“Shoot the first head you see down there,” Frank enjoined the men he left on guard, and he knew they would be only too glad to obey this order.

Jack, with a smile still on his face, permitted the German commander to waste his energy in ineffective blows.  Then Jack stepped forward and delivered a heavy blow to the man’s mouth.  The German staggered back.  Jack doubled him up with a left-handed punch to the pit of the stomach, then straightened him with a second hard right to the point of the chin.

The German commander reeled backward.  Jack followed up his advantage, and for the space of a minute played a tattoo on the man’s face with both fists.  Then he stepped back, and as the German came toward him, the lad muttered: 

“I guess this has gone far enough.  Now for the finish.”

He started a blow almost from the deck, and putting his full force behind it, struck.

“Crack!”

The blow could be heard even aboard the Ventura, which had approached close by this time.

The German commander seemed to stagger back all of ten paces, the British sailors scurrying back to keep out of his way.  Then the man fell, his head striking the deck with a sickening thud.

“There,” said Jack, “I guess that will settle you.  Tie him up, men.”

A wild cheer had burst from the sailors as Jack delivered the finishing touch.  None of these men had ever seen Jack in action before, and it was only natural that they should be greatly impressed at this exhibition of their commander’s prowess.

“By glory!  What a blow!” one of them exclaimed.  “Did you see it, Tom?”

“Did I?” exclaimed the man addressed as Tom; “did I?  I’ll say I did, and I thought I was pretty handy with my fists.  But not against Captain Jack, not for me.”

As bidden by Jack, the sailors rolled the German commander over and bound him.  Then they carried him to the Essex’s launch and threw him in, none too gently, either, for there was no man there who had not a disgust for Germans, German tactics and everything German.

“Now,” said Frank to Jack, “I guess we may as well stand clear and let the Essex pour a few shells into the vessel, eh?”

Jack shook his head.

“No,” he said, “we shall take possession of the vessel.  Call down below and see if the Germans will surrender.”

Frank approached the conning tower and called down.

“Hello!” he shouted.

There was no response.

“Hello below!” he shouted again in German.

“What do you want?” came a sullen voice from below.

“We’re in possession of this vessel now,” said Frank.  “Come up here and surrender.”

“We’ll stay where we are,” came the reply after a brief pause.

“But you can’t man,” exclaimed Frank.  “Don’t you know when you have been captured.”

“We’ll stay here awhile,” said the spokesman of the sailors.