“No other explanation?”

“No.”

“Funny,” commented Frank.  “Must be something up, though.”

“So it would seem.  However, I guess we’ll learn soon enough.  Hope they are not going to deprive me of my command.”

“No fear, I guess,” declared Frank.

The return trip was made in record time and without incident.  Jack saw the victims of the Hazelton landed safely and then, turning the ship over to Lieutenant Hetherton, went ashore with Frank to report to Lord Hastings.

The latter greeted them with a wry smile.

“It seems that my warning to America is not to be delivered after all,” he said.

“And why, sir?” asked Jack.  “Are you not still convinced that the warning is necessary?”

“I am,” declared Lord Hastings, “but, as I told you, I was sending the warning without knowledge of the Admiralty.  Naturally, then, when it was announced that the Brigadier was to be recalled to take part in other operations, I could not announce that you carried secret dispatches from me.”

“I see,” said Jack.  “And what is the nature of the other operation?”

“It is a desperate undertaking,” said Lord Hastings slowly, “and one that, at first, I was tempted to advise against.  And still, if successful it will do much toward insuring an allied victory.”

“Since when have you become so cautious, sir?” asked Frank with a smile.

“It’s not a matter of caution, Frank,” replied Lord Hastings.  “It’s simply a matter of prudence.  In a word, the Admiralty is determined to block the harbors of Ostend and Zeebrugge.”

Frank was on his feet and clapping his hands.

“Fine!” he exclaimed.  “I don’t see why it hasn’t been done sooner.  I remember what Hobson did to the Spanish fleet at Santiago in the Spanish-American war.”

“It’s an exploit of the same nature,” Lord Hastings admitted, “though it will be attended with even greater danger.  If successful, as I say, it will do inestimable good.  The admiralty has been training specially for this move for months, but the matter has now come to a head.”

“And how does it happen that we shall be fortunate enough to lend a hand?” asked Jack.

“My fault, I suppose,” returned Lord Hastings.  “Admiral Keyes, the day after your departure, was bemoaning the fact that one ship had been taken away from him at the last moment.  I said that if Captain Templeton and the Brigadier were here, you could easily replace the other vessel.  The admiral was of the opinion that you had not had the necessary training.  I said you didn’t need it.  Apparently he was convinced, for the next I heard you had been recalled to Dover.  Thus, through talking too much, I balked my own plans.”

“Perhaps,” said Frank, “it won’t be too late for the other when the harbors of Ostend and Zeebrugge have been sealed.”

“But perhaps you won’t come back,” said Lord Hastings.