"Why, your boy crew is your strong point," laughed Captain Carew.
"You"re building a type of submarine so simple that any child can handle it above or below water."
All present joined in the laugh at this sally, but Mr. Farnum took it in good part declaring:
"That is just the idea, Captain Carew. We have the simplest, most effective submarine boat that it is possible to build."
All of the visitors were inclined to take this view, from an inspection of the simple running methods of the boat. Of course, none of the visitors had seen the "Pollard" dive or run beneath the surface, but they were willing to accept the statements of builder and inventor.
One naval officer, however, was sceptical on the whole subject of submarine torpedo boats. That gentleman was Lieutenant McCrea, of the huge battleship "Luzon."
"Of course," remarked Lieutenant MeCrea, "there"s a whole lot of good theory about what submarine torpedo boats can do. In different naval evolutions, I admit, the submarines have made an excellent theoretical showing. As far as can be determined in peaceful evolutions it looks as though the submarine might really be a source of great danger to a hostile battleship.
"But, in actual war, conditions are different from anything that can be planned during mere evolutions. In war time the nerves of both officers and men are more keenly attuned. So, in actual war, I think it very doubtful whether a submarine could succeed in getting up close to a big battleship, unseen, and delivering the mortal blow."
That started a good deal of lively discussion. A few of the Navy officers present favored Lieutenant McCrea"s view. More, however, were inclined to the belief that, as time went on, the more and more perfected submarine torpedo boat would become a greater and greater danger to the battleship, very likely in the end driving the battleship from the navies of the world.
"Humph!" muttered Lieutenant McCrea. "Lying here in the bay I am willing to admit that a submarine can sail under the hull of the vessel I"m stationed on. But I"d like to see the submarine that could creep up alongside, showing ever so little of itself, even on the darkest night, without being detected."
"You think, sir," interposed Captain Jack, quietly, "that, if you were in command of the deck at the time, you"d detect any submarine boat that showed any portion of itself above the water?"
"Think?" retorted Lieutenant McCrea, with warmth. "No; I don"t think anything of the sort. I"d detect any such trick in time to turn a rapid fire gun loose on the venturesome submarine!"
"Every time, sir?" asked Jack, calmly.
"Every time!" retorted the lieutenant, with emphasis.
Young Benson was wise enough not to attempt to take too much of a part in the conversation with so many experienced naval officers present.
Yet he remained, listening, for the talk was highly instructive.
"I"ll have to go up and signal for my boat," declared Lieutenant McCrea, rising, at last. "I want a bit of sleep, for I"m watch officer on the "Luzon" to-night, from dog watch to midnight."
After the lieutenant had gone, Captain Jack suddenly rose, hastening to the platform deck, where Hal Hastings stood on watch.
"What"s the matter?" demanded Hal, looking keenly at his chum.
"Why?"
"Why, your face is nearly all one broad grin."
"Oh, I"m thinking a bit," Jack answered, evasively.
"Happy thoughts, then," mocked Hastings, amiably. "I can tell by the grinful look of your face."
"Yes, it"s something lively that I"m thinking about," laughed young Benson.
Over the supper table, that evening, Captain Jack announced the scheme that had entered his mind while listening to Lieutenant McCrea.
Jacob Farnum listened, at first, somewhat thunderstruck. Then, of a sudden, he laid down his knife and fork, bursting into a roar of laughter.
"It sounds like a fearfully cheeky thing to do, I know," confessed the young captain.
"It surely is," confirmed David Pollard, nervously.
"Yet," pursued young Benson, "if the trick should succeed, how it would take the conceit out of some people who don"t believe in submarines."
"Wouldn"t it?" rejoined Mr. Farnum, his eyes twinkling with merriment.
"Yet you don"t intend to try it, do you?" asked the inventor.
"I don"t know," confessed Mr. Farnum. "But I"ll admit this much--I"m certainly thinking hard over the scheme that Captain Benson has proposed."
"It would be unfortunate if we did the thing, and only succeeded in offending the officers of the Navy," pursued the inventor, an extremely thoughtful look on his pallid, thin face.
"Oh, of course, as far as the mere expense goes, I"d pay the bill for the trick," Farnum went on. "To tell the truth. Dave, the point I"m considering most now is, whether we can really successfully play the trick that Captain Benson has sprung on us."
"I believe we can; don"t believe there"ll be any difficulty whatever,"
declared the young captain, his eyes glowing.
"Well, I"m going to think it over a while," announced the builder, as he finished his meal.
He went directly up to the platform deck, seating himself on a folding chair. From the loud chuckles that came, from time to time, from the platform deck, it was plain that the boatbuilder had had his sense of humor mightily tickled.
Presently, the hail came:
"Benson, come up here, won"t you?"
As Jack reported to the builder Farnum stood looking across the bay.
"Captain, how are we going to get at the exact distance between our boat and the "Luzon"?"
"It"s a question of mathematics, isn"t it?" asked Jack, slowly. "Mr.
Pollard is the expert in that line, isn"t he?"
"Oh, I say, Dave," bawled the builder down the stairway. "Come up here, won"t you? Now, how far is it from our moorings to those of the "Luzon"?"
There being still enough daylight for the purpose, Mr. Pollard brought up a small transit. Measuring a base-line on the deck of the submarine, he took two observations, then went below to do some rapid figuring.
"Exactly 1,142 feet, from mooring to mooring," he called up through the manhole, presently.
"If you"ve got the distance down as fine as that," laughed back Mr.
Farnum, "good enough!"
"Are you going to try to play Benson"s trick, then?" asked the inventor, reappearing on deck.
"I"m inclined to think," replied the boatbuilder, "that I am. It seems like too good a thing to miss."
On board the "Pollard" the cabin lights burned late that evening. Once the plan invented by Captain Jack was explained to the others all hands turned to, in great glee, to make preparations.