Jack Benson had played his master stroke in this new game.

In former times, when the Pollard boats had been all but unknown, Captain Jack had been quick to grasp the importance of newspaper fame.  As told in the second volume of this series, Jack had once invited a big party of newspaper folks to Dunhaven, to observe some startling performances by the Pollard boat.  At that time he had given them a programme so full of excitement that the fame of the Pollard boat had been flashed over the country, and the Navy Department had found public opinion clamoring for the United States Navy to own and control a few of these wonderful craft.

And now, Jack Benson, wholly and absolutely convinced of the guilt of Rhinds and Radwin, had gone to the local daily newspaper offices with his account of what had happened out at sea.

It was a great stroke.  Yet Captain Jack had not undertaken it without first having secured the permission of Jacob Farnum.  After Jack went to the newspaper offices the Colfax reporters had busied themselves with interviewing naval officers, including members of the naval board.

And now the story was out, for the world to read.  Yet it was a statement only of bare, easily proved facts.  The newspapers were glad to have such a startling yarn, and it had been told in such a way that John Rhinds did not have a single chance in any suit he might bring for libel.

After the first shock that the discovery caused him, John C. Rhinds began to suspect Jack’s hand in this straight-from-the-shoulder blow.

“It’s that young Benson again!” he raged, silently, rising and stamping on the offending, yet truth-telling, newspapers.  “And this will get beyond Colfax!  The newspapers of the larger cities will begin to hear of this by evening.  To-night this whole yarn will be flashing over the telegraph wires of the country.  Tomorrow morning millions of people will be reading this awful stuff.  Oh, if I could only tear that young fellow to pieces!”

John Rhinds gnashed his teeth in his fury.  Had he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, just then, the man would have been afraid of his own reflection.

Yet, with all his guilty knowledge of what he had encouraged Radwin to do, it did not occur to Rhinds to lay the blame anywhere except upon the shoulders of honest, though hard fighting, Captain Jack Benson.

Presently, John Rhinds cooled down.

He even became suave and smiling—­though under the smile a ghastly pallor lay on his cheeks.

This change of outward temper was all because he was forced to become crafty before others.

It is a common way with many newspapers to leap on a man and trounce him, figuratively speaking, and then to send reporters around to see how the victim has enjoyed the flaying.

That was what happened to John Rhinds.

Within half an hour after the newspapers had come to him a message over the telephone from the hotel office informed the president of the Rhinds Submarine Company that a reporter was below who wished to interview Mr. Rhinds.