"Couldn"t we offer the boys a bigger interest with us?" suggested Radwin, as he peered through the palms at the other submarine group.
"No!" retorted Rhinds, sharply. "I know about that crowd. You don"t.
Listen to me."
"I"m listening," said Fred Radwin.
"We"ve got to make the acquaintance of that whole crowd, Fred. We"ve got to get personally acquainted with them all. That will be easy enough, I think. Then we"ve got to lay our plans. The Pollard boats must have no show whatever in the coming tests, do you understand?
Their craft must balk, or behave badly. We must destroy all naval confidence in Pollard boats. Then we must engineer matters so that none of that crowd will be fit to find out what ails their boats--in time, anyway. The easiest point of attack will be the boys themselves.
It is absolutely necessary to get them out of the game some way or other--I don"t care what! Radwin, you"re fertile enough in ideas, and reckless enough in deeds. This is to be your task--put the Pollard boats and those submarine boys wholly out of the running! First of all, we"ll get acquainted with them. Come along!"
The Farnum party were just turning away, to follow a bell-boy to the rooms a.s.signed to them upstairs, when John C. Rhinds, his face beaming craftily, approached them, followed by Radwin. Rhinds introduced himself to Farnum, then presented Radwin as secretary to the Rhinds Company.
"We"re rivals in a way, of course," declared Mr. Rhinds. "But we want to be good-natured, friendly rivals, my dear Farnum. We hope to see a good deal of you all while here."
Jacob Farnum replied with equal cordiality. When it came Jack Benson"s turn to be introduced, Rhinds seized him by the hand, patting his shoulder.
"Captain Benson?" he repeated. "The brainiest young man in America--with two chums who run him a close race. We must all dine together to-night," purred this Judas of the submarine boat world.
CHAPTER VII
EPH SOMERS PLAYS GALLANT
"I don"t know when I"ve enjoyed myself as much," exclaimed Rhinds, looking round beamingly over the dinner party in one corner of the dining room.
Lieutenant Danvers was not there, having pleaded another engagement. But Rhinds and his lieutenant, Radwin, Messrs. Farnum and Pollard and all three of the submarine boys were around the big table. Radwin had succeeded in seating himself between Jack and Hal.
The dinner had been a fine one. Only one hitch had occurred; that was when Mr. Rhinds, at the beginning of the meal, had tried to order several bottles of wine.
"Just a moment, Mr. Rhinds," Farnum broke in. "None of the wine for us, thank you."
"Oh, then, some lighter kind of wine," proposed Mr. Rhinds, anxiously.
"Something good, in which we can all pledge one another."
"None of that stuff, according to our way of thinking, is any good,"
replied Farnum, with a good-natured smile.
"Well, perhaps not for the boys," conceded the host of this dinner. "But for the rest of us, as business men ready to cement a friendship."
"Alcohol isn"t cement," replied Mr. Farnum, mildly. "At least, not with our party. The time was, I admit, Mr. Rhinds, when business men often tried to cement a business friendship with wine or liquor. But those times have gone by. Drinking is out of date, nowadays. The keenest and most dependable business men are those who do not drink. In fact, I may go a little further, and say that, in our business at Dunhaven, we have come to the point where we no longer have any dealings with business men whom we know to drink. You will understand, of course, that this is said without criticism of whatever views you yourself may entertain."
"Oh, well, then," grunted Rhinds, much taken back by the fairly spoken words of his rival. "I dare say there was too much drinking in the old days. Yes, Farnum, I am much inclined to agree with you, and we will do without the wine."
None the less, it was plain that their host was much annoyed.
"I want to get at the members of the naval board," declared Mr. Farnum, toward the end of the meal. "I want to find out what is planned in the tests that are to take place here."
"The members of the board," replied Mr. Rhinds, "are the three men, in citizen dress, who are at the sixth table down from here. They came into their dinner about ten minutes ago. As to to-morrow, I can tell you that, beginning at eleven o"clock, all the submarine boats entered are to take a straight, out-to-sea speed sail for six hours. The gunboat, "Chelsea" will start the fleet, and the "Oakland" will go along with the racers."
"That"s short time for us," muttered Mr. Farnum, uneasily.
"Luckily, sir, we"re ready, at a single moment"s notice," interposed Captain Jack Benson.
"As soon as we get through," proposed Mr. Rhinds, easily, "I"ll take you over and present you to Captain Magowan and his a.s.sociates on the board."
"That is kind of you," nodded Mr. Farnum, gratefully.
Accordingly, a few minutes later, Mr. Rhinds arose, sauntering, cigar in mouth, over to the table of the officers of the naval board. He spoke with them a few moments, then returned.
"Mr. Farnum, and Mr Pollard," announced Rhinds, "Captain Magowan and his a.s.sociates invite you to come over and sit at their table. Radwin, will you look after our young friends? See whether you can show them any courtesies."
A highly significant look pa.s.sed between the portly rascal and his secretary. None of the Farnum party, however, noted it.
"Well, what shall we do, boys?" inquired Radwin, genially, as, the four sauntered down the lobby toward the hotel entrance.
"I reckon taking things easily and restfully will suit us as well as anything," smiled Jack. "That is, unless you have some plan you particularly wish to suggest."
"Well," continued Radwin, thoughtfully, "the town is rather full of sailors, just at present, and they"re making the nights lively in some sections. Do you care to go around with me, and see what the sailors are doing to drive dull care away?"
"Well, that is a question," said Jack Benson quickly. "We"re boys, you know!"
"Sensible young fellows," cried Fred Radwin, in a tone so full of approval as to disarm all suspicion. "Then, for a while, what do you say if we take window seats here near the entrance, and note whatever may be pa.s.sing on the street? By that time your employers may be through with the board members and come out."
"Why not go outside in the air, and walk up and down the block?"
suggested Jack.
"Excellent!" agreed Radwin, readily. He accompanied them outside, though, a few moments later, he excused himself, saying that he had to go to the nearest drugstore to write a short letter and post it.
"What do you think of Radwin?" Hal asked.
"Why, I guess he"s a good deal the sort of fellow that Rhinds wants,"
Captain Jack answered, slowly.
"Don"t you like Rhinds?" demanded Eph.
"Now, would it be just right to say that?" asked Jack, slowly. "Mr.
Rhinds has tried to be very pleasant to us to-night. So has Mr. Radwin.
Probably they"re both good fellows, in their own way. Only--"
"Well?" insisted Hal.
"Why, to tell the truth," confessed Captain Benson, "Rhinds impresses me as being just a bit coa.r.s.e, and Radwin a little too smooth and slick.
To put it another way, they"re not just our kind of people. That is, they"re not at all in the same cla.s.s with gentlemen like Jake Farnum and Dave Pollard. Now, that"s every word I"m going to say against Rhinds or Radwin, for they"ve certainly been agreeable to us to-night."
Chatting thus, as they strolled slowly back and forth, none of the submarine boys noted how long Radwin was gone. As a matter of fact, that enterprising, rapidly-moving young man was away for nearly half an hour--and he was tremendously busy on their account.