"
"Then how did you get here?" demanded the capitalist.
"Pardon me, sir," replied Jack, courteously, though firmly.
"Do you refuse to answer my question, boy?"
Again the irritating, half-contemptuous use of "boy" made Jack's cheeks
flush, though he answered merely:
"I think, sir, Mr. Farnum has a right to the first information."
"Do you understand, boy, that I am about to take a large interest in this
business?"
"I have heard so, sir. But I hope you won't mind my saying that this
little surprise was thought out by my comrades and myself. It seems to
me, therefore, that we have some rights in the disclosing of the secret."
"Humph!" broke in Don Melville. "It's all some deception--some cheap
trick, anyway."
Captain Jack held up one hand to signal the shore boat, which, with two
workmen in it, was hovering near. As the boat came in, the submarine
boy announced:
"Now, I will show you the rest of the principle that my mates and I are
demonstrating. Mr. Farnum, by the way, has just spoken of the humane
side of this discovery, the making possible the rescue of a crew of a
boat that can't be made to rise. Gentlemen, there's still another side
to it. Under actual war conditions, with a submarine boat guarding a
coast or harbor entrance, if the commander of the boat brought the
conning tower above the surface, the presence of the boat would be
detected on a clear day.
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