A flag was quickly, run up to the masthead. The boys made it out in an instant--the tricolor of France. A cheer went up from the British sailors, and in one of the boats a sailor sprang to his feet and waved a British ensign above his head. This was seen from the deck of the French vessel, and several small boats were hurriedly manned and came toward the British. Within hailing distance a voice cried out in French: "Who are you and where from?" "British prize crew aboard German merchantman, which was sunk by a German cruiser yesterday," Jack shouted back. The French boats approached closer. The men in them were all armed, and it was plainly apparent they were not too confident of the identity of the British. They held their rifles ready for instant use, and small rapid-firers in the prow of each craft were ready for business. But now that the French had approached close enough for their commander to distinguish the faces of the English sailors the tenseness of the French sailors relaxed, and they came on more confidently. The French officer ran his boat close to the one occupied by Frank and Jack and leaped lightly aboard it. The lads rose to greet him. All three saluted, and the French officer said: "I'm glad to see you." "Not half as glad as we are to see you," replied Jack with enthusiasm. "This time yesterday we didn't know whether we would ever see land again or not." "You have been adrift all that time?" questioned the officer. "Yes, sir." "You said something about having been sunk by a German cruiser. Why didn't they pick you up?" "Because they were already at the bottom of the sea," replied Jack calmly. "You mean that you sunk them with the small guns of your ship?" asked the officer in great wonderment. "Yes," replied Jack briefly. "We were fortunate enough to do that with our last shot." "Good for you!" ejaculated the officer. "But come! You must go aboard the Marie Theresa. Captain Dreyfuss will indeed be glad to greet two such gallant Englishmen." It was fully half an hour later, the lads in the meantime having seen to the disposition of the British sailors aboard the French cruiser, before Jack and Frank were seated in the commander's cabin, relating their experiences to him. "And what do you plan to do now?" asked the commander, after he had complimented the boys upon their gallant conduct. "Well," replied Frank, "we had thought of returning to London. By the way, just whereabouts are we?" The commander swept an arm in the direction of the little town. "That," he said, "is St. Julien, on the southern coast of France. Bordeaux is to the north, and, in the event that you are planning to return to London, it will be necessary to go that way. If I were bound that way, I would gladly land you there, but I am not." "May I ask which way you are going?" asked Frank. "I am bound for the Adriatic," replied the commander, "to join the rest of the French fleet blockading the Austrians there."