shore, in the careful manner that must be expected of civilian instructors
to cadets.”

Eph Somers felt something boiling up inside of him.





CHAPTER XIX: THE LIEUTENANT COMMANDER’S VERDICT


“Let me try to get at your meaning, sir, if you please,” begged Somers,
after standing for a few seconds with clenched fists. “Do you mean that my
friends have been going into tough resorts on shore?”

“Where else do sailors usually get drugged?” inquired Mr. Mayhew. “What
kind of people usually feed sea-faring men with what are generally known
as knock-out drops?”

“How should I know?” demanded Eph, solemnly.

“You see your friends, and you see their condition.”

“Smell their breaths, sir. There isn’t a trace of the odor of liquor.”

The surgeon did so, confirming Eph’s claim.

“But I remember that Mr. Benson came aboard, at Dunhaven, with a very
strong odor of liquor,” continued the lieutenant commander.