.

“Hold her steady a minute, sir,” he called to Lord Hastings.

And the latter, realizing that the lad had some plan, did as requested without asking a question.

Quickly Frank raised his rifle to his shoulder, and pausing just long enough to take careful aim, fired.