“Those two poor Italians, you mean?”
“Poor Italians, nothing—that is, I beg your pardon, sir,” burst out Herc; “but if we are not mistaken, they are two precious rascals who have the destruction or injury of the submarine in their black hearts.”
“What!” exclaimed the amazed officer; “explain yourself at once, Taylor.”
But it was Ned who told the story. The red-headed Herc was too explosive with indignation to relate it coherently. The officer listened attentively, but in silence. When Ned had quite finished he spoke:
“You have been of inestimable service to-night, boys,” he said; “there is no doubt in my mind, from what you have told me, that those ruffians have some scheme in mind. But what can it be? They cannot hope to harm the engines or any of the machinery, for it is all closely guarded while we are cruising.”
“It occurred to me, sir,” said Ned soberly, “that it might be a good idea to get hold of and examine that box they brought on board. It didn’t look just natural, sir, for a man, whose boat has capsized, to have presence of mind enough to still retain possession of a box in the way those fellows did.”
“That’s right, my boy,” responded the officer; “but the question is, how are we going to get a chance to examine it? We cannot seize these men by force on the mere suspicion that they are ruffians—although I think that fact is pretty well established. Then, too, any sort of disturbance on board on this critical night would interfere with the tests and, perhaps, ruin our friend Lockyer’s chances to dispose of his boats.”
“That is so,” agreed Ned soberly; “but, sir, I’ve been thinking of a plan by which we can get access to the box. Taylor and I have the graveyard watch at eight bells (midnight). You will be in charge of the vessel at that hour. Now, if I give an alarm that the boat is sinking, we can get those fellows out of their cabin, and while they are outside, Taylor and I can slip in and examine that box.”
“A splendid idea, Strong; but how are we to avoid waking the others?”