CHAPTER XVI
ABOARD THE MYSTERY SHIP
"Looks great, doesn't it?" demanded Dalzell, in an undertone, after thesailors had stood at attention and had received their orders to "carryon."
"It would look all right in a dry-goods store," countered the thoroughlymystified Darrin, "but what does it mean here?"
"Why, that's the secret," was Dan's unsatisfactory answer.
"I give it up," said Darrin hopelessly.
"Wise old head!" approved Dalzell.
Right here Dave received another jolt. The girl whom he had seen in thefirst cabin now returned, lifted away the veil, removed hat and wig, andstood revealed, from the shoulders up, a most unmistakable young manwith a good-looking but wholly unfeminine face.
"Is this a public masquerade, and are the proceeds to be devoted to theService?" Dave inquired.
But Dan replied only with a baffling wink.
"Oh, well," rejoined Darrin, "I can wait if you can. If you're throughwith me here, I'm going back to my cabin."
"Have you no more questions?" Dan inquired mockingly.
"None that are likely to be answered, so I'll leave you to youramusements."
"Too bad," murmured Dalzell to himself after Darrin had vanished, "fornow Dave is sulky."
In this surmise, however, Danny Grin was quite wrong. Darrin merelyrefused to waste more guesses on a mystery that he could not solve, andhad gone off to see what he could make out of the appearance of things.
"It's one too many for me," Darrin finally confessed to himself.Removing some of his clothing and his shoes, he lay down on a lounge,drawing a blanket over him.
For such a hulk as the "Prince" looked to be, the steam-heating plantwas in excellent order. In the warm air Darrin dozed gently off, thoughnot before the reflection had passed through his mind:
"I might have guessed that the 'Prince' was some such looking craft asthis. It was named the 'Prince' for the same reason that folks alwaysgive that same nickname to the mangiest-looking dog in town."
A little later Dan glanced in past the curtained doorway. Finding hischum asleep he tripped silently away. The anchor must have come upnoiselessly and all commands must have been issued in low tones, forwhen Darrin awoke, rose and glanced out through the porthole he foundthe craft under way upon the open sea.
By the time that he had drawn on his shoes Darrin heard a rap at thedoorway, followed by a messenger's announcement:
"Luncheon will be served in the wardroom, sir, in fifteen minutes."
So Darrin completed his toilet, then hailed a messenger and learnedwhere the wardroom was situated on this ship of mystery.
Stepping into the room ahead of time, Dave found only one young ensign,who saluted him.
"This is some strange craft," observed Darrin.
"Yes, sir," assented Ensign Stark.
"But suited to her mission, I dare say."
"Oh, yes, sir; hardly a doubt of that," smiled the junior officer, buthe added no hint of information as to the "Prince's" mission, and Darrinwas much too good an officer to press his question.
A minute or two later two other ensigns entered, and on their heels cameDalzell with a young engineer officer and a surgeon. Dan presented hisjunior officers to his chum, then explained:
"Usually, of course, on a war craft, the 'Old Man' dines in state alone,or with his guests. But the 'Old Man's' dining room is in other use onthis cruiser, so we will dine with the juniors so long as they permitit."
"I suppose the 'Old Man's' dining room has been converted into acashier's cage for the Monday bargain sale you are planning," hintedDarrin.
"Why, yes, Darry; something like that," grinned Dalzell.
The meal had not proceeded far when Dan leaned toward his chum towhisper:
"By the way, I forgot to say that the rules require that no officer orman of the Navy shall appear outside in uniform. You brought alongcivilian clothes, I believe."
"A suit, yes."
"And I have an old overcoat and cloth cap I can loan you," Dan added. "Iwill have them sent to your cabin."
So, after he had returned to his own quarters, Dave waited, afterdonning civilian garb, until the promised articles had arrived. Then,putting on the coat and cap, he made his way forward and outside.
Coming out on the spar deck Darrin found plenty of use for his eyes.Forward the "Prince" carried rather high bulwarks. Darrin had noted thatin the harbor. But now he saw that which no observer on shore would havehad reason to suspect.
In the bulwarks, on either side, were sliding doors or ports, and,behind these, in each instance, mounted on a carriage, was a verycapable-looking naval gun.
