“No, not that, nor the J. Chadwick, either,” retorted Tom; “my name was White Shark, Jr.”
“Very good, indeed,” said Mr. Chadwick with a laugh, “the White Shark, Jr., it shall be.”
“Let’s hope it proves a good example to its parent,” chimed in Jack.
“Well, the child is father to the man, as they say in the copy books,” smiled Mr. Dancer, “so let’s hope that the rule will work out in the case of a submarine.”
“Oughtn’t we to christen it?” asked Tom.
“In what way?” demanded Jack.
“By breaking a bottle of wine over the bow, of course.”
This came from Tom.
“Well, we have none of that sort of stuff here,” said Mr. Chadwick, “so I would propose that, as the native element of the model is to be under the water, we let her ‘christen’ herself as she dives into it.”
All agreed that this was a good plan, and then as everything was ready Jack drew his knife across the cord. The little craft slid down the ways just like what Tom called “a regular ship.”