"Forward! forward!"
Andrey went into the conning tower; straight in front of him foamy
eddies whirled furiously. The dark hull of a ship appeared, obscuring
the light.
"Stop!" shouted Andrey. "Fire another one! Full speed backward!" He
closed his eyes.
For a moment it seemed to him that the end had come. He was hurled by
the explosion of the torpedo into the corridor and dashed against the
wall. The outcries of the men were drowned by the muffled thud of the
inrushing water. The light went out; the _Kate_ began to rotate and
sink.
The boat did not stay long in the deep; freed from the weight of two
torpedoes, she slowly began to rise, stopped before reaching the
surface, and commenced to sink again as the water continued to leak into
her hull.
A sailor found Andrey in a narrow passage unconscious, though breathing
regularly. The man dressed the captain's wounds, but could not bring him
to his senses. Another sailor tried to revive Yakovlev, but soon saw
that that officer was dead. All the available hands toiled at the pumps,
while the engineer and his two assistants worked frantically at the
engine.
The _Kate_ was near the surface, but as the periscope and the indicator
had been destroyed, it was impossible to tell precisely where she was.
On the other hand, to unscrew the hatch and look out would subject the
boat to the risk of being flooded. Finally, the engineer reported that
it was necessary to replace the cylinder, but that this was difficult to
do because the supply of candles was giving out. Kuritzyn, a sailor who
had assumed command, ordered the men at the pumps to pump until they
dropped dead, if necessary, but to raise the boat at least one yard. The
men obeyed in grim silence. Presently the last candle went out. "It's
all over, boys," said some one, and the pumps stopped. The only sound
that now broke the silence was the monotonous splash of water leaking
down on the periscope screen.
"Follow me," said Kuritzyn hoarsely to two of the men. "Let us unscrew
the hatches. What's the use of fooling any longer?"
Feeling their way in the darkness, several men followed the leader into
the corridor and up the spiral staircase in the main hatchway. When they
reached the top, they grasped the bolts of the lid.
"Here's our finish," said one of the men.
Just then the sound of footsteps on the outside of the boat reached
their ears. Some one was walking on the _Kate's_ hull!
"Down to the ballast tanks!" Kuritzyn ordered. "When I fire, blow them
out. We are ordered not to surrender the boat."
With his revolver between his teeth, he pressed the bolt. The lid
yielded; light and air rushed into the opening.
"Hey, who is there?" Kuritzyn shouted.
"Russians, Russians," replied a voice.
"Thank God!" said Kuritzyn in a tone of intense gratitude.