Besides, on either side, was a machine gun, rigged to a platform thatcould be raised high enough to make the guns effective, even with themark not more than a hundred feet from the hull.
"Rubber!" shouted Dalzell, joyously, from the bridge, as Dave strolledslowly forward.
"Some ship, all right," Darrin called back. He then retraced his steps,making for the bridge, where Dan and Ensign Peters stood, both of themattired like merchantmen officers.
"What do you think of her?" demanded Danny Grin, as his chum took standbeside him.
"You told me it was going to be a humorous adventure," Dave suggested."I haven't yet discovered where the laugh comes in."
"Oh, we can't laugh," quoth Danny Grin, "until we find something tolaugh at."
"Of course," Dave pursued, his eyes twinkling, "the 'Prince' is a gooddeal of a joke in herself."
"And those hidden guns are the point to the joke," Dan retorted. "Butwait a few hours, or a few days. Oh, you'll laugh!"
There was, however, in Dan's eyes the next moment, a grim look thatconsiderably belied his words.
Dave hadn't really tried hard to worm the secret from his friend, andnow he gave it up altogether, but asked teasingly:
"Are you going to call upon me for any work, beyond saving your scalpwhen you get into too tight a corner?"
"You're a guest aboard, without duties," Dan informed him, then added,seriously:
"But I won't deny that I realize how valuable your counsel may prove insome sudden emergency."
Somehow, Darrin found that he tired of being on the bridge of a ship onwhich he had no duties, no authority. Leaving the bridge, after a fewminutes, he descended and roamed the decks, fore and aft. Wherever heencountered sailors outside he found them in the garb of merchantmansailors; below decks they wore the uniform.
The "Prince" was kicking along at about eight knots an hour, and wasalready out of sight of land. It was when he strolled down into theengine room that Dave was astonished to find engines that were furbishedup to the last notch of perfection. Moreover, his practised eye notedthat the engines looked as though capable of vastly faster work thanthey were performing.
"These engines appear to be the best part of the craft," Darrin remarkedto the engineer officer.
"They're good engines--the best that the British know how to make,"nodded the engineer officer. "But for that matter, they're not muchbehind the rest of the boat. She looks worse than she is, sir. The'Prince' is renamed; she was a mighty good-looking craft before thenaval camouflage gentlemen took her in hand and made such atough-looking ship of her."
From the course Darrin knew that the "Prince" was heading into thesubmarine zone. Dan was surely hunting trouble, and he had a knack offinding it.
Dave soon found time hanging heavily on his hands. He was glad that hehad brought along two novels, and these he read in his cabin. Dinnerhour was welcome because it occupied some of the time. At this meal,too, he met Lieutenant Bixby, executive officer, who had been busyelsewhere at luncheon time.
Later in the evening Dan came down from the bridge, visiting his friendin his quarters.
"Darry, I'm in hopes we'll be able to spring our joke before long," hecried briskly.
If he had hoped to rouse his chum's waning curiosity he wasdisappointed, for Dave only covered a yawn with his left hand andlanguidl
y inquired:
"So?"
An hour later, when the chums were still talking, Lieutenant Bixbyknocked at the door.
"I wish to report 'all secure' sir," said the executive officer.
"And the ladies--?" queried Dalzell.
"In high spirits, and the best of good humor, sir."
The two officers returned smiles, but Dave Darrin did not appear to belooking their way.
"Are you going to turn in?" asked Danny Grin, as he rose to depart.
"Before long," Dave nodded. "But I'll leave things so that I can turnout fast if I hear your whistle signalling to abandon ship."
Into Danny Grin's eyes a mischievous look flashed, but all he said was:
"Good night, chum."
"Good night, Danny-boy."
After one of the most refreshing sleeps he had enjoyed since the warbegan, Dave turned out the next morning, on first waking, with therealization that the "Prince" was still on her way on the high seas, andthat there had been no alarm.
"That sleep must have cleared up my wits," mused Darrin, as he turnedwater into the stand-bowl. "I think I begin to see the object of thisvoyage by the seemingly crippled old 'Prince.'"
Whether he had solved the mystery remained to be seen. At that momentthe ship's hoarse steam whistle began the first of a series of longblasts.
Dave Darrin and the German Submarines Page 17