Mr. Carlton laughed.
"No; hardly that. I mean that the officials of the Government who have charge of our Navy have decided that we need a new Naval Repair Station. It remains for Congress to say where the station shall be located and to appropriate the money to pay for it. Now, I think, and Mr. Conway thinks, too, that the City of Cleverly can furnish the ideal site for this station."
"I don't suppose," chimed in the journalist, "that Barry can have much interest in the subject."
"Yes, I have," exclaimed the boy; "I think it's real exciting."
Both men laughed at the boy's enthusiasm.
"The excitement," observed the journalist, "will come when it becomes known that the Government intends to build the new station."
"When will it become known?"
"Very soon, I think. Mr. Carlton is going to have an interview with the Secretary of the Navy this afternoon. A great deal depends on the result of that talk."
Little Joe Hart had been listening to the conversation with great intentness. He looked up now with a comical twist of the mouth.
"Mr. Conway," he exclaimed, with mock seriousness, "you can depend on my support."