"Any clams on this piazza, Adam?" Bobby asked. "I see--"
"Yes," I interrupted, "anybody might. These boots are not invisible. I
wish they were. Neither is the clam hoe. Circumstances beyond my
control, Bobby,--But what is Jimmy?"
"Jimmy? Oh, Jimmy's lieutenant commander."
"And you are an admiral?"
"Well, no. They offered me that rank, of course, but I thought I'd
rather be under Jimmy. I'm a lieutenant. Ogilvie'll be an ensign as soon
as he's of age. They don't often give commissions to fellows until they
are twenty-one. He's not through college yet."
"Chasing submarines, Bobby? How many periscopes have you shot off?"
Bobby laughed. "That information I am unable to impart, Adam.
Undoubtedly it would give comfort to the enemy. But we shall be chasing
submarines pretty soon. That is to be our job, so far as we know now. We
have a number of chasers under our command. Personally, I'd like to be
in patrol work out in the steamer lanes. Our boat is too good for this
in-shore work. You know the Smith saw a submarine a week or two ago."
I shook my head. I have no faith in that report. Everybody has been
seeing submarines from Eastport to the Gulf.
"We picked up Ogilvie at Newport," Bobby continued. "I knew him, and
he'd been doing police duty there, and going through training that he
knew as well as his alphabet; nothing that was any mortal use. So I
asked for him, and he was transferred. They don't seem to get on very
fast at Newport with our fellows. I don't know why. They have more boats
than they are using, but most of them are small and slow, and they have
been busy with men for the regular navy. I suppose they'll get around
to the rest of them in time. We are going to have good big chasers some
time soon."
"Ah, Bobby, but when? I could give you some statistics of our navy, but
I won't, for I don't believe you'd stay. I have been reading an article
packed full of valuable information which ought to be of some comfort to
the enemy. It seems that nearly all of our vessels are old or slow or
both--or they are in reserve in one form or another, without full crews;
and we have no submarine chasers--literally none that would be of any
use in chasing. We shall not get any before next January, and then only
a beggarly hundred or so. It looks pretty bad, Bobby. We might as well
surrender at once."
Bobby smiled. "I know where you got that dope. I saw it too, and I
wonder what good the chap thinks he is doing by making out that we have
gone to the dogs. He's a knocker. Pay no attention to him, Adam. I have
faith that all our navy men aren't fools. There may even be one or two
who know almost as much as he does. You ought to conduct a few patriotic
meetings. And be a speaker, Adam. You could make glorious speeches. I'd
come."
"Flags flying,--to the great advantage of the Bunting Trust,--and 'The
Star Spangled Banner' sung several times, and you'd have to stand with
your hat off, and take cold in early May, and hear every man in the
county who has ever held office give the history of the country, and
Washington's Farewell Address, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech delivered
by a talented young lady from our high school,--if we had one,--and
brass bands, and parades, and me for drum-major, I suppose, Bobby.
Buncombe! There wouldn't be an able-bodied man in the glorious
assemblage--except the band and the speakers. Humbug and buncombe! True
patriotism doesn't go about waving the flag and shouting. Patriotic
meetings are essentially for women and children."
Bobby laughed delightedly. "Noble sentiments, Adam. But I wish you
would."
I shook my head. "Never," I said. "But I could give you some hints for
your submarine chasing. You could put them in as your own ideas too. I
promise not to dispute your claims."
"I'm a little shy of your hints, but fire away."
"Well, this is my best. I have others, but they are too obvious. First
you would have to set a spindle on Great Ledge, a spindle with a
capacious cage at the top. Another one on Sow and Pigs, and one on Hen
and Chickens, and on Devil's Bridge. Then, when there were some
submarines over here,--Germany says there are none now, and I believe
it,--when they came, put a live pig in each of the cages. It's in the
nature of baiting the trap, you see. All you'd have to do would be to
sit tight, and remove the wrecks. They'd all pile up on those ledges.
Germans can't resist the lure of pig."
"That's not a half bad idea, Adam," Bobby said. "Of course it might be
necessary to renew the bait or feed the pig, but that would be easy; and
pig is pretty high just now. There's a good pun there, but I'll leave it
to you.--Jimmy!"
Jimmy was talking to the girl whose name I did not yet know, but he
turned at Bobby's hail.
"Jimmy," Bobby said, "Adam's just given me a most valuable hint for
trapping submarines. Here it is in all its beauty." And he proceeded to
give my idea in more detail than I had done, adding some more ledges
which appealed to him as likely spots, Watch Hill Ledge, to the east of
Fisher's Island being one, I remember. "You forgot that, Adam. It would
be a crackerjack, almost level with the water. In any sea at all, and
the tide right, the water opens every little while and shows the rock.
It's fearsome."
"Is Adam going to leave all the work of danger," asked Jimmy, "to us?"
"Yes," Bobby cried, "that's what I want to know. Like baiting the traps,
you know. It'll be no snap to get the pigs into their cages."
"You can't expect to have all your problems solved for you, Bobby," I
said. "You would always have the benefit of my counsel, and giving
counsel to you and Jimmy is not without its dangers. Besides," I added,
modestly I hope, "I did have something else in mind. In addition to the
arduous toil of tilling the soil--"
"Cut that," said Bobby. "As if you didn't always till the soil!"
