"Yes," nodded the young officer up there.
So that came aboard, too, almost in a jiffy.
Eph, with a very wide grin on his face, stood regarding the sailors who
had curiously gathered around him.
"Where are you from?" asked one of the seamen.
"Just in from the salt water," Eph assured him.
"Let the boy alone, men," warned the officer on the bridge. "I'll have
the guard take care of him for the night. In the morning I'll report
the case to the captain. But bring the boy up here for a moment."
Two sailors thereupon escorted Eph to the bridge. The officer in charge
looked him over curiously.
"Now, young man," began the young officer, "have you anything to tell me
about yourself!"
"Yes," volunteered Eph.
"Go ahead."
"I'm wet."
"Boy, you're in the wrong place to try to get funny," came the stern
rebuke. "I guess I know what you need."
Just at that instant the sounds of a decided though indistinct commotion
came from aft.
"Then shake," begged Eph, offering his hand. "I know, too, what you
need."
"What is it that you think I need?" demanded the officer, suspiciously,
eyeing the boy closely.
"You need to get wise," declared Somers, promptly. Then, noting that
the sounds from aft had caught the officer's quick ear, the submarine
boy added, with another grin:
"By the time you've found out the meaning of the rumpus aft you'll know
a lot more.
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