Suppose we go to the island, that is, some of us, leaving a guard on
board here. We'll fill our tanks with fresh water, and at night we'll
quietly sink below the surface and speed away."
They all voted that an excellent idea, and little time was lost putting
it into operation.
All the remainder of that day not a sign of life was visible about the
Wonder. She lay inert on the surface of the lagoon, not far away from
the Advance; but, though no one showed himself on the deck, Tom and his
friends had no doubt but that their enemies were closely watching them.
As dusk settled down over the tropical sea, and as the shadows of the
trees on the little island lengthened, those on board the Advance
closed the Conning tower. No lights were turned on, as they did not
want their movements to be seen, but Tom, his father and Mr. Sharp took
their positions near the various machines and apparatus, ready to open
the tanks and let the submarine sink to the bottom, as soon as it was
possible to do this unobserved.
"Luckily there's no moon," remarked Captain Weston, as he took his
place beside Tom. "Once below the surface and we can defy them to find
us. It is odd how they traced us, but I suppose that steamer gave them
the clue."
It rapidly grew dark, as it always does in the tropics, and when a
cautious observation from the conning tower did not disclose the
outlines of the other boat, those aboard the Advance rightly concluded
that their rivals were unable to see them.
"Send her down, Tom," called his father, and with a hiss the water
entered the tanks. The submarine quickly sank below the surface, aided
by the deflecting rudder.
But alas for the hopes of the gold-seekers. No sooner was she
completely submerged, with the engine started so as to send her out of
the lagoon and to the open sea, than the waters all about were made
brilliant by the phosphorescent phenomenon. In southern waters this
frequently occurs. Millions of tiny creatures, which, it is said,
swarm in the warm currents, give an appearance of fire to the ocean,
and any object moving through it can plainly be seen. It was so with
the Advance. The motion she made in shooting forward, and the
undulations caused by her submersion, seemed to start into activity the
dormant phosphorus, and the submarine was afloat in a sea of fire.
"Quick!" cried Tom. "Speed her up! Maybe we can get out of this patch
of water before they see us."
But it was too late. Above them they could hear the electric siren of
the Wonder as it was blown to let them know that their escape had been
noticed. A moment later the water, which acted as a sort of
sounding-board, or telephone, brought to the ears of Tom Swift and his
friends the noise of the engines of the other craft in operation. She
was coming after them. The race for the possession of three hundred
thousand dollars in gold was already under way. Fate seemed against
those on board the Advance.
Chapter Seventeen
The Race
Directed by Captain Weston, who glanced at the compass and told him
which way to steer to clear the outer coral reef, Tom sent the
submarine ahead, signaling for full speed to the engine-room, where his
father and Mr. Sharp were. The big dynamos purred like great cats, as
they sent the electrical energy into the forward and aft plates,
pulling and pushing the Advance forward. On and on she rushed under
water, but ever as she shot ahead the disturbance in the phosphorescent
water showed her position plainly. She would be easy to follow.
"Can't you get any more speed out of her?" asked the captain of the lad.
"Yes," was the quick reply; "by using the auxiliary screws I think we
can. I'll try it."
He signaled for the propellers, forward and aft, to be put in
operation, and the motor moving the twin screws was turned on. At once
there was a perceptible increase to the speed of the Advance.
"Are we leaving them behind?" asked Tom anxiously, as he glanced at the
speed gage, and noted that the submarine was now about five hundred
feet below the surface.
"Hard to tell," replied the Captain. "You'd have to take an observation
to make sure."
"I'll do it," cried the youth. "You steer, please, and I'll go in the
conning tower. I can look forward and aft there, as well as straight
up. Maybe I can see the Wonder."
Springing up the circular ladder leading into the tower, Tom glanced
through the windows all about the small pilot house. He saw a curious
sight. It was as if the submarine was in a sea of yellowish liquid
fire. She was immersed in water which glowed with the flames that
contained no heat. So light was it, in fact, that there was no need of
the incandescents in the tower. The young inventor could have seen to
read a paper by the illumination of the phosphorus. But he had
something else to do than observe this phenomenon. He wanted to see if
he could catch sight of the rival submarine.
