“It’s plain enough now, isn’t it, Glennie?” queried4 Bob. “These yellow men are always hard to identify, but this fellow is certainly Ah Sin, otherwise Tolo. Notice how closely his hair is clipped. He had to have a close haircut when he got into his Chinese disguise. All the rest of those make-believe savages5 had long hair.”
“It’s tucked away among the islands. This, you know, is a peaceable country, and the Japs would have to be wary7 in carrying out their designs upon the Grampus. I’ll bet those fellows know all about our route, and what ports we expect to call at. It was easy for them to get into the mouth of the Amazon ahead of us, and then wait for us to come along.”
A sudden idea occurred to Glennie, and he went down on his knees and began searching the Jap. Inasmuch as the only garment the Jap wore was a short kirtle, the search did not consume much time. Glennie got up disappointedly.
“The packet isn’t there, eh?” asked Bob.
“No.”
“He was probably wise enough to leave it on the steamer.”
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“Where it has already been opened, no doubt, by the leader of these Sons of the Rising Sun. I’m in as deep as ever, and the capture of Tolo hasn’t helped me.”
The dejection in Glennie’s voice was too pronounced to be passed over.
“Don’t take it so hard,” urged Bob. “Go to Mr. Brigham, in Para, and tell him the whole story. Perhaps a way can be found to make Tolo talk.”
“We’ll try him now,” said Glennie, a flash of forlorn hope crossing his face. “Why do you want to treat me like this, Tolo?” he queried, addressing the prisoner.
“What I do I do for Nippon,” was the slow answer.
“You stole my dispatches, there in La Guayra,” went on Glennie, still addressing himself to the prisoner. “What sort of way was that to treat me?”
“For Nippon,” muttered Tolo; “all is for Nippon, all is for my beloved country.”
“What did you do with those dispatches?” demanded Glennie.
“I will say nothing,” answered Tolo, with careful emphasis.
“My country has nothing to do with it. I am a Son of the Rising Sun, and I should like to die for my country. If my hands were free, and I had a sword, then—hari-kiri! It is a glory to kill oneself for one’s country.”
“You’re wrong, Dick,” said Bob. “The poor fellow means every word he says.”
“And he say dot it vas good to die for vone’s coun291try!” murmured Carl. “I don’d agree mit dot. I vould radder lif for my gountry. A deadt hero don’t amoundt to nodding, but a live feller is aple to do t’ings vat10 count. Yah, id is pedder to lif for vone’s gountry as to die for id.”
“There’s a whole lot of sense in that, Mr. Pretzel,” said Glennie.
“T’ank you!” returned Carl, with mock politeness. “I know dot before you shpeak id oudt, Misder Glennie.”
The ensign looked at Carl in a disappointed way, for it must have been plain to him that he was not breaking the ice any, so far as Carl and Dick were concerned.
“You pretended to be Ah Sin just so you could get aboard this boat, and destroy it, didn’t you?” Glennie pursued, again focusing his attention on the prisoner.
“I am saying nothing,” was the reply in calm, even tones.
There was no response.
“You three didn’t think you could take her away from the lot of us, did you?”
Still no answer, merely a cool, passive glance.
“You can’t rattle12 him,” put in Dick, “nor get him to say anything that’s incriminating. He’s Tolo, hard and fast, and it’s not so queer why he and his two comrades hove alongside of us. They were engaged in some quiet work, and when Mr. Glennie went on deck, according to your orders, he interrupted them and sprung a fight where no fight was intended.”
“Now, Dick,” said Bob whimsically, “you’re the deep one. Just what do you mean by that?”
“Suppose there was a bomb in that dugout,” continued Dick; “and suppose those fellows fastened it to292 the side of the Grampus, fired the fuse, and then paddled silently away. What would have happened? Will dynamite13 cause damage sideways as well as up and down?”
Bob gave a startled jump—a jump that caused his wet clothes to rustle14, and the water to slosh around in his shoes.
