“Well, Truax is a queer and surly one,” Hal admitted. “This morning he gives one the impression of peeking over his shoulder all the time to see whether he's being watched.”
“So Eph means to humor him by watching him, eh?” asked Jack.
Hal laughed quietly.
Some of the cadets who were familiar with the landmarks of Chesapeake Bay pointed out many of the localities and sights to the two submarine boys.
At last, however, Eph was obliged to call for Hal.
“You know, Hal, old fellow, I've got to look out for the feeding of a lot of boarders to-day,” complained Eph, whimsically.
This task of Eph's took time, though it was not a hard one. The food for the cadets had been sent aboard. Eph had to make coffee and heat soup. For the rest, cold food had to do. The young men, on this trip, were required to wait on themselves.
Hal found Sam Truax sitting moodily in a corner of the engine room, though there was [pg 145] something about the fellow's appearance that suggested the watchfulness of a cat.
“Why don't you go on deck a while, Truax?” asked Hal, kindly.
“Don't want to,” snapped the fellow, irritably. So Hal turned his back on the man.