"In addition to that," I continued with dignity, "I thought of
organizing a company to protect some of our most valuable property here.
It would be a sort of Home Guard. Submarines, if they escaped the traps
and the hawk eyes of the patrol fleet, and the stings of the wasps,
might get into the harbor. Then they would surely get aground, possibly
on my clam beds, and they would ruin the dispositions of my clams. So I
thought of mounting a gun on the point--with Mr. Goodwin's
permission--and enrolling all here present in the Clam Beds Protective
Company, of which I should be captain."
Old Goodwin applauded the idea at once, but as well as I could judge in
the confusion which followed, Jimmy and Bobby and Tom Ellis were not of
the same mind.
Finally Tom made himself heard. "What I want to know, Adam," he asked,
"is where do we come in? I think I voice a general question."
"I was about to nominate Mr. Goodwin for colonel,--honorary, if he
prefers,--and Jimmy for adjutant, and Bobby and Mr. Ogilvie for
lieutenants. Those posts would have to be honorary also, unless the navy
could be prevailed upon to assign them to that duty. I don't see that
there is anything left for you, Tom, but to be the private. It would be
a highly honorable office. You would be the only private."
"I say," Tom protested, "I like that! But I have an idea. What about
the Susies who sew shirts for soldiers? Aren't you going to give them a
chance?"
Eve interrupted at this point. I was glad to have her.
"Oh, yes, he will," she said. "I promise that he will."
"Seems to me that Eve ought to be elected captain," Tom observed. "But
perhaps it isn't necessary. She will be anyway." They all laughed at
that--all but me and Ogilvie. Eve noticed that. I did not see anything
ridiculous about the idea. I am glad to serve under Eve, and everybody
knows it.
"I will enroll Cecily," Tom pursued; "but, Adam, make me a sergeant,
won't you?" he added in a hoarse whisper. "I want to have some authority
over her."
"I'll see about it. I shall have to think it over, and perhaps get some
advice." And Tom turned at once to Eve, and whispered, and she smiled
and nodded.
"The uniform, Adam?" asked Old Goodwin. "Don't put us to any unnecessary
expense."
"I was about to speak of that. I have brought some samples with me." And
I held up my boots and my clam hoe.
Old Goodwin smiled. "That is very satisfactory." He looked at Tom. "If
anybody prefers a rake for arms, I suppose there would be no objection,
Adam?"
I shook my head. Then there were objections from Jimmy and Bobby, on the
ground that they would have to buy boots and hoe, and that the boots
would be new and not in keeping. But I said that, as their offices were
honorary, they would not have to provide themselves with uniforms, and
they could go clamming in their naval uniforms if they liked. I should
not object.
"Well," said Bobby thoughtfully, "we have boots and slickers and
sou'westers. Perhaps they will do. When is the first meeting of our
company--at the clam beds, Adam?"
I told him that it was a trifle early for that yet. It would be as soon
as I thought it safe for the clams. Then a thought struck me.
"How does it happen," I asked, "that a patrol boat can be coming in
here--for all the world like a yacht--and all its officers come ashore,
as if they had nothing to do?"
Eve had been silent for some minutes, occupied with her daughter, who
stood silent beside her. Tidda had been strangely quiet.
"Yes, Bobby," said Eve, "account for yourself. What are you here for? It
is not for nothing."
"Sh! The movements of shipping are not to be reported. But I don't mind
telling you, Eve, that we regard this as a base, in a sense. I came
because my superior officer ordered it. I don't know his reasons, but I
surmise that he hoped that some of you people would be charitable enough
to ask us to dinner."
Jimmy grinned, and Old Goodwin smiled, but he said nothing. Jimmy Wales
and Bobby are especial favorites of his, and Bobby is his nephew.
"I speak," said Eve, "for Mr. Ogilvie. You can't come, Bobby. You'll
have to stay here with Jimmy."
"Oh, I say, Eve!"
"No. You may bring Mr. Ogilvie within sight of the house, and show it to
him." She turned to Ogilvie. "You'll come?" she asked, holding out her
hand.
Ogilvie seems a nice young chap. He bowed very prettily over Eve's hand,
and said something nice, I am sure, for I was watching Eve's face. I can
tell always. And Ogilvie smiled, and Eve got up to go, and I got up too,
of course, and Jimmy and Bobby and everybody got up one at a time, as if
it were a prayer-meeting. It broke up the party to have Eve go. Eve's
going is very apt to break up any party.
Bobby came out with us through the interminable series of piazzas.
"I say," he whispered, "who's the new girl, Adam? Do you know?"
I shook my head. "I didn't hear her name, Bobby, and I don't know
anything about her. She is attractive."
"M-m. I'll ask Eve."
Eve said that the girl's name was Elizabeth Radnor, but she knew nothing
about her, and had never heard of her before. "But," she added, "why
don't you ask Jimmy?--or Mr. Ogilvie? He knew her before."
"So he did. Good idea, Eve. I will. But Jimmy ought to be ashamed of
himself. He's married, and I might tell Madge. We never know what we
might do."