So I took that knife Mr. Leffingwell gave
me, the one with a whole tool-chest in it, and I opened it behind
my hand, and found a dandy screw-driver. Then I took a look over
the torpedo I was fussing with, and I saw it steered by its tail.
I knew it must be carefully adjust, and I sort of memorized where
all the screws were."
"They can remember anything," said Colonel Bright to Captain
Greene. "Go on!"
"Well, sir, that night I went to sleep, or pretended to, right
under the torpedo shelves, and when I heard everybody snore, I
went to work, and twisted all those screws a little."
The Captain burst out into a roar of laughter.
"Well, son," cried Captain Greene, "it certainly worked! Could
you see the result of your scheme?"
"No, sir, we couldn't see a thing. But I thought it must have
worked because--well, I felt it must!
"Then everybody in the boat seemed to be mad at everybody else;
and everything they said sounded as though they were threatening
each other. Once the Captain laughed when the boy-sticker man
said something to me, and he said,
"'Do you know what he said?' And I said no; and the Captain said,
'Well, it's too bad you never learned German! He was telling you
just what he intends to do to you as soon as I give him leave.
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