“Great guns!” he exclaimed. “You’ve got your finger on the right button, Dick! That was a point that bothered me tremendously—why three men should try such a foolhardy thing as making an attack on a submarine with a full complement15 below decks. Now I understand, and the whole situation clears. Tolo and his companions stole up alongside of us to put a bomb somewhere about the hull16 of the Grampus. By luck, Glennie went on deck in time to frustrate17 the design. By Jove, but it was another narrow escape!”
“Once in a while,” Dick replied, with a grin, “I blunder on something that’s worth telling.”
“I should say so!”
“Excellent reasoning, Mr. Ferral!” approved Glennie.
The grin left Dick’s face on the instant, and a frown took its place. He turned to the periscope abruptly18.
Bob was surprised at the depth of feeling which this action on the part of his chum made manifest. Glennie settled back grimly on the locker19. Carl began to hum a Dutch song under his breath—and for that Dick and Bob were thankful. If he had sung the song aloud they would have had to throw something at him. A certain Captain Pierce, in Belize, had set the fashion, and now whenever Carl burst into song he had to dodge20 everything that was handy.
In the embarrassing silence that followed Dick’s action, Bob began to take off his shoes and socks.
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“I’ve got to get into something dry,” he remarked. “You fellows better make sure Tolo is well lashed, and then take him into Mr. Glennie’s room. That, Glennie,” he added, removing his water-logged coat, “used to be our prison chamber21.”
“A good place for me, then,” observed Glennie, with a side glance at Dick and Carl.
“You might get off the locker a minute,” went on Bob. “I’ve an outfit22 of clothes somewhere in that long box you’re sitting on.”
“Pardon me!”
Glennie got up and helped Carl examine the prisoner’s bonds. While they were busy with that, Bob began rummaging23 for his dry clothes. About the first thing he laid hands on was the old slouch hat with its attached queue.
“Wow!” cried Bob. “What did you put this in here for, Carl? It looked like a snake.”
As he was about to return to the locker again and go on with his rummaging, Bob caught a gleam in the prisoner’s eyes that caused him to straighten up and watch Tolo more carefully.
Tolo’s gaze was on the hat. For once he was betrayed out of his grim passiveness, and there flamed in his eyes something unusual—and significant to Bob, who studied Tolo’s face keenly. The Jap’s eyes continued to rest on the hat until he saw that Bob was watching him; then the eyes turned away absently and lost their telltale gleam.
“Vat’s der madder mit der feller?” muttered Carl. “He seemed to vake oop, for a minid, und now he is like he alvays is. Vat ails25 him?”
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“Probably he t’ought of somet’ing mit a bomb in id,” suggested Carl. “I move ve tie somet’ing heafy aboudt his neck und make him shvim agross der Amazon. Hey?”
No one seconded Carl’s suggestion. Bob rose, walked over to the hat and queue, and picked them up. Tolo paid no attention, or did not seem to.
With the old slouch hat in his hand Bob sat down on a stool and began feeling of the crown with his fingers.
“I tell you,” said Dick, “our chum has still got a twisted brain. Tolo’s coffee is continuing to have its effect.”
Bob laughed, suddenly turned the old hat over, tore out the lining28, and pulled forth29 a crumpled30 envelope, closed with a red seal.
Glennie gave a yell. “My dispatches!” And, with that, he staggered across the small room, grabbed the envelope, and waved it above his head. “My dispatches!” he repeated, his voice husky.
“I thought so,” said Bob. “They have been in that old slouch hat, in the locker, ever since we made that dive to get away from the Japs.”
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1
periscope
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| n. 潜望镜 | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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7
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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10
vat
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| n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶 | |
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11
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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12
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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13
dynamite
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| n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破) | |
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14
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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15
complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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frustrate
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| v.使失望；使沮丧；使厌烦 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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19
locker
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| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
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dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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23
rummaging
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的现在分词 )； 海关检查 | |
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24
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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25
ails
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| v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
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26
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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27
chirped
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| 鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 ) | |
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28
lining
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| n.衬里，衬料 | |
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29
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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30
crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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pompously
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| adv.傲慢地，盛大壮观地；大模大样 | |
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