THE LIEUTENANT COMMANDER'S VERDICT
"Let me try to get at your meaning, sir, if you please," begged Somers, after standing for a few seconds with clenched fists. "Do you mean that my friends have been going into tough resorts on shore?"
"Where else do sailors usually get drugged?" inquired Mr. Mayhew. "What kind of people usually feed sea-faring men with what are generally known as knock-out drops?"
"How should I know?" demanded Eph, solemnly.
"You see your friends, and you see their condition."
"Smell their breaths, sir. There isn't a trace of the odor of liquor."
The surgeon did so, confirming Eph's claim. "But I remember that Mr. Benson came aboard, at Dunhaven, with a very strong odor of liquor," continued the lieutenant commander.
"That had been sprinkled on his clothes, sir," argued Somers.
"Perhaps. But then there was the Annapolis affair."
"Mr. Benson explained that to you, sir."