But presently Dawson did turn his head, cup his hands to his tired eyes, and peer in the direction Freddy Farmer was pointing. At first he saw absolutely nothing. Then, suddenly, his heart leaped high in his chest. There _was_ something way out there! Something on the surface of the water, or just over it. He couldn't tell for sure. And he definitely couldn't even guess at what it might be. The dazzling rays of the sun dancing up off the surface of the water were like hot needle points that drew blood in his eyes. But there was something way out there on the horizon. Yes, definitely something, but did it mean life, or death? That last question pounded around and around inside Dave's head as he strained his eyes at the distant horizon. "Do you see it, Dave?" Freddy Farmer's voice broke into his thoughts. "Yeah, I see it, but what?" he replied. "A ship, a plane, or maybe just some kind of a bird?" "My guess is a submarine," Freddy said. Then, an instant later, he exclaimed, "Yes, I'm sure of it! I can make out the conning tower. Good grief! Dave! _It's a Nazi U-boat!_" "Huh?" Dave gasped, and sat up so violently that he rocked the raft. "You're nuts, Freddy. This is the Pacific, not the Atlantic!" "That may be!" the English youth shot right back at him. "But that thing out there is a Nazi U-boat, or I never saw one. See? It's coming toward us now. It must have sighted us!" "Nuts again!" Dave replied. "We'd only be a speck at that distance, even in glasses. It just happens that it's heading our way." Freddy shrugged and made a little gesture with one hand. "Have it your own way, old thing," he said. "It's heading right for us just the same. And if they haven't sighted us, they certainly will soon. There! See, Dave? Men are climbing out of the conning tower hatch onto the deck!" "Yeah, I see," Dave replied gloomily. "Which means they must be pretty sure they've got this neck of the woods all to themselves. I wonder just how far we've drifted in twenty-six hours? I wonder where the Carson is? And how the others made out? I--Oh, nuts! What good does it do to wonder about anything right now? Heck! We couldn't change anything, anyway. That confounded seaplane, and the rats in her! Boy! Does that burn me up! I could kick myself all over this here Pacific Ocean!" "Easy, old chap," Freddy said gently. "Don't let it get you down so, Dave. Good grief! What else could you have done?" "Plenty!" Dawson said with an angry nod of his head. "I could have kept my eye on the ball, for one thing, and not let them get so close they could cut in with a few snap bursts. But no! I had to fall like a ton of brick for that moss-covered trick of getting a guy to look the other way when you're about to slug him. So help me! I'll feel like a chump for that if I live to be a million."