The Submarine Boys' Trial Trip / Making Good" as Young Experts"

say that the 'Pollard'

rn

er of the boat-building yard at t

ve minutes of t

ner of the yard, after br

d. In this walk he was accompanied by his son, a handsome, dark-eyed and dark-haired young fellow of nineteen. George Melville, the father, was attired very much as any prosperou

d Mr. Melville, impatiently, as he again glanced at his watch. "I had ho

Farnum, cordially. This builder, a young man in his thirti

e, "things will doubtless be run on a better system. That is, if we

Farnum, with a quick note o

s and myself decide to invest the required several hundred thousand dollars in your business, the firs

mured Jac

nd of my steam yacht, the 'Greyhound,' and my sailing master, Captain Carson, assures me that Don is not only a splendid sailo

. Farnum. "Captain Jack Benson has already done a few th

ellow Benson?" inq

xte

company as I hope to help you organize. Don, too, is quite young, but he has a great deal of capacity and has had a valuable lot of experience. As to a boy

beyond the mouth of the little cove or harbor. As he did so, Mr. Farnum beheld what, at first, looked like a big ripple spreading over the placid wate

cob Farnum, placidly. "Well, there's the 'Pollard,'

from his father, he turned to watch the oncoming craft, which w

t-handling to understand that the submarine was being b

ed Mr. Farnum. "The distance is so short that Captain Benson

n nimbly stepped. As he took the wheel in the open, the craft glided on with hardly perceptible motion to a mooring buoy a few yards distant. Out hopped another boy, in dark blue naval uniform and visored c

ckle all f

o, sprang out through the manhole. Hal Hastings, who had remained

d crew!" shouted Jacob Farnum

st perceptibly. Jacob Farnum frowned slightly, as he turned his face away. It would not do to offend George Melville without cause, for that

num, shouting between his hands, across the w

r!" Captain J

panions. "Benson was all but born aboard a boat, and he's a genuine old maid for havin

o the water's edge. They seated themselves at the oars of a lar

ngside of the 'Pollard,'"

Farnum, the boat's builder and financial backer. Readers of the first volume also remember how Eph Somers appeared unexpectedly on the scene, and just how he coolly put himself into the submarine picture, securing his place aboard that wonderful craft. Those who read the first volume are familiar with the way in which the boys met and vanquished the savage hostility of Josh Owen and Dan Jaggers; they remember the desperate battle, in the ocean's depths, with the cr

their ambitions and their hopes. Convinced that he could, by the use of sufficient energy and capital, equip a larger yard and sell the United States Government a solid, efficient fleet of submarine torpedo boats that w

as George Melville's habit to acquire control, gradually, of any business in which he invested heavily. He had wonderful skill in that line of conduct, and combined much tact with it. Mr

rm deck, looking about him, he began to picture himself as selling

and handle a vessel through rough weather?"

cream of our seafaring men to travel in such craft, anyway. Such men can

des guessed that George Melville was one of the capital

n, use your eyes to good advantage. You may ha

ain Jack helped the builder in explaining the general working details of the

sting," said Mr. Melv

deck a few minutes. Don

re is still much th

The boys of the submari

o be alone with his gue

sort of thing, Benson

n?" asked Captain Jack, brightly.

gh he never made the weight of his authority felt by his two comrades, who, indeed, virtually shared in the command. Captain Benson was especially proud and grateful

n to be seen that he looked upon these daring, tried and proven youngsters as being decidedly his infer

the little door of a c

some of the delicate

of which the compress

any other type o

ce is locked,"

dded Capt

ave th

belie

unlock this little doo

n Jack, quickly, yet politely. "It wou

Don shot at

Because-well, behind that little door are a few mechanisms th

manded Don, coldly, trying to disconcert the you

nt tone. "But the order should come from Mr. Farnum. He's right overhead.

concert the young captain with a stare of cold insol

glad to be enlightened

are

ut a big amount of capital into this ent

es," nodded Jack Benson, wi

pursued Don, "the whole bus

magine so,"

t reorganization, I'm

ny other boats that

oment, as though he had been stabbed to the heart. Hal Hastings gave a little, barely percep

on Melville. "Of course, I shall select my own helpers and crews. If you three are really competent, and show sufficient respect for authority ove

. He was so dazed, so tormented, that, for the moment,

Melville, briskly. "We

ur further studies ab

airway leading up through the conning tower. He spoke with a trace more of cordiality as he start

and on it. His eyes were turned toward the floor, his chest heav

all around like cattle?" burst from Eph Som

al Hastings, savagely. "

y

ied Captain Jack, raisi