with what's left of to-night."

Before the inventor left the yard, he hunted for and found the drunken
night watchman, who was still asleep. That worthless guard was
discharged the following day.

CHAPTER V

ONE MAN'S DUMFOUNDED FACE

When the new foreman's gang started on the "Pollard," at eight in the
morning, there was no outward ripple to show that anything unusual had
happened. True, Jacob Farnum arrived at the shed earlier than he was
accustomed to do, but those of the workmen who were not in the secret
thought nothing of that.

Half an hour later Josh Owen, a peculiar, gleaming look in his eyes,
showed his head at the manhole opening over their heads.

"Good morning, Mr. Farnum," he called.

"Good morning, Owen," answered the yard's owner. "Come right down."

Owen came down the spiral staircase, looking curiously about him.

"I got your note, Mr. Farnum," began the ex-foreman. "What's the
matter? Find you need me here, after all?"

"Not for long," replied Mr. Farnum, coldly. "Owen, before you gave your
keys in to Mr. Partridge you must have taken an impression of one of
them and must have fitted a key to the pattern. Why were you here last
night?"

"Me? I wasn't here last night--nor any other night," Josh Owen made
haste to answer, though a look of guilty alarm crept into his face. All
of the workmen had ceased their toil, and stood looking on at this
unusual scene.

"You say you weren't here last night?" demanded Mr. Farnum, sternly.
"And you didn't use any false key to get into this shed?"

"Of course I didn't," retorted the ex-foreman, defiantly. "You wrote a
note to me that, if I'd come around here this morning, I'd hear of a job.
I didn't come here to be insulted."

"The job I mentioned in my note," rejoined Mr. Farnum, with a meaning
smile, "is over at the penitentiary. Owen, you did come here last night.
You scaled the fence at the west side, crossed the yard, opened the door
of this building with this key--"

Here the yard's owner held out the false key, that all might see it.

"--and," finished Mr. Farnum, "you came in here and went to work to
damage a sea-valve forward on this craft. The valve shows, this morning,
very plain traces of having been tampered with."

Josh Owen was summoning all his courage, all his craft. Instead of
looking frightened, he glared boldly at his accuser.

"Who says I did such a thing?" he demanded, hotly.

"Benson and Hastings saw y