At first he could make out nothing save the swirl and boiling of the
sea, caused by the progress of the Advance through it. But suddenly, as
he looked up, he was aware of some great, black body a little to the
rear and about ten feet above his craft.
"A shark!" he exclaimed aloud. "An immense one, too."
But the closer he looked the less it seemed like a shark. The position
of the black object changed. It appeared to settle down, to be
approaching the top of the conning tower. Then, with a suddenness that
unnerved him for the time being, Tom recognized what it was; it was the
underside of a ship. He could see the plates riveted together, and
then, as he noted the rounded, cylindrical shape, he knew that it was a
submarine. It was the Wonder. She was close at hand and was creeping up
on the Advance. But, what was more dangerous, she seemed to be slowly
settling in the water. Another moment and her great screws might crash
into the Conning tower of the Swifts' boat and shave it off. Then the
water would rush in, drowning the treasure-seekers like rats in a trap.
With a quick motion Tom yanked over the lever that allowed more water
to flow into the ballast tanks. The effect was at once apparent. The
Advance shot down toward the bottom of the sea. At the same time the
young inventor signaled to Captain Weston to notify those in the
engine-room to put on a little more speed. The Advance fairly leaped
ahead, and the lad, looking up through the bull's-eye in the roof of
the conning tower, had the satisfaction of seeing the rival submarine
left behind.
The youth hurried down into the interior of the ship to tell what he
had seen, and explain the reason for opening the ballast tanks. He
found his father and Mr. Sharp somewhat excited over the unexpected
maneuver of the craft.
"So they're still following us," murmured Mr. Swift. "I don't see why
we can't shake them off."
"It's on account of this luminous water," explained Captain Weston.
"Once we are clear of that it will be easy, I think, to give them the
slip. That is, if we can get out of their sight long enough. Of course,
if they keep close after us, they can pick us up with their
searchlight, for I suppose they carry one."
"Yes," admitted the aged inventor, "they have as strong a one as we
have. In fact, their ship is second only to this one in speed and
power. I know, for Bentley & Eagert showed me some of the plans before
they started it, and asked my opinion. This was before I had the notion
of building a submarine. Yes, I am afraid we'll have trouble getting
away from them."
"I can't understand this phosphorescent glow keeping up so long,"
remarked Captain Weston. "I've seen it in this locality several times,
but it never covered such an extent of the ocean in my time. There
must be changed conditions here now."
For an hour or more the race was kept up, and the two submarines forged
ahead through the glowing sea. The Wonder remained slightly above and
to the rear of the other, the better to keep sight of her, and though
the Advance was run to her limit of speed, her rival could not be
shaken off. Clearly the Wonder was a speedy craft.
"It's too bad that we've got to fight them, as well as run the risk of
lots of other troubles which are always present when sailing under
water," observed Mr Damon, who wandered about the submarine like the
nervous person he was. "Bless my shirt-studs! Can't we blow them up, or
cripple them in some way? They have no right to go after our treasure."
"Well, I guess they've got as much right as we have," declared Tom. "It
goes to whoever reaches the wreck first. But what I don't like is
their mean, sneaking way of doing it. If they went off on their own
hook and looked for it I wouldn't say a word. But they expect us to
lead them to the wreck, and then they'll rob us if they can. That's not
fair."
"Indeed, it isn't," agreed Captain Weston, "if I may be allowed the
expression. We ought to find some way of stopping them. But, if I'm not
mistaken," he added quickly, looking from one of the port bull's-eyes,
"the phosphorescent glow is lessening. I believe we are running beyond
that part of the ocean."
There was no doubt of it, the glow was growing less and less, and ten
minutes later the Advance was speeding along through a sea as black as
night. Then, to avoid running into some wreck, it was necessary to turn
on the searchlight.
"Are they still after us?" asked Mr. Swift of his son, as he emerged
from the engine-room, where he had gone to make some adjustments to the
machinery, with the hope of increasing the speed.
"I'll go look," volunteered the lad. He climbed up into the conning
tower again, and for a moment, as he gazed back into the black waters
swirling all about, he hoped that they had lost the Wonder. But a
moment later his heart sank as he caught sight, through the liquid
element, of the flickering gleams of another searchlight, the rays
undulating through the sea.
"Still following," murmured the young inventor. "They're not going to
give up. But we must make 'em--that's all."
