Farnum, shaking his head. "Captain Benson must go out
on naval business to-day."

A murmur of disappointment went up from the crowd. Jack Benson was a
young skipper on whose success a Dunhaven crowd would make bets.

"But, see here," proposed the shipbuilder, "I'll go out myself, on the
'Benson,' and take Williamson along with me. Now, you folks find any
local salt-water captain and a couple of good deck hands to go with me."

"When will you start, sir?" asked the spokesman.

"The minute you have my helpers ready. There's Captain Allen among you
now. If he'll go, he's as good a salt-water dog as I want on a cruise
with me. Let him pick two sailors out of the crowd. We can start in
five minutes."

Another cheer went up as Jacob Farnum, leaving the outer door open,
hurried back to his own party. Captain Allen, a retired master of
coasting vessels, had five times as many volunteers in the crowd as he
needed.

"Jack, I'm sorry I can't go with you," sighed Mr. Farnum, as he returned.
"But the call of humanity is too big a one. I'm going to take Williamson
with me. The rest of you go with Lieutenant Danvers and his men. I'll
hope to be able to go with you to-morrow, anyway."

"Isn't there a tug hereabouts that those people could hire?" questioned
the naval officer.

"Oh, yes; there's a small one to the south of here, but her captain
would charge at least fifty dollars a day," replied the shipbuilder,
as he drew on a heavy deck ulster.

"I suppose these people expect you to go out for nothing," hinted
Lieutenant Danvers.

"Oh, yes, of course," nodded the shipbuilder. "But one can't be a
crank, or a miser, when women are red-eyed and weeping from worry over
their missing husbands and sons."

There was a suspicion of moisture in Mr. Farnum's own eyes as he snatched
up a cap, bidding his own party a hasty good-bye ere he ran from the
office.

"There goes a good-natured man," laughed Lieutenant Danvers.

"A big-hearted one, you mean, sir," corrected Captain Jack Benson.
"He's a man with a heart bigger than any torpedo craft he could possibly
build and launch."

"I wish him all luck," said the naval officer, heartily. "And that
crowd, and also the poor seafaring men that put out in the like of the
'Mary Bond.'"

The crowd had gone from the office building, now, following Mr. Farnum
and his volunteers down to the little harbor. Jack, his chums and the
naval party slowly followed down to the water f