THE LIEUTENANT COMMANDER'S VERDICT
"Let me try to get at your meaning, sir, if you please," begged Somers,
after standing for a few seconds with clenched fists. "Do you mean that
my friends have been going into tough resorts on shore?"
"Where else do sailors usually get drugged?" inquired Mr. Mayhew. "What
kind of people usually feed sea-faring men with what are generally known
as knock-out drops?"
"How should I know?" demanded Eph, solemnly.
"You see your friends, and you see their condition."
"Smell their breaths, sir. There isn't a trace of the odor of liquor."
The surgeon did so, confirming Eph's claim. "But I remember that Mr.
Benson came aboard, at Dunhaven, with a very strong odor of liquor,"
continued the lieutenant commander.
"That had been sprinkled on his clothes, sir," argued Somers.
"Perhaps. But then there was the Annapolis affair."
"Mr. Benson explained that to you, sir."
"It's very strange," returned the lieutenant commander, "that such
things seem to happen generally to Mr. Benson when he gets on shore.
I know I have been ashore, in all parts of the world, without having
such things happen to me."
"There is something behind this, sir, that doesn't spell bad conduct on
the part of either of my friends," cried Eph, hotly. "There's some
plot, some trick in the whole thing that we don't understand. And we
might understand much more about it, sir, if your midshipman had
arrested that pair of blackguards on the sloop, and brought them back
with us."
"Had Mr. Benson and Mr. Hastings been members of the naval forces we
could have done that," replied Mr. Mayhew. "Probably you don't
understand, Mr. Somers, how very careful the Navy has to be about
making arrests in times of peace, when the civil authorities are all
supreme. We carried our right as far as it could possibly be stretched
when we boarded and searched that sloop for you."
"I don't care so much about that," contended Eph, warmly. "But it does
jar on me, sir, to have you take such a view of my friends. You don't
know them; you don't understand them as Mr. Farnum and Mr. Pollard do."
"Perhaps you wouldn't blame me as much for my opinions," replied Mr.
Mayhew, "if you could look at the matter from my viewpoint, Mr. Somers.
I am in charge of this cruise, which is one of instruction to naval
cadets, and I am in a very large measure responsible for the conduct
and good behavior of young men who have been selected as instructors
to the cadets. If you were in my place, Mr. Somers, would you be
patient over young men who, when they get ashore, get into one unseemly
scrape after another? Or would you wonder, as I do, whether it will
not be best for me to end this practice cruise and sail back to Annapolis,
there to make my report in the matter?"
"For heaven's sake don't do that," begged Eph Somers, hoarsely. "At
least, not until you have talked with Mr. Benson and Mr. Hastings.
You'll wait until morning, sir?"
"I'm afraid I shall have to, if I want to talk with your friends,"
replied the lieutenant commander, smiling coldly. "And now, Mr. Somers,
you and I had better leave here. The doctor and his nurse will want the
room cleared in order to look after their patients. I hope your friends
will be all right in the morning," added the naval officer, as the
pair gained the deck.
"Now, see here, sir," began Eph, earnestly, all over again. "I hope
you'll soon begin to understand that, whatever has happened, there are
no two straighter boys alive than Jack Benson and Hal Hastings."
"I trust you're right," replied Mr. Mayhew, less coldly. "Yet, what
can you expect me to think, now that Benson has been in such scrapes
three different times? And, in this last instance, he drags even the
quiet Mr. Hastings into the affair with him."
"I see that I'll have to wait, sir," sighed Eph, resignedly.
"Yes; it will be better in every way to wait," agreed the lieutenant
commander. "It is plain justice, at the least, to wait and give the
young men a chance to offer any defense that they can."
"Now, of course, from his way of looking at it, I can't blame him so
very much," admitted Eph Somers, as he leaned over the rail, watching
Mr. Mayhew going back through the darkness. "But Jack--great old
Jack!--having any liking at all for mixing up in saloons and such
places on shore! Ha, ha! Ho, ho!"
Williamson, now able to leave his motors, came on deck, asking an
account of what had happened. The machinist listened in amazement,
though, like Eph, he needed no proof that the boys, whatever trouble
they had encountered, had met honestly and innocently.
"Of course that naval officer is right, too, from his own limited
point of view," urged Williamson.
"Oh, yes, I suppose so," nodded Somers, gloomily. "I've been trying
to tell myself that. But it would be fearful, wouldn't it, if the
'Farnum' were ordered away from the fleet, and Jack disgraced, just
because of things he really didn't do."
"It's a queer old world," mused the machinist, thoughtfully. "We hear
a lot about the consequences of wrong things we do. But how often
people seem to have to pay up for things they never did!"
"Oh, well," muttered Eph, philosophically, "let's wait until morning.
A night's sleep straightens out a lot of things."
Williamson, however, having had some sleep earlier in the night, was
not drowsy, now. He lighted a pipe, lingering on the platform deck.
Eph, not being a user of tobacco, went below to find that Doctor
McCrea, from the gunboat, was sitting in the cabin, reading a book he
had chosen from the book-case.
"I've brought the young men around somewhat," reported the physician.
"I've made them throw off the drug, and now I've left some stuff with
the nurse to help brace them up. They'll have sour stomachs and
aching heads in the morning, though."
"But you noticed one thing, Doctor?" pressed Somers.
"What was that?"
"That there were no signs of liquor about them? Those boys never tasted
a drop of the vile stuff in their lives!"
