AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY
"What does this mean, Captain Rover?" demanded Professor Brice, as he
rushed up, lantern in hand and followed quickly by Major Ralph Mason
and a dozen other cadets.
"I caught this rascal cutting the ropes to our tent," explained Jack.
"Gee, you'd better hold that tent down!" cried one of the cadets.
"There go three of the ropes now!" And what he said was true, the
ropes in question being those that Werner had partly severed with his
knife.
Fred had come out of the tent, and now he and a number of the other
cadets held down the canvas so that the wind could not get under it.
It was blowing furiously, so that they had no easy job of it to keep
the tent from going up.
"Do you mean to say he really cut the ropes here?" demanded Professor
Brice sternly, as Werner gathered himself together on the wet ground
and slowly arose to his feet.
"Yes, sir," said Jack. "And there is the knife he did it with," he
added, pointing to the pocket piece which had fallen under the
ex-lieutenant.
"It was--er--it was--er--only a bit of fun," stammered Werner, not
knowing what else to say. "And Jack Rover had no right to pitch into
me the way he did!"
"I had a perfect right to do so, Professor Brice," announced Jack. "If
I wanted to say more--- But I won't do it now," he added. "I'll make a
report to you in private."
By this time the camp was in an uproar, for down the line where
Company C was located there had been another rumpus. Gif, going out on
guard duty, had caught sight of Bill Glutts just as the latter had cut
two of the ropes to the tent occupied by him and Spouter and the
twins. Gif had treated the wholesale butcher's son rather roughly, and
Glutts had finally yelled for mercy, bringing out a crowd of twenty or
thirty, including the twins.
"This is a despicable piece of business, Werner," said Professor Brice
sternly. "I will at once report the matter to Captain Dale, who, as
you know, is in authority in this camp. Come along with me."
Captain Dale had been down to the shore of the bay, to make certain
that there was no danger of the tents which were used for bath houses
being blown away. He soon came up and looked closely at the ropes
which Werner had partly severed.
"I don't like this sort of thing at all," he said to the
ex-lieutenant. "If that tent had come down while those inside were
asleep somebody might have been seriously injured. More than that,
nobody would care to be without shelter on such a night as this, and
with all their possessions getting wet. You will report to the
corporal of the guard at once." Then Captain Dale passed on to where
the others were having trouble with Glutts, and he was also ordered to
report to the guard.
In the meanwhile, as the storm seemed to be increasing, Captain Dale
gave orders that the fastenings of every tent should be inspected
thoroughly and extra ropes and pegs should be put down wherever
necessary. He did not want any of the school property damaged.
"Gee, we'll catch it for this!" growled Bill Glutts, when he and
Werner had been placed in a small wooden shanty, designated a
guardhouse. "I suppose they'll make us do all sorts of disagreeable
things as a punishment."
"I won't stand for it!" stormed Werner, whose nose was still bleeding
from the blow Jack had dealt. "They can't make me the laughingstock
of this camp."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going home," announced the ex-lieutenant.
And that is what he did, stealing away from the camp early in the
morning just as the heavy storm of the night was passing away. He
managed to get a few of his possessions, but the others had to be left
behind. He wanted Glutts to go with him, but the son of the wholesale
butcher was afraid to do so.
In the morning Jack and the others had to make a full report to
Captain Dale of what had occurred. The young captain mentioned the
fact that Werner had had his pocketknife in his hand.
"I'm not sure that he was going to use it," said Jack. "In fact, I
would rather think that he wouldn't do so. But I wasn't going to take
any chances, and so I hit him. Then he hit back, and--well, we mixed
it up pretty freely. Finally I gave him a blow that knocked him flat,
and then the others came up."
"Captain Rover, you know I do not approve of fighting, especially
among officers," declared Captain Dale sternly. "However, the
introduction of the pocketknife changes the situation somewhat. I will
hear what Werner has to say."
Then it was discovered that Gabe Werner had left the camp. He had
written a note saying that he was going home and that he guessed he
would never come back to Colby Hall again. This being so, the matter
was dropped so far as Jack was concerned. Nor was Gif punished for the
way he had treated Bill Glutts. Captain Dale read a stern lecture to
that unworthy, and for the remainder of the camp term Glutts was
deprived of many liberties he might otherwise have enjoyed.
It must not be supposed that the boys had forgotten the strange noises
they had heard while in the woods and in the cavern at the front of
the cliff. They had reported to Captain Dale, and several
investigations had been made, but without results. The captain had
also communicated with the authorities at Rackville, and likewise with
the Secret Service men stationed at Camp Huxwell.
"Well, I see they haven't made any progress in the matter of that
explosion at the Hasley Shell Loading plant," remarked Spouter one
day, after reading a copy of the Haven Point newspaper which had come
in. "They are looking all over for those two Germans, but have been
unable to spot 'em."
"I see the company is offering a reward of ten thousand dollars for
the apprehension of the men," came from Fred, who had likewise read
the sheet. "Gee, I'd like to get a chance at that reward!"
The next day the boys were treated to another surprise. As was their
custom when the weather and their duties permitted, they went in
bathing, and while diving Fred noticed a peculiar knocking sound under
water. He called the attention of the others to this, and each cadet
heard it quite plainly.
