On entering the outer office the two found the bookkeeper and the stenographer.
"Mr. Partridge is in the inner office with two men, Mr. Pollard," said the stenographer. "If you need me, I shall be right here."
Mr. Partridge was sitting at Mr. Farnum"s unopened desk when the man and the boy entered. Mr. Melville and a man Jack soon learned was a lawyer were sitting facing him. Mr. Partridge rose and gave his chair to Mr. Pollard.
"Mr. Melville insisted on seeing me, Mr. Pollard, and I thought best to send for you," said the superintendent.
Without greeting the financier snapped out:
"Where is Farnum, Pollard?"
"Why do you wish to know?"
"I have a claim against him on an overdue bill."
"I didn"t know that Mr. Farnum had any dealings with you," was the quiet reply.
"I bought this bill of Riley and Grannan for electrical supplies only recently. It is for a trifle over ten thousand dollars."
"Surely you believe Mr. Farnum is good for that amount?" queried the inventor softly.
"I"m sorry to say that I do not."
"Then why on earth did you buy the bill?"
The capitalist flushed, but said frankly:
"I expect before the day is over to be the owner of other claims against this business."
"In order to wreck us and take the business?"
"Wreck you? Yes. That is good business. But, Mr. Pollard, we will make it well worth your while to stay with the new owners." He was well aware that the inventor might be on the verge of new inventions that would outdate the "Pollard," and he wanted to keep anything new for himself.
"Nothing would induce me to stay on if Mr. Farnum were forced out, Mr.
Melville."
"What"s that? Forced out?"
The voice came from the doorway, the door having been noiselessly opened, and Jacob Farnum stood at the entrance.
Melville and the lawyer turned in their seats and the others sprang to their feet.
"Oh, it"s you, is it, Melville? What can I do for you?" asked the boatbuilder.
"You can settle for this claim, Farnum," and the capitalist held out the paper.
"Very well. I will write you a check at once. The banks are closed for the day now, but I will deposit the money the first thing in the morning.
Until I do that, I have not enough in bank to cover this," and he looked at the paper. "By the way," and he turned to his employees and to the inventor, ignoring the two outsiders, "the Navy Department has accepted the "Pollard." I"ve sold her for one hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars. Have you any more a.s.signed claims against me, Mr. Melville?"
he drawled, again facing the capitalist.
"No," snapped the man. He had paid a thousand dollar bonus to get the one he had; and was feeling sick over the outcome.
Just then the door opened and the stenographer showed Broughton Emerson into the room.
"I see you answered my telegram in person, Mr. Emerson," said Farnum, rising from the chair he had taken and shaking hands.
"Yes, I came in person, and quite prepared to furnish the capital you need after the preliminaries are arranged."
George Melville rose and after a brief nod of farewell made for the door, followed by his lawyer. Jack opened the door quietly, then shut it just as softly.
Broughton Emerson invested heavily in Mr. Farnum"s yard and the business was incorporated, Mr. Farnum and Mr. Pollard retaining control. The owners praised highly the three boys for the way they had handled the "Pollard" on its trial trip, saying that this was a factor in the Navy"s acceptance of the submarine. They also gave the three boys one thousand dollars each and ten shares apiece in the new corporation.
George Melville had spent more than thirty thousand dollars in trying to get hold of Mr. Farnum"s business. This, of course, was a total loss.
Soon after this, in trying to get control of a railroad by his underhand methods, he lost all of his fortune and had to accept a small clerkship in order to make a living. Don, at the same time, became steward on the yacht of one of his father"s old-time acquaintances.
Jacob Farnum had been in Washington, a fact his wife had known after the first day of his absence. He had been secretive about the matter, as he wished if possible to keep George Melville in ignorance of his whereabouts until his business was settled.
Not even with the transfer of the "Pollard" to the Government did the life of the submarine boys aboard their pet boat cease. Some further adventures of these boys are told of in a volume ent.i.tled: "_The Submarine Boys and the Middies; or, The Prize Detail at Annapolis_."