Then he picked up the book.

“A nice little assortment of notes on matters of military interest along this coast,” muttered the soldier.  “Your long-legged fellow has been busy at other points than Craven’s Bay.”

Then, closing the book with a snap, Major Woodruff looked keenly at the submarine boy as he remarked: 

“Mr. Benson, I think our present submarine tests can be well suspended.  We have a much more important task ahead of us—­to catch this impudent thief of military secrets!  And, in this undertaking, Benson, you can be of the greatest sort of help!”

CHAPTER V

SIGHTING THE ENEMY

“You can count on me, sir,” declared Captain Jack Benson, eagerly.

“I can count on every one of you submarine boys, can’t I?” asked Major Woodruff, thoughtfully.

“You can count on us,” declared Benson, earnestly, “as though every one of us were sworn into the service and had a record of being tried and tested!”

In an instant after speaking the submarine boy realized that this must have had a boastful sound.  So he added, quickly: 

“Please don’t suspect me, Major, of being a braggart.  But Hal, Eph and I have always taken our work with seriousness.  We have always acted just as though the Flag depended upon us for its protection.  We have the desire, every minute of our lives, to be great Americans—­that is, great in our devotion to the Flag, even if we cannot be great in deeds.”

“By Jove, I believe you!” cried Major Woodruff, reaching forward and clasping Jack’s hand tightly in his own.

The major went on heartily: 

“No, no, Benson, I don’t consider you boastful.  You’re talking the way I heard some youngsters talk when I was a boy.  It’s refreshing and encouraging to hear you talk that way.  Do you know, boy, when we older fellows sometimes get to thinking of the country’s past glories, we wonder whether the boys of to-day are going to make such men as have carried the United States of America forward in the past?  The thought makes us solemn and anxious.  I suppose every man who is grown and on toward middle life has always, in every generation, wondered whether boys were as serious and dependable, as staunch and loyal as the boys of the day before yesterday.  Look here, lad!”

Major Woodruff rose, stepping to the door aft and throwing it open.  The stern of the tug was visible.  From the pole that slanted out over the stern, hung the Stars and Stripes.

“You don’t need to glance at that fine old bit of bunting more than a second, lad,” continued the major, “before you feel all that it can ever make you feel.  In your case, I believe the sight of the Flag is always an inspiration to you.  I pray it is so with every boy who grows up in this country.  But is it?”

Standing there before the Flag, Jack quietly doffed his cap.