"By the way, you'll have to excuse me for a few
minutes while I run back into town on a little errand. Meanwhile,
Captain, will you explain to Professor Kennedy just how things
are? Perhaps he'd better begin by seeing the Turtle herself."
Burke had not waited longer than to take leave.
"The Turtle," repeated the captain, leading the way into the
house. "Well, I did call it that at first. But I prefer to call it
the Z99. You know the first submarines, abroad at least, were
sometimes called Al, A2, A3, and so on. They were of the diving,
plunging type, that is, they submerged on an inclined keel, nose
down, like the Hollands. Then came the B type, in which the
hydroplane appeared; the C type, in which it was more prominent,
and a D type, where submergence is on a perfectly even keel,
somewhat like our Lakes. Well, this boat of mine is a last word--
the Z99. Call it the Turtle, if you like."
We were standing for a moment in a wide Colonial hall in which a
fire was crackling in a huge brick fireplace, taking the chill off
the night air.
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