"It must come from the same place as those other noises we heard,"
declared Jack.
"I move we make a real investigation!" cried Andy. "Let's ask for a
day off and scour the woods thoroughly."
"That's the talk," cried Fred.
The others were willing, and received permission to go out two days
later, the party consisting of the four Rovers and Gif and Spouter.
They took their lunch with them, and also some canteens of water,
expecting to be gone until nightfall.
There was quite a discussion as to how they should start the
investigation. Some wanted to go along the base of the cliff at the
water's edge, while others were for making their way through the
forest. The latter suggestion prevailed, and they started near the
point where Randy had first heard the strange noises.
The young cadets tramped hither and thither among the trees and over
the rough rocks for four hours without coming upon anything unusual.
They stirred up a number of birds and small animals, but that was all.
"Looks like a wild-goose chase," remarked Jack, when they sat down to
rest and to eat their lunch.
The climbing over the rocks had been very tiring, and all of the lads
were glad after eating to take their ease for a while.
Randy was resting on his side, wondering whether it would be worth
while to play a trick on Gif and Spouter, who were but a few feet
away, when a movement among the trees at a distance attracted his
attention. He sat up, and as he did so felt certain that he had seen a
man moving along.
"Listen, boys!" he cried in a low voice. "There is some one now!"
"Where?" came from the others, and all aroused themselves on the
instant.
Randy pointed out the direction, and, gathering up their things, the
cadets hurried off to where he had pointed. There, sure enough, was a
man plodding along with a bundle over his shoulder. He was a short,
thick-set man, and wore a heavy mustache curled up at the ends.
"Let's see where he goes," said Jack. "Maybe he'll take us to that
place where the noises come from."
They followed the man without his being aware of their presence. The
fellow climbed over and around a number of rocks, and then pursued his
way past a dense clump of bushes. Then, of a sudden, he disappeared
from view.
The cadets were amazed, the more so after they had tramped around the
spot without ascertaining what had become of the man.
"Looks as if the earth had opened and swallowed him up," remarked
Randy.
The cadets had advanced with caution, but now they grew bolder, and
made a closer examination. But it was all of no avail--the man had
disappeared, and where he had gone to or how, there was no telling.
"One thing is sure," declared Jack. "He didn't walk away from here,
and he didn't go up into the air. That being so, he must have gone
down somewhere among the rocks and bushes. We had better hunt around
for some sort of an opening to a cave, or something like that."
The others were willing enough, and spent the best part of an hour in
the task. But no opening presented itself, although the rocks and
rough places in that vicinity were numerous.
"Here is something else we can report to Captain Dale," was Fred's
comment.
Not knowing what else to do, the boys marked the spot so that they
could remember it, and then pushed onward through the forest. Two
hours later they reached a sort of gully, with the rough rocks on one
side and an overhanging cliff on the other.
"Fine place for snakes," remarked Spouter, as they walked along.
"We're not looking for snakes, so please don't mention them," answered
Jack.
Why they did it, the boys could not explain afterwards, but they
continued along the gully until they reached a point where there was
something of a split in the face of the cliff.
"Here's another one of those caves just like that which we found over
on the bay front," declared Fred. "Let's go in and see what it looks
like."
With nothing in particular in view, the others were willing, and,
turning on a flashlight which they had brought along, they climbed
down into the cave-like opening. It was very irregular in shape, and
they had to proceed with caution.
And then, while they were climbing down among the rocks, something
happened which caused each of the cadets to start wildly. A strange
rumbling sound filled the air, a blowing and hissing, and then came a
pounding and a clanking, sounding with great clearness in that
confined space.
"It's the same noises we heard before, and they are not very far off!"
cried Jack to the others. "There must be a workshop of some sort
around here."
Hardly knowing what to expect, the boys continued to climb down into
the opening they had discovered. Soon they reached a narrow
passageway, where going was a little easier. Then they came to a spot
where there was considerable wetness, showing that they had reached
the level of the water in the bay beyond.
"Here is a regular underground waterway," declared Gif presently. "It
looks to be pretty deep, too."
He was right. To the surprise of everybody they had come out upon what
seemed to be an underground pond. On the side upon which they had
emerged there was a small sandy slope. The other side, and the far
end, were covered with jagged rocks.
The strange blowing, pounding, and clanking continued, and almost
deafened the cadets. They felt that they were on the point of a great
discovery, but could not imagine what it would be.
"It's a workshop, all right enough," declared Fred, a minute later.
"Jack, put out that light, quick!" And at this command the flashlight
was turned off.
The cadets had rounded a bend of the underground waterway, and now at
a distance they saw a number of electric lights shining brightly.
There was some machinery set up among the rocks, and several workmen
were present, all seemingly busy.
"Look!" exclaimed Jack, his eyes almost starting out of his head at
the sight. "What do you think of that, fellows?"
He pointed to a spot beyond where the strange men were working. There
the waterway seemed to broaden and deepen, and in the water lay a
strange-looking craft more than three-quarters submerged.
"It's a submarine!" breathed Fred excitedly. "A submarine! What do you
know about that?"
[Illustration: "A SUBMARINE! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?"
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