r the things you think of," laughed
the shipyard's owner.

"And the 'Farnum,' or whatever it is, is coming up," called Captain Jack,
suddenly. "I just felt my lead slide down over the top of her hull.
Hard-a-starboard, Hal, and row hard," shouted young Benson, breathlessly.

Though Hastings obeyed immediately he was barely an instant too soon. To
his dismay, Mr. Farnum saw something dark, unwieldy, rising through the
water. It appeared to be coming up fairly under the stern of the shore
boat, threatening to overturn the little craft and plunge them all into
the icy water.

Hal shot just out of the danger zone, though. Then a round little tower
bobbed up out of the water. Immediately afterward the upper third of a
long, cigar-shaped craft came up into view, water rolling from her
dripping sides, which glistened brightly as the sun came out briefly from
behind a fall cloud.

In the conning tower, through the thick plate glass, the three people in
the shore boat made out the carroty-topped head and freckled,
good-humored, honest, homely face of Eph Somers. The boat lay on the
water, under no headway, drifting slightly with the wind-driven ripples.
Then Eph raised the man-hole cover of the top of the conning tower,
thrusting out his head to hail them.

"Hey, you landsmen, do you know a buoy from an umbrella?"

"Do _you_ know the difference between a Sunday-school text and petty
larceny?" retorted Jack Benson, sternly. "What do you mean by taking the
submarine without leave?"

"I've been experimenting--flirting with science," responded Eph, loftily.
"Say, if you landsmen know a buoy from a banana, get down to the bow
moorings of this steel mermaid, and I'll pass you the bow cable. It's a
heap easier to lead this submarine horse out of the stall, single-handed,
than it is to take him back and tie him."

Hal rowed easily to the buoy, while Eph, returning to the steering wheel
and the tower controls, ran the "Farnum," with just bare headway, up to
where he could toss the bow cable to those waiting in the boat. A few
moments later the stern cable, also, was made fast, in such a way as to
allow a moderate swing to the bulky steel craft.

"Now, you can take me ashore, if you feel like it," proposed Eph, standing
on the platform deck.

"Not quite yet," returned Skipper Jack, though the small boat lay
alongside. "We've got some inspecting to do. But how did you get on board
in the first place?"

"Why, the night watchma