Admiral Craddock's ships, so it's a safe bet they'll run into the
Atlantic now and raid the Falkland Islands--by the way, a British
possession. They will hope to find coal and stores there, which, with
the cargo of the _Narcissus,_ will enable them to continue raiding.

"Of course they will try to accomplish this before England sends a
fleet to avenge Craddock--and I'm hoping the Germans will succeed,
for, if they do, they will surely be decent enough to run our
_Narcissus_ into some South American port and give us an opportunity
to get her back again. On the other hand, if the Germans delay their
departure from the Pacific, the British will surely get wind of the
_Narcissus_ waiting at Montevideo; and when she comes out they'll just
naturally grab her."

"I guess you're right," Cappy replied gloomily; "so for the present
we're pro-German. Still, I find that a hard dose to swallow, in view
of the fact that our German crew in the _Narcissus_ has evidently
taken the vessel away from Mike Murphy."

"I am sure they have done just that, sir; otherwise Mike would have
obeyed our orders. We know he received the orders; hence the only
reason he did not carry them out was because he wasn't permitted to do
so. My only hope is that they haven't killed him, for if he is alive
and free, he and Reardon, with the assistance of the cockney steward
and the two Chinese cooks, might--"

"Might what?"

"Might steal her back again."