PRISONERS.
For several minutes the master of the submarine monster gazed in silence
at those in the iron-bound cabin.
Stump stood shivering in a corner.
"Please don't kill us!" he cried. "I--I--didn't mean any harm."
The strange owner of the still stranger craft looked at Stump for a
moment, and then smiled faintly.
"Depart!" he cried to the negroes, and on the instant every one of the
heavily armed men vanished.
Sitting down on the edge of the table, with his arms crossed on his
powerful chest, this strange being seemed plunged in deep thought.
Our heroes regarded him with expectation, not unmixed with awe, for they
were entirely in his power.
Was he about to punish them for the indiscretion of one of their number?
At length he spoke in English.
"Gentlemen," he said, "you see I can speak your language. I did not
answer you at first, because I was undecided what to do with you. I am
well acquainted with the scientific works written by Dr. Woddle, and I
esteem it an honor to have made his acquaintance."
The professor bowed his acknowledgment of this compliment.
"I am also glad to see two intelligent young gentlemen like Mr. Folsom
and Mr. Barnaby."
"You've forgotten me, sir," said Stump. "I'm only an odd boy, but----"
The captain extended his arm, and the hired boy was silent.
"I'm a man," he continued, "who has broken with society and renounced
the world. Had you not molested me and fired at my vessel, I should not
have crippled your ship and upset your boat. The attack came from your
side."
"But, sir," answered the professor, "we took your ship to be some
unknown creature."
"Possibly, but this creature had done you no harm. I saw you all take
refuge outside, and I hesitated a long while what to do with you. I knew
nothing of you. What were you to me? Why should I extend my hospitality
to you? All that was necessary to break off your connection, was to give
a signal to my engineers, and the _Searcher_, which is the name of my
vessel, would have sunk to the bottom of the ocean. I had the right to
do it."
His hearers shuddered at this avowal.
"It seems to me that we are to be prisoners?" observed the professor.
"Certainly."
"But this is an outrage!" exclaimed Mont. "I demand to be put on shore
at the nearest port, or given up to the nearest ship we meet."
"You will none of you ever see the earth again, or set foot upon it,"
replied the captain with much emphasis.
"This floating prison is, then, our tomb--our coffin, in which we must
live and die?"
"Call it what you will," replied the captain. "You have obtained the
secret of my existence. Do you think I could ever allow you to revisit
the world, to let it be known through every newspaper how I pass my
life?"
"How are we to address you, sir?"
"My name is Vindex. By my men I am called the Wizard of the Sea."
"Very well, Captain Vindex of the _Searcher_," said Mont, "we must make
the best of our situation, but I will never give my word that I will not
attempt to escape."
"I like you, boy, for your honesty," said the Wizard of the Sea, "though
I warn you that if you are caught in the attempt, you will be instantly
put to death."
"To death? You dare not!"
The captain laughed in a wild, weird manner.
"Dare not!" he said. "Foolish lad, there are no laws for me. I am the
sole master here. My black slaves only live to do my bidding. What is
your life or death to me? I have no more to say at present. Follow this
negro into another cabin, where a repast awaits you."
He called to someone outside, and, bowing politely, went away, while the
four companions were conducted to a dining room handsomely furnished
and lighted by an electric lamp.
Various preparations invited their attention. The dinner service was of
silver, and everything denoted immense wealth on the part of the owner.
The negro waited upon them attentively.
"What's your name?" asked Mont.
"Me name One, massa."
"One!"
"Yes, massa. There twelve slaves on board this ship, and all have figure
names, me One, other nigger Two, other Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven,
Eight, and so on up to Twelve."
"That's a queer idea," said our hero; "fancy calling out for your
servant, and saying, 'Here, Nine, I want you,' or 'I say, Three, do
this'!"
"It is my opinion," exclaimed the professor, "that Captain Vindex is a
very remarkable man--the most remarkable, in fact, that ever lived. He
has invented a singular ship which can go under the sea at will, but why
not? Was not the invention of steam engines laughed at, as well as the
invention of gas? Who, a hundred years ago, would have believed in the
electric telegraph, by means of which we send a message to the end of
the earth in a minute?"
"Very true," replied Mont. "And don't forget the telephone, and the
submarine boat the government is trying to build. It's a pity a man of
such genius should shut himself up like this, though."
"It is a pity," answered the professor.
"What's worse, though," remarked Carl, "is that he means to keep us as
prisoners."
"If he can," said Stump.
"Don't you be so fast, Stump, my boy," said Mont. "Keep your mouth shut,
or you may get into trouble."
"Very sorry, but I don't like such goings-on, and wish I was back again
on the shore."
The negro handed the professor a fresh dish.
"Will massa have some oysters stewed in whale's milk?" he asked; "or
some jam made of sea anemones?"
"I'd rather you'd not tell me what the dishes are; it will set me
against them if you do," answered the professor with a wry face.
When the repast was ended, Mont jumped up. "I feel better," he said.
"Mister Number One."
"Massa call me?" asked the black, who was clearing away.
"Yes. Where are we now?"
"We gone down, massa, and now we lie at the bottom of the sea."
Mont regarded him with undisguised astonishment.
The _Searcher_ was indeed a wonderful craft.