"Nor get as fine a crew to handle his craft," added David Pollard.

"Don't be too sure of that," warned Jack, Soberly. "I think we fellows
have done fairly well with your boat, up to date. But suppose Mr.
Melville should be able to get a lot of experienced submarine men, and
even, perhaps, an officer, from the United States Navy. We boys could
hardly beat such a combination as that."

"I'm not so sure that you're right on this point, Jack," clicked Mr.
Farnum. "I'll say this much: It would make me more uneasy to lose the
services of you boys than it would to hear that Melville has a Navy crew
for the boat he's building."

"Of course," went on Jack, thoughtfully, after a pause, "if you, Mr.
Farnum, could interest all the capital you want, on your own fair
conditions, you wouldn't have to be afraid of this man Melville."

"No," admitted the boatbuilder, making a wry face. "But getting all
that capital together is the problem. You see, Jack, we know just how
good a boat we have, but others don't."

"Others don't?" repeated Captain Benson. "That gives me an idea."

"Another trouble," pursued the builder, "is that this submarine business
is just something of a speculation. Suppose investors come forward with
a lot of ready money to put into this enterprise? Our boat is good, but
how do the investors know that, within the next few months, some other
inventor won't come forward with a new type of submarine boat that will
leave ours hopelessly behind? Then the investors would stand to lose