n the eyes of
the young submarine captain.

Hal, however, turned white--though from a cause that few would have
guessed.

"Hold on, Benson! One moment--" protested Fred Radwin.

"Oh, get out of my sight, this instant," quivered Jack, taking another
step toward his enemy.

Before all the curious throng Fred Radwin, strangely enough, felt too
abashed, for the moment, to persist in his expressions of surprise.

"I'll talk with you later," he muttered, with a sickly smile, then
turned away.

"If you do," Jack called after him, "I'll--"

Benson's voice died down as the young captain felt Hal Hastings's strong,
impassioned grip on his arm.

Radwin, fortunately, did not turn, but kept on until he had taken himself
out of sight.

Jack turned an inquiring glance on his chum's face. But Hal's warning
look seemed to say:

"Silence! Wait!"

"What was the row about?" asked a stranger among those who had pressed
about the boys.

"Nothing," returned Eph Somers, shortly, glaring at his questioner.

At a mute signal from Hal all three of the submarine boys seated
themselves once more.

By degrees the little crowd melted away.

Then Jack Benson turned to his chum, to ask, in a low voice:

"What did you mean, Hal, old fellow? I know you had some good reason
for checking me as you did."

"I was afraid you would hit Radwin," Hal murmured.

"A case of nothing struck, if I had!" uttered Captain Jack, bitterly.

"Oh, yes! You would have struck at our chances of winning out in these
submarine tests," murmured Hal Hastings.

"What do you mean?" demanded Jack, looking startled.

"If you had hit Radwin, in the presence of all those witnesses, you
would have been right in line to be arrested for assault."

"Pooh!" jeered Captain Jack. "A small fine, which I could easily pay."

"But the inconvenience of being locked up, at such a time!" asked Hal
Hastings.

"Mr. Farnum would bail me out, quickly enough."

"I don't believe you see all of the point yet," murmured Hal, earnestly.
"Suppose Radwin swore out a warrant against you for striking him. Then
suppose he paid a court officer to wait and serve the warrant just as
the boats were starting out on some new test cruise? Then you'd go
ashore, and we'd either have to go on without our captain, or else draw
out of the test. Fine business, that, when our first and only business
is to make the Pollard boats the number-one winners in as many tests as
possible!"

"