.

Instantly there was consternation among all the assailants.

In the excitement, young Benson was forgotten. Freed from assault, he
leaped to his feet.

The flare of light had come from two bull's-eye police lanterns, held in
the open doorway below.

"There are the scoundrels, men! Grab them!" shouted a voice of
authority.

The speaker and two other men were in police uniforms. Four other men
there were in ordinary civilian garb.

In the excitement Jack Benson let his fist fly, knocking one of the
sailors headlong down the stairs. But the submarine boy did not pause
there. His other fist, landed on the second sailor, sending him after
the first.

"Club their heads off, if any of 'em put up a fight," commanded the
police officer in charge.

Two other men, not in sailors' uniform cowered on the stairs, close to
the young submarine captain. There was no fight, beyond the blows that
young Benson struck. Cowed by the unexpected appearance of the law's
force, the quartette of rascals surrendered. There was a clicking of
handcuffs.

"Your chief thought I was crazy, or telling him fairy stories over the
telephone," laughed Captain Jack Benson. "Now, I guess--"

"I am the Chief of police," retorted the officer in authority. "I
thought that, if anything such as you described were happening in Colfax,
then I'd better come along myself to investigate. But now, perhaps you
can explain more than you did over the 'phone from the Somerset House?"

"I have the best of reasons," Jack replied, "for imagining that two of
my friends have disappeared by the same trick that was tried on me. If
that is so, I'm mighty anxious to find them as soon as possible."

"Do any of you scoundrels know where this young gentleman's friends are?"
demanded the chief, turning to glare at his prisoners, lined up along
the wall in the lower hallway. "The man that talks quickly now may get
off easier than the rest, later on."

"There's two boys bound and gagged in the sub-cellar of this place,"
spoke one of the two prisoners not in uniform.

"Good enough," nodded the chief of police, looking at the informant.
"Officer Davis, you come with me. You may come, too, Mr. Benson. The
rest of you wait where you are."

The door to the cellar was locked, but the police chief, with a skeleton
key, soon had the lock forced. Passing down into the cellar, their way
lighted by one of the bull's-eye lanterns, they found a trap opening
upon