He went down to report what he had seen, and a consultation was held.
Captain Weston carefully studied the charts of that part of the ocean,
and finding that there was a great depth of water at hand, proposed a
series of evolutions.
"We can go up and down, shoot first to one side and then to the other,"
he explained. "We can even drop down to the bottom and rest there for a
while. Perhaps, in that way, we can shake them off."
They tried it. The Advance was sent up until her conning tower was out
of the water, and then she was suddenly forced down until she was but a
few feet from the bottom. She darted to the left, to the right, and
even doubled and went back over the course she had taken. But all to no
purpose. The Wonder proved fully as speedy, and those in her seemed to
know just how to handle the submarine, so that every evolution of the
Advance was duplicated. Her rival could not be shaken off.
All night this was kept up, and when morning came, though only the
clocks told it, for eternal night was below the surface, the rival
gold-seekers were still on the trail.
"They won't give up," declared Mr. Swift hopelessly.
"No, we've got to race them for it, just as Berg proposed," admitted
Tom. "But if they want a straightaway race we'll give it to 'em. Let's
run her to the limit, dad."
"That's what we've been doing, Tom."
"No, not exactly, for we've been submerged a little too much to get the
best speed out of our craft. Let's go a little nearer the surface, and
give them the best race they'll ever have."
Then the race began; and such a contest of speed as it was! With her
propellers working to the limit, and every volt of electricity that was
available forced into the forward and aft plates, the Advance surged
through the water, about ten feet below the surface. But the Wonder
kept after her, giving her knot for knot. The course of the leading
submarine was easy to trace now, in the morning light which penetrated
ten feet down.
"No use," remarked Tom again, when, after two hours, the Wonder was
still close behind them. "Our only chance is that they may have a
breakdown."
"Or run out of air, or something like that," added Captain Weston.
"They are crowding us pretty close. I had no idea they could keep up
this speed. If they don't look out," he went on as he looked from one
of the aft observation windows, "they'll foul us, and--"
His remarks were interrupted by a jar to the Advance. She seemed to
shiver and careened to one side. Then came another bump.
"Slow down!" cried the captain, rushing toward the pilot house.
"What's the matter?" asked Tom, as he threw the engines and electrical
machines out of gear. "Have we hit anything?"
"No. Something has hit us," cried the captain. "Their submarine has
rammed us."
"Rammed us!" repeated Mr. Swift. "Tom, run out the electric cannon!
They're trying to sink us! We'll have to fight them. Run out the stern
electric gun and we'll make them wish they'd not followed us."
Chapter Eighteen
The Electric Gun
There was much excitement aboard the Advance. The submarine came to a
stop in the water, while the treasure-seekers waited anxiously for what
was to follow. Would they be rammed again? This time, stationary as
they were, and with the other boat coming swiftly on, a hole might be
stove through the Advance, in spite of her powerful sides.
They had not long to wait. Again there came a jar, and once more the
Swifts' boat careened. But the blow was a glancing one and,
fortunately, did little damage.
"They certainly must be trying to sink us," agreed Captain Weston.
"Come, Tom, we'll take a look from the stern and see what they're up
to."
"And get the stern electric gun ready to fire," repeated Mr. Swift. "We
must protect ourselves. Mr. Sharp and I will go to the bow. There is no
telling what they may do. They're desperate, and may ram us from in
front."
Tom and the captain hurried aft. Through the thick plate-glass windows
they could see the blunt nose of the Wonder not far away, the rival
submarine having come to a halt. There she lay, black and silent, like
some monster fish waiting to devour its victim.
"There doesn't appear to be much damage done back here," observed Tom.
"No leaks. Guess they didn't puncture us."
"Perhaps it was due to an accident that they rammed us," suggested the
captain.
"Well, they wouldn't have done it if they hadn't followed us so close,"
was the opinion of the young inventor. "They're taking too many
chances. We've got to stop 'em."
"What is this electric gun your father speaks of?"
"Why, it's a regular electric cannon. It fires a solid ball, weighing
about twenty-five pounds, but instead of powder, which would hardly do
under water, and instead of compressed air, which is used in the
torpedo tubes of the Government submarines, we use a current of
electricity. It forces the cannon ball out with great energy."
