CAUGHT IN A SEA OF GRASS
"It's all up with me and the ship, too," thought Andy as he stood in the
small chamber and watched the oncoming of the monster.
However, he was not going to die without a fight, so he raised the
electric gun. Yet he knew it was a most forlorn chance.
He aimed straight down the big open mouth and pulled the trigger. The
next instant the water all about him was a mass of foam, through which
he could dimly see that the whale had halted.
And, as the old hunter watched, in awe and fear at what he saw, he noted
that instead of one monster there seemed to be a pair. Together they
were threshing the sea into a bloody foam.
Then, turning on the searchlight in his helmet, Andy beheld a terrible
sight. The whale had been attacked by a gigantic swordfish at the moment
the hunter had fired the shot, and it was that, and not the electric
bullet, that had stopped the infuriated animal's rush at the ship.
Ancient enemies, the whale and swordfish, had met in mortal combat. The
swordfish had engaged the whale just as it was about to strike what
would probably have been a blow that would have disabled the submarine,
for with the door of the diving chamber open, the onslaught might not
have been withstood.
Rushing here and there, the whale seeking to destroy his enemy with a
sweep of the enormous flukes, and the swordfish plunging his bony weapon
again and again into the whale, the two monsters fought until the water
about the ship was a mass of foam and blood.
Much as he wanted to see the end of the fight, Andy knew it was
dangerous to remain longer with the door open.
He closed it, pressed the lever which started the pumps, forcing the
water from the chamber and, in a few minutes, emerged into the interior
of the ship.
Mr. Henderson, realizing that something out of the ordinary was going
on, had opened the slides of the bull's-eye windows, and those in the
submarine saw part of the fight between the whale and swordfish.
As soon as Andy had removed his diving suit he advised that the ship be
sent to the surface, as there might be danger should the monsters get
too close in their struggles.
Accordingly the pumps, which had been stopped when it was found
impossible to raise the ship, because of the weight of the whale, were
started and the _Porpoise_ was soon on the surface.
The manhole cover was opened and Andy, with Jack and Mark, went out on
deck. They had no sooner stepped out on the platform than there was a
commotion in the water.
"They're going to fight up here!" exclaimed Mark.
A big body shot upward and fell back with a splash, rocking the
submarine.
"There's the whale," observed Andy. "But I reckon he won't fight any
more. He's dead."
It was so. The swordfish had conquered, and the lifeless body of the
whale floated on top of the water, only to sink a little later.
"It was a great battle," said Jack. "I'm glad I was inside the ship."
The course was due south, and every minute it seemed to the boys that it
was getting warmer, for they were approaching the equator. Every hour
brought them nearer the south pole, though they were still several
thousand miles from it.
After a while quite a wind sprang up, and as the sea roughened the
professor decided to go down under the surface. The _Porpoise_ sunk as
the tanks filled and, in a little while, the submarine was in calm
water, and was forging ahead at three-quarter speed.
It was three days after the adventure with the whale when, as the ship
was going along at a good rate, that there seemed to be a gradual
slacking in the progress.
"I wonder what Washington is slowing down for," said the professor
rising from the dinner table at which all save the colored man had been
sitting. "I told him to keep right on. He must have seen something
ahead. I'll take a look."
The inventor went to the conning tower, where Washington was steering.
"What are you stopping for?" he asked.
"I'm not slowin' down," replied the colored man. "Guess another ob dem
debil fishes has grabbed holt ob de ship. Dey suttinly am de most
koslostrous conglomerations ob inconsequence dat I eber see."
"You must keep your big words for another time," remarked Mr. Henderson,
who seemed worried. "Hurry to the engine-room and see if the machinery
is all right. We certainly are slowing down, from some cause or other."
The _Porpoise_ was now scarcely moving, though from the vibration it was
evident that the engines were working almost at top speed. Washington
came back and reported that the big screw was revolving properly and
that all the machinery was working well.
"Then we're caught in something," said the professor. "Shut off the
power, Washington, I don't want to strain things."
The ship was now scarcely making a foot a minute, and, a little later,
when the colored man had turned off the engine, the submarine became
stationary, merely undulating with the roll and heave of the ocean.
Hurrying to the cabin, Captain Henderson opened the side window
shutters, turned off the electric lights and peered out.
"I can't see anything," he said. "Yet I should be able to, as we are not
very deep."
The gage showed that the ship was submerged only thirty feet, and at
that depth there should have been no difficulty in seeing, at least
dimly, objects under water. But the windows showed as black as night.
"Bring me one of the portable searchlights," called Mr. Henderson.
Washington brought one, operated by a storage battery. Holding it so the
reflector cast the beams out of the bull's-eye and into the water on the
opposite side, the inventor peered forth.
"I was afraid of this!" he murmured.
"What is it?" asked Jack.
"We are caught in the Sargasso Sea," replied Mr. Henderson.
"The Sargasso Sea?" repeated Mark, in a questioning tone. "What is
that?"
"It is a great sea of grass," replied the captain. "An immense ocean of
sea weed, that sometimes floats on the surface and sometimes a little
below. The stalks or blades of the grass are very long and closely
matted together."
"Is there any danger?" asked Andy in some alarm.
"Very much," answered the professor quietly. "A ship, once fairly
entangled in the grass or sea weed, seldom gets out. If it is a sailing
ship the weed clings to the rudder, making steerage impossible, and even
in a strong wind the ship cannot get free of the mass. The grass winds
about the propellers of steamships, and holds them as tight as in a
vise.
"Sometimes a great storm may tear the mass of weed loose from the bottom
of the ocean, and then the ship is free. But the Sargasso Sea is the
graveyard of many a fine vessel."
The pumps were set going. Anxiously everyone watched the gage. The
pointer never moved, but remained at thirty feet. The _Porpoise_ was
caught.
"Well, since we can't go up, let us see if we can go down," said the
inventor. "Perhaps we can dive under the sea weed."
The cocks of the tanks were opened and the water rushed in. Under the
weight of it the ship should have sunk to the bottom. Instead it
remained just where it was, thirty feet below the surface.
"Try the screw again," suggested Andy, "Maybe we can back out."
The big propeller in the tube was started going in a reverse direction,
but the _Porpoise_ only moved a few feet and then stopped. To go forward
was equally impossible.
The submarine was held fast in the grip of the long, sinuous, snake-like
fingers of the terrible sea grass. Weak as one strand was, the thousands
combined served to fasten the ship as securely as wire cables would have
done. The weeds had entangled themselves all around the craft and
refused to let go.
"Well," remarked Mr. Henderson when all efforts had failed. "We must
think of a new plan."
He spoke cheerfully, for he did not want the boys and other members of
the crew to know how worried he was. This was a danger he had never
counted on when he planned to go to the south pole.
"There is no great hurry," Mr. Henderson went on in a few minutes. "We
can stay here for several days if need be, and by that time a storm may
tear the grass loose."
"If we had our old hay sythes here," spoke Bill, "me an' Tom could put
on divin' suits an' go out an' cut the sea weed."
"I'm afraid that wouldn't work," answered Mr. Henderson. "I'll think up
some plan, soon."
He started toward the engine room to look over the machinery. He was met
by Washington, who seemed much alarmed.
"What's the matter?" asked the inventor.
"De air tank hab busted an' all de air is escapin' out!" cried the
colored man. "We'll all smothercate!"