"I'm inclined to believe you," nodded the surgeon. "They have splendid,
clear skins, eyes bright as diamonds, sound, sturdy heartbeats, and
they're full of vitality. I've met boys from the slums, once in a
while--beer-drinkers and cigarette-smokers. But such boys never show
the splendid physical condition that your friends possess."
"You know, then, as well as I do, Doctor, that neither of my chums
are rowdies, and that, whatever happened to them to-night, they didn't
get to it through any bad habits or conduct?"
"I'm much inclined to agree with you, Mr. Somers."
"I hope, then, you'll succeed in impressing all that on Lieutenant
Commander Mayhew in the morning."
With that the submarine boy passed on to the starboard stateroom. He
would have given much to have stepped into the room opposite, but felt,
from the doctor's manner, that the latter did not wish his patients
disturbed.
Eph slept little that night. Though Jack and Hal fared better in that
single respect, Somers looked far the best of the three in the morning.
Jack and Hal came out with bandages about their heads, which buzzed
and ached.
The two, however, told their story to Somers and Williamson as soon
as possible.
"Just as I supposed," nodded Eph, vigorously.
"Why, how did you guess it all?" asked Benson, in astonishment.
"I mean, I knew you hadn't been in any low sailor resorts."
"Who said we had?" demanded Jack, flaring in spite of his dizziness.
"Some of the Navy folks didn't know but you had," replied Eph, then bit
his tongue for having let that much out of the bag.
Doctor McCrea came aboard early. He looked the boys over.
"Eat a little toast, if you want, and drink some weak tea," he suggested.
"After that, eat nothing more until to-night."
"But the day's work--?" hinted Jack.
"I don't know," replied the doctor, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not
a line officer, and therefore know nothing about the fleet's manoeuvres."
That reply, however, was quite enough to send Jack Benson's suspicions
aloft.
"Eph," he cried, wheeling upon his friend the moment Doctor McCrea was
gone, "there's something you haven't told us."
"Such as--what?" asked Somers, doing his best to look mighty innocent.
"Doctor McCrea as good as admitted that we--won't have anything to do
to-day. What's wrong?" Then, after a brief pause: "Good heavens,
does Mr. Mayhew believe we've been acting disgracefully? Are we barred
out of the instruction work?"
Hal had been raising a glass of cold water to his lips. The glass fell,
with a crash. He wheeled about, then clutched at the edge of the cabin
table, most unsteadily.
"We-e-ll," admitted Somers, reluctantly, "Mr. Mayhew said he would want
to question you some, perhaps, this morning."
"What did he say? Out with it all, Eph!"
A moment before Jack Benson had been pallid enough. Now, two bright,
furious spots burned in either cheek.
The red-haired boy, however, was spared the pain of going any further,
for, at that moment, a heavy tread was heard on the spiral staircase.
Then Lieutenant Commander Mayhew, holding himself very erect, one hand
resting against the scabbard of the sword that he wore at his side,
came into view below.
Many were the questions that the naval officer put to the two victims
of the last night's mishap. All the time his eyes studied their faces
keenly. Apparently, it needed a lot of assurance to half convince Mr.
Mayhew that the two submarine boys were telling him the truth.
"Well, gentlemen," he said, at last, rising and speaking with great
deliberation, "I believe you to be gentlemen, which means that you are
young men of honor, if it means anything at all. Your story is so
strange that--pardon me--it is difficult to credit. Yet I have no
evidence that it is not true. I am sorry we have not in custody the
two men who sailed that sloop last night--"
"Pardon me, sir," broke in Eph, "but I have an idea to spring."
"Well, Mr. Somers?"
"It is a mighty likely thing that, if you question that fellow, Truax,
that you have on board, you may be able to learn something from him.
For I tell you, sir, there's some plot on hand to discredit the Pollard
submarine boats with the United States Government. There's a scheme,
too, to ruin Jack Benson--but that's only a part of the bigger plot
to discredit our company's boats with the Navy, sir."
An expression of wonder crept into Mr. Mayhew's face. Then he looked
thoughtful.
"I'll see if I can hit upon a tactful way of questioning Truax," replied
the naval officer, after a while. "And now, Mr. Benson, since you
and Mr. Hastings are not in the least fit to instruct any of the cadets
to-day, I'll send out sections on board the 'Pollard' only, under
command of my executive officer, Lieutenant Halpin. To-morrow you
should be in shape to resume your duties. Yet, if I permit this, I
must make one condition."
"It will be hardly necessary, sir, to make any conditions with us,"
Jack replied, with spirit. "Your instructions will be sufficient.
We are wholly at your orders, sir. What are your commands?"
"As long as you remain on this present tour of duty, Mr. Benson, and
you, also, Mr. Hastings, you are requested not to leave the 'Farnum,'
except with my knowledge and consent. Will that be satisfactory to
you?"
"It will, sir," Captain Jack Benson replied, saluting.
"Very good, then. And now, young gentlemen, I will wish you good
morning. Remain at anchor, to-day, and on board."
As soon as Mr. Mayhew and his clanking sword had gone up the stairway,
and then over the side into a cutter, Eph Somers struck an attitude.
"O wise judge! O just judge!" exclaimed the red-haired one,
dramatically.
"Now, what's getting possession of your cranium?" smiled Hal Hastings,
weakly.
"You heard Mr. Mayhew's verdict in your case," mocked Eph, a glare in
his eyes. "A great verdict! 'Not guilty--but don't do it again'."