“I wanted to see whether it would be warmer in the depths; wanted to find
out how low I could go and be able to do without heat in winter,” Somers
retorted.

“I could have told you that, from my reading, without any experiment,”
retorted Skipper Jack. “Close your conning tower and go down a little way,
and the temperature would gradually rise a few degrees. That’s because of
the absence of wind and draft. But, if you could go down very, very deep
without smashing the boat under the water pressure, you’d find the
temperature falling quite a bit.”

“Where did you read all that?” inquired Eph, looking both astonished and
sheepish.

“Here,” replied Jack, going to a small wall book-case, taking down a book
and turning several pages before he stopped.

“Just my luck,” muttered Eph, disconsolately. “Here I’ve been dull as
ditch-water for an hour, trying to find out something new, and it’s all
stated in a book printed—ten years ago,” he finished, after rapidly
consulting the title-page.

Jacob Farnum had been no listener to this conversation. Taking the marine
glasses from the conning tower, the shipbuilder was now well forward on
the platform deck, scanning what was visible of the steam craft to the
southward. At last the yard’s owner turned around to say:

“I don’t believe you young men can have things ship-shape a second too
soon. The craft heading this way has a military mast forward. She must be
the ’Hudson.’ If there’s anything to be done, hustle!”