The Submarine Boys on Duty | Page 9

scowl at them, but,
as Mr. Pollard was right behind them, the foreman said nothing at that
moment.
Last of all came Dan Jaggers. As he caught sight of the two newcomers
he shot at them a look full of hate.
"I thought ye said those fellers couldn't work here," he muttered to his
uncle.
"Keep quiet and watch out," whispered Joshua Owen. "They're not
going to work here. I'll fix that!"
CHAPTER III
JOSH OWEN STARTS TROUBLE
"Knock off!"
As the deafening din of hammers lessened David Pollard shouted that
order through a megaphone.
Confined in a limited space, inside that bull of steel, the clatter, which
outdoors would have been barely noticed, was something infernal in
volume and sharpness. Human ear-drums could not stand it for any
very great length of time.
By this time Jack Benson and Hal Hastings had had a good chance to
see exactly what the interior of a submarine torpedo boat was like.
A level floor extended throughout the entire length of the "Pollard."
Below this floor, reached by hatchways, were various small
compartments for storage. Under the level of this floor, too, were the
"water tanks." These were tanks that, when the craft lay or moved on

the surface of the ocean, were to contain only air. Whenever it was
desired to sink the torpedo boat, valves operated from the central room
of the boat could be opened so that the water tanks would fill, and the
weight of the water would sink the boat. In diving, the forward tanks
could be filled first, and then, when the desired depth was reached, the
other tanks could be filled entirely, or partly, in such a way as to
control depth and position.
With the boat below the surface, and the commander wishing to return
to the surface, compressed air could be forced into the water tanks,
expelling all the water in them, or a part of the water, if preferred. The
valves would then operate to keep more water from entering.
On the surface the "Pollard" was intended to be run by a powerful
six-cylinder gasoline engine. When below the surface the boat was to
be propelled by electric power supplied from storage batteries. Below
the waves the gasoline engine could not be used, as such an engine
consumes air and also creates bad vapors.
On the morning when our two young friends went to work the electrical
engine was fully installed, and had been tested. The gasoline engine
was in place, but the fittings had yet to be finished. In the course of this
latter work the necessary connections were to be made between
gasoline engine and dynamo.
The many strong-walled receivers for compressed air had been placed,
and were now being more securely fitted and connected by the
workmen. The final work on the compressed air apparatus was yet to be
done by a special crew of workmen who were soon to come down from
New York. A powerful, compact plant for compressing air was a part
of this outfit.
Right up in the bow of the "Pollard" was the tube through which a
Whitehead torpedo, fourteen feet in length, could be started on its
destructive journey by means of compressed air force. One torpedo was
to be carried in the tube, six others in special lockers on either side.
Back of the torpedo room was the rather cramped engine room in

which were the gasoline and electric motors, other machinery and
work-benches. Then came the central cabin, some twenty feet long and
about ten feet wide. Here was a table, while the seats at the side could
be arranged also as berths. Out of the cabin, aft, led a narrow
passageway. Off this, on either side, were a narrow galley, cupboards,
ice-box and toilet room. Nearer the stern were two compact state-rooms,
one intended for two "line" or "deck" officers, the other for two
engineer officers. There were other features about the "Pollard" that
will be described as need arises.
For more than an hour the entire gang had been at work, though Joshua
Owen had seen to it that Jack and Hal had nothing more to do than lift
or hold heavy articles, fetch tools, etc. Still both boys stood this
good-humoredly, paying strict attention to orders. David Pollard,
watching them at times, and guessing how they might feel under such
treatment, found his good opinion of the two newcomers still rising.
Stopping their work, when the order came, the workmen lighted their
pipes. Jack and Hal, not liking the clouds of tobacco smoke, ran up the
spiral staircase to the manhole, stepping, out upon the platform. As they
did so they encountered a man of about thirty years of age who had just
reached the platform deck from the shed