It was fully three o'clock by the time Lieutenant Danvers decided they
were far enough out to sea, and far enough from any craft in those
waters. Not a stick or a stack of another vessel showed within ten
miles of them. The scow was accordingly cast loose and allowed to
drift.

Captain Jack was at the tower wheel again, as Eph and the two sailors
returned from setting the scow loose.

"We've got to be sure to record one good hit against that old barge of
stone," muttered Lieutenant Danvers, who stood beside the youthful
submarine commander. "The sea is roughening, and I doubt if we could
pick up that scow in tow again. We've got to destroy her, or she'd be
a fearful menace to navigation, drifting about in the night in the path
of incoming vessels."

"Oh, I guess you'll get rid of her easily enough," spoke Jack,
confidently. "You're a professional at this business, sir."

"So are the two men with me," nodded the officer. "By the way, Ewald
can just as well come on deck and take the wheel, if you want him to do
so. Then you can go below and see all that we do with a torpedo."

"Now, that's what I call a great idea," cried Benson, enthusiastically.
"I want to know just how a torpedo is handled at the time of firing."

"It's the only thing you have left to learn about this business,"
smiled the naval officer. Then he passed the word for Ewald. When that
it sailor had taken the wheel, the naval officer and the young submarine