Each division, when detached, of such weight that it could be easily carried by three men, but no guarantee given that the propeller would give the speed desired.
"That is good enough for us, I think," said Mr.Hume.
"They give no guarantee," remarked Compton, cautiously.
"No; but they would not undertake the work unless they had some belief in the idea, and if the propeller proves useless, we can at the worst unship it.

In any case we must have the boat, and we could not improve on the makers." The order was given, and by the fourth week the little boat was launched on the Thames for its first trial.

It looked workmanlike in spite of its wide beam and shallow draught, for the great designer who had fashioned the lines of the fastest destroyer afloat had himself drawn up the plans after giving a day's careful thought to the job.

The shaft, which rested on nickel-steel sockets, with ball bearings supported by nickel-steel ribs for lightness, was protected by a water-tight casing, and all the other parts made of the very best metal, so as to secure both lightness and strength, with a complicated set of cog-wheels to take off the strain.

The steering was by a neat wheel right forward, where the look-out man could have an uninterrupted view.