"Oh, I don't imagine anything can have happened to it--so soon," said
Blake. "At the same time, we will be careful. Now we must remember that
we may be altogether wrong in thinking this Frenchman is working against
us in the interests of our rivals, Sim and Schloss. In fact, I don't
believe that firm cares much about the contract we have, though they
have tried to cut in under us on other matters. So we must meet
Lieutenant Secor halfway if he makes any advances. It isn't fair to
misjudge him."

"I suppose so," agreed Joe. "Yet we must be on our guard against him.
I'm not going to give him any information about what we are going across
to do."

"That's right," assented Blake. "Don't talk too much to
anybody--especially strangers. We'll be decent to this chap, but he is
no longer a guest of our nation, and we don't have to go out of our way
to be polite. Just be decent, that's all--and on the watch."

"I'm with you," said Joe, as Macaroni came back to say that all was well
in their cabin where they had left most of their personal possessions.
The cameras and the reels of unexposed film were in the hold with their
heavy baggage, but they had kept with them a small camera and some film
for use in emergencies.

"For we might sight a submarine," Joe had said. "And if I get a chance,
I'm going to film a torpedo."

By this time the vessel was down in the Narrows, with the frowning forts
on either side, and as they passed these harbor defenses Lieutenant
Secor crossed the deck and nodded to the boys.