our being cooped up in Bensersiel to take further stock of us. What
had passed hitherto? Nothing much. Von Brüning had greeted Davies
with cordial surprise, and said he had wondered yesterday if it was
the Dulcibella that he had seen anchored behind Langeoog. Davies had
explained that we had left the Baltic and were on our way home;
taking the shelter of the islands.

'Supposing he comes on board and asks to see our log?' I said.

'Pull it out,' said Davies, 'It's rot, this hiding, after all. I say.
I rather funk this interview; what are we to say? It's not in my
line.'

We resolved abruptly on an important change of plan, replaced the log
and charts in the rack as the first logical step. They contained
nothing but bearings, courses, and the bare data of navigation. To
Davies they were hard-won secrets of vital import, to be lied for,
however hard and distasteful lying was. I was cooler as to their
value, but in any case the same thing was now in both our minds.
There would be great difficulties in the coming interview if we tried
to be too clever and conceal the fact that we had been exploring. We
did not know how much von Brüning knew. When had our surveillance by
the Kormoran begun? Apparently at Wangeroog, but possibly in the
estuaries, where we had not tired a shot at duck. Perhaps he knew
even more--Dollmann's treachery, Davies's escape, and our subsequent
movements--we could not tell. On the other hand, exploration was
known to be a fad of Davies's, and in September he had made no secret
of it.

It was safer to be consistent now. After breakfast we determined to