"Yes, that certainly will stir up some feeling," replied Mr. Pollard.
"In fact, it will make it very difficult for you to get along with Owen, for he thinks a lot of that disagreeable, bullying nephew of his.
Yet, Benson, I like you a whole lot better for your honesty."
The inventor was silent for some moments, puffing slowly at a pipe, and then he removed the stem from between his teeth and continued:
"You"ve made a good impression upon me, both of you, and particularly with what you say about giving young fellows and young boats a chance to prove themselves. You talk like youngsters with some experience and some ideas in the matter of machinery. I admire your honesty. I also like what you say about the need Farnum and I will have, in the future, of young men who will understand our boats thoroughly. I don"t know what you can do until we try you out."
He took a few more thoughtful pulls at his pipe and resumed: "See here, you come to the yard at eight o"clock in the morning, ready to do anything that"s wanted of you. I won"t wire, but I"ll write, to-night, to the references you"ve given. If we find you"re not of much use we"ll drop you. If your references don"t turn out to be unusually good, out you go! But, if you make good, you"ll have your chance. It"s just your fighting chance, you understand. I"ll fix the matter with Mr.
Farnum."
"And the foreman?" smiled Jack, wistfully.
Mr. Pollard looked grave as he answered:
"Look out not to invite any trouble with Joshua Owen, and avoid trouble with Jaggers, who works in the boat-fitting crew. I think we can get over the effects of your little trouble this afternoon. And now, boys, give me the addresses of your references, and I"ll write at once."
A few moments later the chums bade the inventor good night, then hurried to their own room, though not to retire at once.
"Well!" demanded Jack Benson, his face radiant, as he thought of their "fighting chance."
"It was the way you put the whole matter to Pollard," replied Hal Hastings. "Jack, you"re a wonder with your tongue. I believe you could talk a hole through a thick board fence."
"We"ve got our chance, anyway. And, oh, Hal! I believe it"s going to be our real chance in life!"
"You"ll soon be as wild about the "Pollard" as the inventor himself,"
laughed Hastings, good-naturedly.
"It isn"t going to be just the one boat, Hal," urged his chum, seriously.
"It"s the whole big problem of submarine warfare. It"s going to be _the_ warfare of the future, old chum! And, starting this early, we may become Pollard"s real experts--his leading men when he"s famous, successful and rich! We may even become his partners, through getting up improvements on his ideas. Hal, boy, we may even put through our own design of submarine boat one of these days."
"It"ll be huge fun, anyway, if we can get a chance to cruise on a submarine boat-under water and all!" glowed young Hastings. "Say, there must be a wonderful thrill to going down deep in the ocean."
Thus they talked for another hour. It was very late when the two turned in, nor did they go to sleep at once. Yet, when the half-past six call came in the morning, both boys turned out in a jiffy. Excitement took the place of rest with them. They breakfasted with appet.i.te.
Shortly after half-past seven, though the yard was so near, Jack and Hal set out for their first day"s work at boat building.
The gate was open, though the yard, as they stepped inside, had a deserted look. The partly finished hulls of two schooners lay on the ways down by the water front. There were half a dozen sloops in various stages of completion. There were two houses, close to the water"s edge in which, as the boys afterwards learned, motor boats were built. But it was a rough shed, more than twenty feet high, and at least one hundred and twenty feet long, running down to the sh.o.r.e, that instantly caught Jack Benson"s glance.
"There"s where they must be putting the "Pollard" in shape," he cried, eagerly, as he pointed. Both youngsters hurried toward that shed. As they reached it the inventor came into sight around the end. He was hollow-eyed, though alert; he looked even more worried than he had looked the night before.
"Ah, good morning, boys," was his greeting. "Early on hand, I see."
"When a fellow"s whole heart is set on a thing, he isn"t likely to lie abed until the last moment, is he, Mr. Pollard?" inquired Benson.
That speech impressed the inventor most favorably. _He_ could appreciate enthusiasm.
"Come inside, and I"ll show you something," he said, producing a key and leading the way to a door in the side of the shed.
Through the long, high windows of the shed an abundance of light fell.
But Jack, once inside the door, halted, looking with lips parted and eyes wide open.
"O-o-o-oh!" he murmured.
"What is it?" inquired the inventor, curiously.
"The very, wonder of the thing," replied Benson, frankly, looking over the whole length of the "Pollard" as she lay propped up on the st.u.r.dy ways.
Nor did that simple speech make the inventor think any less of the boy. Though Hal Hastings remained silent for some time, his fascinated gaze rested steadily on the strange-looking outlines of the cigar-shaped bull of the boat.
The outer hull was of steel plates, carefully riveted into place.
The entire length of the boat was about one hundred and ten feet, which in point of size placed her just about in the cla.s.s of boats of this type which are being constructed to-day.
Near the center of the boat, on the upper side, was the conning tower, about nine feet in outside diameter, and extending some four feet above the sloping deck of the craft. Around the conning tower extended a flat, circular "platform" deck.
At the bow of the boat the torpedo tube projected a short distance. At the stern the rudder was in place, and all was in readiness for placing the propeller shaft and the propeller itself. On the floor of the shed, near the middle of this strange, dangerous boat, lay miscellaneous small pieces of machinery and fittings.
At the starboard side of the boat stood a ladder that ascended to the platform deck. In the top of the conning tower a man-hole cover stood propped up. It was through this opening that the workmen entered or left the boat.
From outside the shed several wires ran in. In dark weather these wires carried the current for electric lights in shed and boat.
"I won"t ask you aboard until the foreman and other workmen arrive,"
explained Mr. Pollard. "It"ll be only a few minutes to wait."
While they were still examining the outer hull, and discussing the submarine, Dan Jaggers, in his workman"s clothes, reached the open doorway of the shed. One look inside, and he halted short. He gathered from the talk he heard that Jack Benson and Hal Hastings were to be added to the "Pollard"s" working gang.
"Not if I know myself--and the foreman--and I think I do!" growled the Jaggers youth, backing away unseen.
The next of the workmen to arrive was Michael O"brien, red-haired and about twenty-eight years of age. He was good-humored and talkative, and the two boys took an immediate liking to him.
Through the gate of the yard came Joshua Owen, a man of forty-five, of medium height, broad-shouldered, black-haired and with a frame that spoke of great physical power and endurance. Yet he had restless, rather evil-looking eyes. He did not look like the sort of man whom a timid fellow would want for an enemy.
"Hold on there, Unc," greeted Dan Jaggers, motioning his foreman-uncle aside. "Say, you know that cheeky young fellow I told ye about--the tricky one that played the sneak on me, and gave me this black eye?"
"Haven"t you met him and paid him back yet?" demanded Mr. Owen.
"Hadn"t seen him again, until just now," complained Dan. "What do you think? Pollard has engaged that feller and his friend to work on the submarine."
"Has, eh? Without speaking to me about it?" demanded Joshua Owen, looking anything but pleased.
"Of course you"ll let Pollard know that you"re foreman and take on and lay off your own gang," hinted Jaggers.
"Now, you leave me alone, Dan, boy, to know what to do," retorted Mr.
Owen. Then he stepped on toward the long shed, a very grim look on his face. Going inside the shed, the foreman looked the two boys over briefly.
"If you young men haven"t any business in here," he ordered, "get out and on your way. Work is about to begin here. I"m the foreman."
"Oh, Mr. Owen," hailed the inventor, "these are two very bright young chaps, with some experience, that I"ve engaged to help us out with installing the machinery in the boat."
"Couldn"t you have consulted me, sir?" asked the foreman, again looking keenly at the youngsters.