“They thought the Japs had pinched this letter from Mr. Impey last night, so they were leaving the country before they’d get jailed. This letter here was sealed, and Impey and Randall have opened it and read it. So they were proper scared. But now their minds are easy again. Do you see?” he ended, his voice becoming serious in tone. “We are the goats, and they’ll keep us here until we can’t do them any harm.” “What did he mean about Japan seizing the Chinese ships?” Marley asked. That was the important thing in his mind. Everything else he classed as diplomatic Greek and he was determined not to understand it. “You know that China has a new navy coming out,” O’Neil answered patiently; “the ships were built in Europe, and it looks to me that if Japan took these ships she would do it so as to lick us.” “But ain’t we got nothing to say?” Marley questioned perplexedly. “We ain’t looking for a fight with Japan.” O’Neil smiled knowingly. “No, but some of our wise guys think that we’ve got something that she wants; the Philippines, you see. And then there’s this open door flimflam in China. It’s a big question, Bill.” O’Neil, while he was educating his friend upon the intricate and unexplained steps that frequently in the past had led into war nations apparently friendly, allowed his gaze to roam searchingly over the contents of the cabin. He noticed a door leading into what he supposed was a stateroom, and as he finished speaking he arose and tried the door-knob. It was unlocked, and the sailor pushed it open and cast a glance within. “Wireless!” he exclaimed in a hoarse whisper. “There’s a chance,” he muttered jubilantly. “Somebody may be listening.” O’Neil surveyed the room minutely. He saw that the yacht’s wireless set was of the same manufacture as the one installed on board the “Alaska.” He thanked his luck for the practice he had taken in his leisure moments under the guidance of the midshipmen in learning the operation of the outfit. He saw that everything was connected, and that the power of the yacht’s dynamos was there at his service upon the closing of the switch on the table before him. He glanced closely at the tuning device, and although he did not understand the theory of wave lengths, he remembered that the “Alaska’s” pointer was usually set at or near the figure four hundred. Quickly making this adjustment, he closed the switch and heard the hum of the alternating current motor generator transferring the direct current of the yacht to an alternating one of high frequency and tension. “Bill,” he exclaimed, “this little machine here may get us out of the brig before our term of confinement expires! They’ll cut the aerial as soon as they can after they hear the noise from the spark-gap. What’ll I say?” he asked thoughtfully. “It’s got to be short and yet tell ’em enough.”