would charge at least fifty dollars a day," replied the shipbuilder,
as he drew on a heavy deck ulster.

"I suppose these people expect you to go out for nothing," hinted
Lieutenant Danvers.

"Oh, yes, of course," nodded the shipbuilder. "But one can't be a
crank, or a miser, when women are red-eyed and weeping from worry over
their missing husbands and sons."

There was a suspicion of moisture in Mr. Farnum's own eyes as he snatched
up a cap, bidding his own party a hasty good-bye ere he ran from the
office.

"There goes a good-natured man," laughed Lieutenant Danvers.

"A big-hearted one, you mean, sir," corrected Captain Jack Benson.
"He's a man with a heart bigger than any torpedo craft he could possibly
build and launch."

"I wish him all luck," said the naval officer, heartily. "And that
crowd, and also the poor seafaring men that put out in the like of the
'Mary Bond.'"

The crowd had gone from the office building, now, following Mr. Farnum
and his volunteers down to the little harbor. Jack, his chums and the
naval party slowly followed down to the water front.

Little time did the shipbuilder lose in getting under way. A rousing
cheer ascended when the grim little "Benson" slipped her moorings and