ds that evening.

After the newspaper men had gone the artful schemer spent a long time in
drafting two or three telegrams that he felt it necessary to send to
members of his state's Congressional delegation at Washington.

In the telegrams that were finally sent, the president of the Rhinds
Submarine Company referred to himself as apparently the victim of a
very clever but diabolical plot to ruin his company. He asked the
members of Congress for his state to see to it that he was given a
full opportunity for justice.

"Justice? Ugh!" muttered the old man, as he scanned one of his
telegrams. "Well--er--not if it means punishment!"

Hardly had he sent away these telegrams, and even as he was giving
thought to sending down an order to have dinner served in his rooms,
Rhinds received a telegram from the editor of a New York daily, asking
for his version of the torpedo mystery.

From the wording of the telegram, it was plain that the story had gotten
as far as New York, and that the editor regarded it as the big,
sensational news story of the hour.

Groaning, Rhinds bent over to begin work on this new telegram that was
demanded of him. It proved to be a hard message to write. Even while
he worked over the difficult problem, a second telegram arrived, this
from the editor of a Philadelphia morning paper. Then came two from
Boston.

"Good heavens! I can't keep up this pace," groaned John Rhinds. "These
editors won't even give me time for sleep."

Sudden blackness came over his eyes as he sat back, trying to think it
all out.

"I can't answer any of these telegrams," he muttered, tearing up the
offending messages. "Oh, why did Radwin have to take wings at the
very time when I need him most! Fred Radwin, with his cool nerve, his
steely eyes and his glib, lying tongue, would have been ready with
answers for all these questions. But I can't do it. I'll need a
strait-jacket, if these telegrams continue to arrive!"

Yet several more telegrams did come in, from newspapers in various
Eastern states. Rhinds read them, groaned and tore up the messages.

Then he smoked strong cigars, one after another, but that only made his
nerves worse. When he went to bed, late that night, he slept some, yet
it was mainly to dream hideous dreams.

In the early morning Rhinds sent for morning newspapers. These contained
what he had said to local reporters, but his version, with the
newspapers' comments added, only made ma