"This is thirty feet lower than any
submarine record I've ever heard of."
"I--perhaps it would be wiser for me not to say," replied Commander
Ennerling. "It may be as well for me to wait and compare this record
with those on file at the Navy Department."
"Have you had all you want of this, gentlemen?" inquired the boatbuilder.
"Shall we show you anything else?"
"Yes; you might give us a run at full speed under water, at the lowest
depth that you deem it wise to try to run the craft," answered the
president of the board.
"Very good," nodded the builder. Hal took this as the signal to leap
back into the motor room.
"How far below the surface would _you_ dare run the 'Pollard,' Captain
Benson?" inquired Commander Ennerling.
"At the greatest depth we can go, the present depth," quietly answered
Jack, without bravado.
The president of the board glanced at the builder of the submarine.
"Does that appeal to you, Mr. Farnum?"
"I'll let Captain Benson have his own way, unless the members of the
board have other instructions," replied Jacob Farnum, promptly.
"Well, Captain Benson, if you deem it wise to work your propellers at
their best at the present level, go ahead and try it," laughed the
president of the board.
"Half speed ahead, Hal," called the young submarine captain. "Full
speed as soon as you get well started. Eph, swing around and go due
west.
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