"I wonder what they will do next?" observed the captain, peering
through a bull's eye.
"We can soon tell," replied the youth. "We'll go ahead, and if they try
to follow I'm going to fire on them."
"Suppose you sink them?"
"I won't fire to do that; only to disable them. They brought it on
themselves. We can't risk having them damage us. Help me with the
cannon, will you please, captain?"
The electric cannon was a long, steel tube in the after part of the
submarine. It projected a slight distance from the sides of the ship,
and by an ingenious arrangement could be swung around in a ball and
socket joint, thus enabling it to shoot in almost any direction.
It was the work of but a few minutes to get it ready and, with the
muzzle pointing toward the Wonder, Tom adjusted the electric wires and
inserted the solid shot.
"Now we're prepared for them!" he cried. "I think a good plan will be
to start ahead, and if they try to follow to fire on them. They've
brought it on themselves."
"Correct," spoke Captain Weston.
Tom hurried forward to tell his father of this plan.
"We'll do it!" cried Mr. Swift. "Go ahead, Mr. Sharp, and we'll see if
those scoundrels will follow."
The young inventor returned on the run to the electric cannon. There
was a whir of machinery, and the Advance moved forward. She increased
her speed, and the two watchers in the stern looked anxiously out of
the windows to see what their rivals would do.
For a moment no movement was noticeable on the part of the Wonder.
Then, as those aboard her appeared to realize that the craft on which
they depended to pilot them to the sunken treasure was slipping away,
word was given to follow. The ship of Berg and his employers shot after
the Advance.
"Here they come!" cried Captain Weston. "They're going to ram us again!"
"Then I'm going to fire on them!" declared Tom savagely.
On came the Wonder, nearer and nearer. Her speed was rapidly
increasing. Suddenly she bumped the Advance, and then, as if it was an
unavoidable accident, the rear submarine sheered off to one side.
"They're certainly at it again!" cried Tom, and peering from the
bull's-eye he saw the Wonder shoot past the mouth of the electric
cannon. "Here it goes!" he added.
He shoved over the lever, making the proper connection. There was no
corresponding report, for the cannon was noiseless, but there was a
slight jar as the projectile left the muzzle. The Wonder could be seen
to heel over.
"You hit her! You hit her!" cried Captain Weston. "A good shot!"
"I was afraid she was past me when I pulled the lever," explained Tom.
"She went like a flash."
"No, you caught her on the rudder," declared the captain. "I think
you've put her out of business. Yes, they're rising to the surface."
The lad rapidly inserted another ball, and recharged the cannon. Then
he peered out into the water, illuminated by the light of day overhead,
as they were not far down. He could see the Wonder rising to the
surface. Clearly something had happened.
"Maybe they're going to drop down on us from above, and try to sink
us," suggested the youth, while he stood ready to fire again. "If they
do--"
His words were interrupted by a slight jar throughout the submarine.
"What was that?" cried the captain.
"Dad fired the bow gun at them, but I don't believe he hit them,"
answered the young inventor.
"I wonder what damage I did? Guess we'll go to the surface to find out."
Clearly the Wonder had given up the fight for the time being. In fact,
she had no weapon with which to respond to a fusillade from her rival.
Tom hastened forward and informed his father of what had happened.
"If her steering gear is out of order, we may have a chance to slip
away," said Mr. Swift "We'll go up and see what we can learn."
A few minutes later Tom, his father and Captain Weston stepped from the
conning tower, which was out of water, on to the little flat deck a
short distance away lay the Wonder, and on her deck was Berg and a
number of men, evidently members of the crew.
"Why did you fire on us?" shouted the agent angrily.
"Why did you follow us?" retorted Tom.
"Well, you've broken our rudder and disabled us," went on Berg, not
answering the question. "You'll suffer for this! I'll have you
arrested."
"You only got what you deserved," added Mr. Swift. "You were acting
illegally, following us, and you tried to sink us by ramming my craft
before we retaliated by firing on you."
"It was an accident, ramming you," said Berg. "We couldn't help it. I
now demand that you help us make repairs."
"Well, you've got nerve!" cried Captain Weston, his eyes flashing. "I'd
like to have a personal interview with you for about ten minutes. Maybe
something besides your ship would need repairs then."
