enson, you young fool," scoffed the Frenchman, "since you refuse to
be treated as a friend, you shall know what it is to have us for your
enemies. You deem it easy to laugh at us--to call us names! Bah!
You will soon be glad to beg from us! Your hours of misery are now
before you--perhaps days of torment that shall end in madness. Defy
us? Balk our plans? Pouf? How little you know of the people with
whom you have now to dealt."

Then, at a sign from Lemaire, Gaston threw himself upon Benson's legs,
swiftly binding the ankles together. This done, Lemaire himself added
a gag to Jack's mouth that shut off the last chance of making a sound.

This done, the two men bore Captain Jack to the larger auto, while
Mlle. Nadiboff, chuckling softly, covered him completely under robes.

CHAPTER XI

JACK'S FRIENDS DO SOME FAST GUESSING

"So that's the kind of people they are?" Jacob Farnum smiled softly as
Reporter Hennessy finished repeating the information volunteered by Mr.
Graham, the Washington correspondent.

To this Hal had contributed the little he was able to tell of Mlle.
Nadiboff's conduct.

"You will have to look to your young captain more closely after this,"
wound up Hennessy.

"Why?" questioned the shipbuilder.

"Even at this moment he is away in the company of that clever woman."

"Oh, he won't be cross with her," retorted Farnum, with an easy smile.
"Jack Benson is always courteous with women."

"But aren't you afraid your young captain will have his head turned by
her?" pressed the reporter.

"Who? Jack?" laughed Mr. Farnum. "Say, it's very plain you don't know
Jack Benson."

The shipbuilder, two of the submarine boys and the reporter were seated
by themselves at one end of the Hotel Clayton's big front veranda.

"Aren't you at all uneasy?" asked Hennessy.

"If I am," proposed the shipbuilder, "I'm going to cure my mental unrest
with luncheon. Won't you join us, Mr. Hennessy?"

If appetite were any guide, none of the submarine people felt the
slightest uneasiness as to information that the sprightly Mlle. Nadiboff
might be able to coax from Captain Jack while on that auto drive.

By the time that the quartette came out again, however, Farnum began to
look bothered.

"After two," he declared, "and Jack not here. Now, at three o'clock,
I've agreed to take out a party of naval officers from the gunboat. We
want to show those Navy fellows some of our prettiest work in the
'Bens