"That will be my funeral, not yours. I am willing to take the chance. I know these waters pretty well, and if you can furnish me with a pair of oars, I will guarantee that I will find a place of safety within twenty-four hours." Lord Hastings turned the matter over in his mind for some moments. "So be it," he said at length. "When would you start?" "At once." "Mr. Templeton," said Lord Hastings, "you will have one of the small boats stocked with provisions and water sufficient for twenty-four hours. We shall not submerge until our prisoner has left us." Jack saluted. "Very well, sir," he said, and disappeared below. It was but the work of minutes to water and provision the small boat, and when at last all was in readiness, the boat was lowered into the sea. The prisoner climbed in and took up the oars that had been furnished him. "Goodbye," he called to the three officers. "Thanks for your hospitality. I hope to be able to return it some of these days." "I hope you will never have to," Lord Hastings called back. "Goodbye." The German waved his hand in reply, and the three aboard the bridge of the D-16 waved back at him. Then he bent to his oars, and set out in a direction that, barring accident, would take him to Heligoland. "Good luck to him," said Jack, as the German rowed away. "The same," said Frank. "Now," said Lord Hastings, "for that long deferred dive." All three went below and soon the D-16 sank from sight. There was no further incident as the D-16 wended her way along. She reached Dover Harbor without difficulty, where Lord Hastings put in to replenish his supply of coal and food. Here he also filed his report to the Admiralty. Upon the morning of the following day, the submarine pointed her nose up the English Channel toward the Atlantic Ocean. Once upon the broad expanse of the Atlantic the D-16 turned her prow southward and ran down the coast of France at full speed, finally emerging into the sunny waters of the Mediterranean. "I believe," said Lord Hastings, "that, on our way to the Dardanelles, we might run into the Adriatic and see what success the French fleet is having with the Austrians." "Good," said Frank. "Ever since we left there I have been anxious to get back for a day or two." "Suits me, too," declared Jack. Accordingly the submarine, instead of going straight to the allied fleet off the Dardanelles, swerved at the entrance of the Adriatic, and soon was among the French fleet gathered there. The blockade of the Austrian fleet in the Adriatic, up to this time, had been maintained with all vigilance, and in spite of several attempts of the enemy to run the blockade, they were still bottled up. What attempts they had made had been defeated with heavy losses, and it seemed that there would not be another.