"Now," said Mr. Swift to the newcomer, "I am at your service. What is it you wish?"

 

"In the first place, let me apologize for having startled you and your friends," began the man. "I had no idea of sneaking² into your workshop, but I had just arrived here, and seeing the doors open I went in. I heard no one about, and I wandered to the back of the place. There I happened to stumble over a board—"

 

"And I heard you," interrupted Tom.

 

"Is this one of your employees?" asked Mr. Berg in rather frigid⁴ tones.

 

"That is my son," replied Mr. Swift.

 

"Oh, I beg your pardon." The man's manner changed quickly. "Well, I guess you did hear me, young man. I didn't intend to bark my shins the way I did, either. You must have taken me for a burglar or a sneak³ thief."

 

"I have been very much bothered by a gang of unscrupulous men," said Mr. Swift, "and I suppose Tom thought it was some of them sneaking around again."

 

"That's what I did," added the lad. "I wasn't going to have any one steal the secret of the submarine if I could help it."

 

"Quite right! Quite right!" exclaimed Mr. Berg. "But my purpose was an open one. As you know, Mr. Swift, I represent the firm of Bentley & Eagert, builders of submarine boats and torpedoes⁵. They heard that you were constructing a craft to take part in the competitive prize tests of the United States Government, and they asked me to come and see you to learn when your ship would be ready. Ours is completed, but we recognize that it will be for the best interests of all concerned if there are a number of contestants

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1 aged
adj.年老的，陈年的
参考例句：
He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。 He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 sneaking
a.秘密的，不公开的
参考例句：
She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。 She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

3 sneak
vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行
参考例句：
He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。 I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

4 frigid
adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的
参考例句：
The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。 She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。

5 torpedoes
鱼雷( torpedo的名词复数 )； 油井爆破筒； 刺客； 掼炮
参考例句：
We top off, take on provisions and torpedoes, and go. 我们维修完，装上给养和鱼雷就出发。 The torpedoes hit amidship, and there followed a series of crashing explosions. 鱼雷击中了船腹，引起了一阵隆隆的爆炸声。

6 contestants
n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。 Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 penetrate
v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解
参考例句：
Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。 The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

9 entirely
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。 His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。