Jack Hammond got a rousing reception. The story of his escape from the _Dewey_ and his bold adventure in the German wireless station had become known and he was roundly cheered. When it was seen that the Americans had brought back with them a huge German U-boat there was great jubilation. The captain of the Tallahassee, who was the ranking officer of the assembled fleet, decided that the _Farragut_ should tow the captured U-boat to the American naval base on the English coast, while the _Dewey_ also was to return to the same port for thorough inspection and repairs. A number of her crew were in bad shape from the long confinement in the stranded sub. "Your men need a bit of play after their hazardous experience," was the message flashed to the _Dewey_ from the Tallahassee's commander as he bade "Little Mack" and his men Godspeed. And so, after an uneventful run across the North Sea, the _Dewey_ came back to England, bringing as her prize a monster U-boat of the latest design, complete in every detail and ready for service under the Stars and Stripes. And with her came Jack Hammond---a new American naval hero, whose deeds had fitted him for rank among the immortal list. CHAPTER XX THE MOTHER SHIP News of the capture of the German U-boat had preceded the returning squadron and a great reception was accorded the American submarine and its gallant crew as it came to anchor again in the harbor at Chatham. Several American warships were at anchor with other units of the British and French fleets, and thousands of sailors lined the decks to cheer the plucky _Dewey_ as it wended its way to its anchorage, accompanied by the destroyer _Farragut_, the latter towing the captive German submarine. During the days that followed, Jack and Ted found themselves lionized wherever they went while on shore duty. News of the capture had spread throughout England and France, and the censors had permitted a generous account of the affair to be forwarded by cable to the United States. Letters and messages reached the boys, but none that pleased them more, amid all the adulation heaped upon them, than a simple cablegram of a few words, forwarded from Brighton Academy that read: _"Hearty congratulations. We knew you would make good, and we are proud of you._" "_The Brighton Boys_." Closer inspection of the captured U-boat by American and English naval officers proved it to be one of the very latest and improved types of German undersea craft. It was a vessel of a thousand tons displacement and more than three hundred feet long, capable of a surface speed of twenty knots an hour and propelled by twin engines of eight thousand horsepower. The hull was constructed of double steel---virtually one hull within another---and the space between hulls given over to the storage of fuel oil, thus increasing the cruising radius of the vessel by permitting the carrying of more fuel. The periscopes were of the telescopic variety that could be raised and lowered.