Berg turned away, scowling, but did not reply. He began directing the
crew what to do about the broken rudder.
"Come on," proposed Tom in a low voice, for sounds carry very easily
over water. "Let's go below and skip out while we have a chance. They
can't follow now, and we can get to the sunken treasure ahead of them."
"Good advice," commented his father. "Come, Captain Weston, we'll go
below and close the conning tower."
Five minutes later the Advance sank from sight, the last glimpse Tom
had of Berg and his men being a sight of them standing on the deck of
their floating boat, gazing in the direction of their successful rival.
The Wonder was left behind, while Tom and his friends were soon once
more speeding toward the treasure wreck.
Chapter Nineteen
Captured
"Down deep," advised Captain Weston, as he stood beside Tom and Mr.
Swift in the pilot house. "As far as you can manage her, and then
forward. We'll take no more chances with these fellows."
"The only trouble is," replied the young inventor, "that the deeper we
go the slower we have to travel. The water is so dense that it holds us
back."
"Well, there is no special need of hurrying now," went on the sailor.
"No one is following you, and two or three days difference in reaching
the wreck will not amount to anything."
"Unless they repair their rudder, and take after us again," suggested
Mr. Swift.
"They're not very likely to do that," was the captain's opinion. "It
was more by luck than good management that they picked us up before.
Now, having to delay, as they will, to repair their steering gear,
while we can go as deep as we please and speed ahead, it is practically
impossible for them to catch up to us. No, I think we have nothing to
fear from them."
But though danger from Berg and his crowd was somewhat remote, perils
of another sort were hovering around the treasure-seekers, and they
were soon to experience them.
It was much different from sailing along in the airship, Tom thought,
for there was no blue sky and fleecy clouds to see, and they could not
look down and observe, far below them, cities and villages. Nor could
they breathe the bracing atmosphere of the upper regions.
But if there was lack of the rarefied air of the clouds, there was no
lack of fresh atmosphere. The big tanks carried a large supply, and
whenever more was needed the oxygen machine would supply it.
As there was no need, however, of remaining under water for any great
stretch of time, it was their practice to rise every day and renew the
air supply, also to float along on the surface for a while, or speed
along, with only the conning tower out, in order to afford a view, and
to enable Captain Weston to take observations. But care was always
exercised to make sure no ships were in sight when emerging on the
surface, for the gold-seekers did not want to be hailed and questioned
by inquisitive persons.
It was about four days after the disabling of the rival submarine, and
the Advance was speeding along about a mile and a half under water. Tom
was in the pilot house with Captain Weston, Mr. Damon was at his
favorite pastime of looking out of the glass side windows into the
ocean and its wonders, and Mr. Swift and the balloonist were, as
usual, in the engine-room.
"How near do you calculate we are to the sunken wreck?" asked Tom of
his companion.
"Well, at the calculation we made yesterday, we are within about a
thousand miles of it now. We ought to reach it in about four more days,
if we don't have any accidents."
"And how deep do you think it is?" went on the lad.
"Well, I'm afraid it's pretty close to two miles, if not more. It's
quite a depth, and of course impossible for ordinary divers to reach.
But it will be possible in this submarine and in the strong diving
suits your father has invented for us to get to it. Yes, I don't
anticipate much trouble in getting out the gold, once we reach the
wreck of course--"
The captain's remark was not finished. From the engine-room there came
a startled shout:
"Tom! Tom! Your father is hurt! Come here, quick!"
"Take the wheel!" cried the lad to the captain. "I must go to my
father." It was Mr. Sharp's voice he had heard.
Racing to the engine-room, Tom saw his parent doubled up over a dynamo,
while to one side, his hand on a copper switch, stood Mr. Sharp.
"What's the matter?" shouted the lad.
"He's held there by a current of electricity," replied the balloonist.
"The wires are crossed."
"Why don't you shut off the current?" demanded the youth, as he
prepared to pull his parent from the whirring machine. Then he
hesitated, for he feared he, too, would be glued fast by the terrible
current, and so be unable to help Mr. Swift.
"I'm held fast here, too," replied the balloonist. "I started to cut
out the current at this switch, but there's a short circuit somewhere,
and I can't let go, either. Quick, shut off all power at the main
switchboard forward."