E-text prepared by Jim Ludwig
Note: This is book three of eight of the Submarine Boys Series.
The Prize Detail at Annapolis
by
1909
CHAPTERS
I. The Prize Detail
II. How Eph Flirted with Science
III. "You May as Well Leave the Bridge"
IV. Mr. Farnum Offers Another Guess
V. Truax Shows the Sulks
VI. Two Kinds of VooDoo
VII. Jack Finds Something "New," All Right
VIII. A Young Captain in Tatters
IX. Truax Gives a Hint
X. A Squint at the Camelroorelephant
XI. But Something Happened!
XII. Jack Benson, Expert Explainer
XIII. Ready for the Sea Cruise
XIV. The "Pollard" Goes Lame
XV. Another Turn at Hard Luck
XVI. Braving Nothing But a Sneak
XVII. The Evil Genius of the Water Front
XVIII. Held Up by Marines
XIX. The Lieutenant Commander's Verdict
XX. Coming Up in a tight Place
XXI. "No More Men Go Overboard!"
XXII. Jack Signals the "Sawbones"
XXIII. What Befell the Man in the Brig
XXIV. Conclusion
"The United States Government doesn't appear very anxious to claim itsproperty, does it, sir?" asked Captain Jack Benson.
The speaker was a boy of sixteen, attired in a uniform much after thepattern commonly worn by yacht captains. The insignia of naval rankwere conspicuously absent.
"Now, that I've had the good luck to sell the 'Pollard' to the Navy,"responded Jacob Farnum, principal owner of the shipbuilding yard, "I'mnot disposed to grumble if the Government prefers to store its propertyhere for a while."
Yet the young shipbuilder—he was a man in his early thirties, who hadinherited this shipbuilding business from his father—allowed his eyesto twinkle in a way that suggested there was something else behind hiswords.
Jack Benson saw that twinkle, but he did not ask questions. If theshipbuilder knew more than he was prepared to tell, it was not for hisyoung captain to ask for information that was not volunteered.
The second boy present, also in uniform, Hal Hastings by name, had notspoken in five minutes. That was like Hal. He was the engineer of thesubmarine torpedo boat, "Pollard." Jack was captain of the same craft,and could do all the talking.
Jacob Farnum sat back, sideways, at his rolltop desk. On top of thedesk lay stacked a voluminous though neat pile of papers, letters,telegrams and memoranda that some rival builders of submarine torpedoboats might have been willing to pay much for the privilege of examining.For, at the present moment, there was fierce competition in the airbetween rival American builders of submarine fighting craft designedfor the United States Navy. Even foreign builders and inventors wereclamoring for recognition. Yet just now the reorganized PollardSubmarine Boat Company stood at the top of the line. It had made thelast sale to the United States Navy Department.
At this moment, out in the little harbor that was a part of the shipyard,the "Pollard" rode gently at anchor. She was the first submarinetorpedo boat built at this yard, after the designs of David Pollard,the inventor, a close personal friend of Jacob Farnum.
Moreover, the second boat, named the "Farnum," had just