He had finished the receipt and “repeat” of the message. Whistler took the envelope and sprang away with it to the commander’s quarters. He knew by the expression on Mr. Lang’s face when he scanned the message that there was something big in view. The commanding officer of the _Colodia_ swiftly wrote a reply and gave it to Whistler for the radio man. Belding was still hanging about the wireless room. His face was flushed and his eyes shone. “Do you know what it is all about, Phil?” he whispered. “Not a thing. But the Old Man,” said Whistler, “is some excited.” Rumor that changed orders had reached the _Colodia_ spread abroad before muster and inspection. The usual physical drills were gone through while the boys’ minds were on tiptoe. Even the order at four bells to relieve the wheel and lookout startled the crew, so expectant were they. But nothing happened until just before retreat from drill at eleven-thirty. Commander Lang then made his appearance. He went to the quarter and addressed the crew. “We have been honored by an order to go freelancing after a suspected vessel, supposed to be a German raider, last and recently reported to be off the Azores,” he said. “Because we were successful some months ago in taking the _Graf von Posen_, we are assigned to this work.” At this point the crew broke into cheers, and with a smile the commanding officer waved his hand for the boatswain’s mates to pipe retreat. The _Colodia_ was at this time sailing within sight of half a dozen other destroyers bound out to pick up the expected convoy. After a little her wireless crackled a curt “good-bye” to her companions, and the _Colodia_ changed her course for a more southerly one. The chances, for and against, of overhauling the _Sea Pigeon_ were volubly discussed, from the commander’s offices to the galley, and everybody, including the highest officer and the most humble steward’s boy, had a vital interest in the destroyer’s objective. To attempt to chase a ship like this German raider about the ocean was a most uncertain task. “But if the luck of the _Colodia_ runs true to form,” Al Torrance expressed it, “we shall turn the trick.” “That this _Sea Pigeon_ is a raider and not a submarine, seems to be an established fact,” Belding said. “Sparks got some private information from the radio station at the Azores and says the ship is a fast steamer made over from some big, fat Heinie’s steam yacht he used to race before the war. She has just sunk a wheat ship from the Argentine.” “Sparks” is the nickname usually applied to the radio operator aboardship, and George Belding was quite friendly with the chief of the wireless force on the destroyer. “George gets all these ‘wireless whispers’ because he has a pull,” said Whistler, smiling. “If anything ever happens to Sparks, I expect we’d see George in there with his head harnessed.” “And it’s no bad job!” cried Al enthusiastically. “I’ve often wished I could listen in on this radio stuff.”