On the following day, Kircheiss and I were taken aboard an old cruiser in the harbour and ushered into the saloon, where there were about a dozen men who wore black coats and four-cornered caps with tassels. Our four boys were standing in a corner. I was boiling mad. "What's this?" I said. "Is justice becoming ridiculous? Why are we put in jail like this and some of my boys in chains? Is that for prisoners of war? And what man of you is able to judge of our warfare? You are civilians. Are we to be judged by civilians? I will answer only to naval men." Just then Sir Hall Thompson, British naval commander in New Zealand waters, came down the stairway. I turned to him. "I am glad to see you, sir. Why are we treated like this? And are prisoners of war to be tried by civilians?" "Count," he replied, "public opinion forces it. The public has demanded that within three days of your arrival in this country you must reveal where you sank the _Wairuna_ and why you sank her without saving a single life, and also where your ship _Seeadler_ is." "But I know nothing about the _Wairuna_," I replied. "I did not sink her. In every single capture that we made, I took the crews aboard my ship, kept them there until we were overcrowded, and then sent them home." "You say you didn't sink the _Wairuna_?" "No! Nor ever even heard of her!" "Will you give me your word of honour on this?" "I give it to you now." "Very well, Count, that is good." "But why do you keep my men in chains?" "We want to know where the _Seeadler_ is." "I want to tell you, sir, that my men will die before they will say anything. They have orders from me not to talk. If anyone is to tell anything about the _Seeadler_, it is I. You would give your men the same command under the same circumstances, and you would want them to obey as my men are obeying." "You are the one to ask, Count, about information of the _Seeadler_?" "Yes." "Then tell me where she is." "Captain, may I sink deep in the earth if I ever betray my crew. I respect you. I would not put such a question to you if you were my prisoner." "Count," he replied, "your men have set an example to our sailors. I understand and appreciate your attitude. So long as your men show themselves to be disciplined sailors, they will have excellent treatment. And I hope that you, yourself, will have a pleasant stay with us and find nothing of which to complain. Gentlemen," he addressed the judges, "the court martial is over." My four men were taken back to their island, and Kircheiss and I to ours.