no more
during the remainder of his stay in the Solent. Yet a few days later an
incident occurred which, although unmarked by any pronounced
significance, rather tended to impress upon Jack the conviction that
somebody was evincing a certain amount of interest in the speed
qualifications of the _Thetis_, although it was quite possible that he
might have been mistaken. This incident took the form of a somewhat
sudden proposal to get up a race for steam-yachts round the island, for
a cup of the value of fifty guineas. Such a proposal was a little
remarkable, from the fact that steam-yacht racing is a form of sport
that is very rarely indulged in by Englishmen, at least in English
waters; yet everything must necessarily have a beginning, and there was
no especial reason why steam-yacht racing should not be one of those
things, particularly as the idea appeared to be received with some
enthusiasm by certain owners of such craft. When the matter was first
mentioned to Singleton, and it was suggested that he should enter the
_Thetis_ for the race, he evinced a disposition to regard the proposal
with coldness, as he had already arrived at the conclusion that it might
be unwise to reveal the boat's actual capabilities; but his attitude was
so strongly denounced as unsportsmanlike, and he found himself subjected
to such urgent solicitations--not to say pressure--that he quickly grew
suspicious, and mentioned the matter to Milsom. Milsom, in turn, after
considering the matter for a little, suggested that the chief engineer
of the boat should be consulted, with the result that it was ultimately
decided to enter the _Thetis_ for the race, Macintyre undertaking that
while the yacht should present to onlookers every appearance of being
pushed to the utmost--plenty of steam blowing off, and so on--her speed
should not be permitted to exceed fifteen knots, and only be allowed to
reach that at brief intervals during the race. With this understanding
Jack agreed to enter, and the race duly came off in splendid weather,
and was pronounced to be a brilliant success, the _Thetis_ coming in
third, but losing the race by only eight seconds on her time allowance.
Nobody was perhaps better pleased at the result than Jack, for the new
boat made a brave show and apparently struggled gamely throughout the
race to win the prize, the "white feather" showing from first to last on
the top of her waste pipe, and a thin but continuous film of light