JACK STRIKES THE KEY TO THE MYSTERY
"Down below! Down, down, down!" croaked Bill Henderson.
He pointed below, with one forefinger, laughing wildly. The others,
sure that the seaman had lost his mind under the crushing force of the
catastrophe, felt pity for him, though the man's actions and words also
helped to increase their own terror.
To cap the climax Henderson got painfully to his feet and tried to dance
a jig. That was carrying things too far in the then state of mind of
the rest of the company.
"Henderson, confound you," cried Captain Jack, half savagely, as he
rose, "keep quiet and sit down! Act like a man. You--"
To emphasize his order the young captain pushed against the seaman's
breast, intent on shoving him into a seat. Just as he did so, Captain
Jack paused aghast, for an instant. Then he shouted hoarsely:
"Friends, _I've found the wrench!_"
That brought them all to their feet, while Bill Henderson snarled in
sudden rage.
"This man has it hidden away in the inside pocket of his coat!" cried
the young captain of the "Pollard." "Help me to take it away from
him while we've enough life left to act!"
With another snarl Bill Henderson crouched, in the attitude of a football
player, to meet the impending assault.
Five of them swarmed upon him, from all sides. Had not all of them
been near to dying from air starvation the conflict would have been
a savage one. As it was, the fight, although a relatively weak one,
was as strenuous as any of the combatants could make it.
Henderson, ordinarily a powerful brute capable of fighting three or four
ordinary men, still endeavored to do his very best.
Back and forth they fought, rolling over each other, and every moment
burning up more and more of the air that was left to them.
Yet at last Captain Jack, aided by the others, succeeded in snatching
the wrench from the seaman's inner pocket.
"Hold him," cried Benson, getting weakly up, tottering over to one of
the compressors. "Give me a minute--and some--strength--and I'll
give us a taste--of real air."
Desperately he fitted the wrench, tried to give it a sufficient turn,
and could not.
"I'll help you," hoarsely croaked dying Hal, reaching out and getting
the weight of his hands also on the wrench. Never before had either
boy struggled so desperately hard for anything. At last it yielded, ever
so little. There was a hiss of escaping compressed air.
Then they got a taste of it. Oh, how nectarlike that air was! Renewed
strength began to course through their arteries and to creep into
their muscles. Two deep breaths apiece, and then Jack and Hal succeeded
in making a good turn. A moment later they were able to make another
twist, that set the pneumatic apparatus in operation to expel the
bad air through sea valves.
But Bill Henderson, too, was reviving. Uttering hoarse cries of rage
that sounded wonderfully more powerful, now, he fought his three captors
to get upon his feet.
There was no help for it. Captain Jack had to dart over and tap the
fellow on the head with the wrench. Then Bill was quiet long enough
to make it possible, for Mr. Farnum to hurry after a pair of the handcuffs
that were a part of ship's stores. These were snapped over the seaman's
wrists just before he came to.
"Now, we won't have to hurt him," muttered Jack, compassionately. "He's
a maniac, poor chap, or he'd never have done such a thing as try to
condemn us all, himself included, to death in the depths by
asphyxiation."
"He's a maniac, sure enough," commented Mr. Farnum. "But how on earth
did I ever get trapped into hiring such a fellow as one of the crew?
Confound him, he seemed sane enough until after we came below the
surface."
"And now, sir," nudged Captain Jack, "I think we'd all of us be thankful
enough for a glimpse of the surface--for a look at the stars--a breath
of real ocean breeze."
"Good enough," nodded the boat-builder. "Travel right to it!"
Though all were weak and trembly from the shock of their late experience,
there was strength enough in their combined force to handle the "Pollard"
promptly.
While Messrs. Farnum and Pollard sat over the prostrate Henderson,
handcuffed on the floor, Hal hurried to the engine room, while Captain
Jack climbed up into the conning tower. Eph Somers stood near the
two men and their captive, ready to respond to any call.
But Henderson, now that his maniacal rage had passed, was sobbing
quietly. He seemed spent, exhausted.
It was with a thrill that the young captain of the submarine touched
the control for speed ahead from the electric equipment. Then he looked
at his compass, finding that the boat, from a northerly heading, had
veered around almost east. As the boat went ahead, softly, Benson
put the course around to north. Then he called to Hal and Eph to empty
the diving tanks by degrees.
"Going up on even keel!" asked young Hastings.
"Surest thing I know," replied the young captain.
Though there was not much motion, all felt the boat gradually rising.
Then Captain Jack suddenly caught the greater comparative light of the
night above the water. Next, he caught sight of the blessed stars. But
he did not stop the work of Hal and Eph until the boat rode well up out
of the water.
"Now, come up and get the manhole open," called the young skipper.
"Let's all have a notion again of how it feels to stand in the open air."
Messrs. Farnum and Pollard had, by this time, completed the captivity
of Bill Henderson by wrapping around him and securing many and many a
turn of half-inch rope.
As the manhole was opened Captain Jack stepped out, taking the deck
wheel. The others, all except the prisoner, crowed out after him. Thus
they ran along for a mile or two, under the slower electric power.
"That crazy fellow," uttered Jacob Farnum, "had some mania on his mind
that we were all great sinners, and that he'd save the whole lot of us
by killing us under water."
"It seems strange," muttered Hal, "for even a crazy man to have the
nerve to destroy himself slowly in such a way."
"Humph, no; nothing new in that line," returned Mr. Farnum.
"What are we going to do with him, sir?" inquired Captain Jack.
"Well, we're not going to turn in at any of the coast towns to give
him up," replied the builder. "We'll keep right along until we join
the fleet, and then we'll ask the advice of some naval officer."
When, at last, all had become accustomed to the world to which they
had returned, Hal and Eph went below, to turn on the gasoline power a
short time the "Pollard" was kicking the water at the exhilarating gait
of eighteen miles an hour.
"How did it come, sir, that you made it eighteen miles, instead of
knots?" asked Captain Jack, after a while.
"Why, that's the basis on which gasoline engines are built," replied
Mr. Farnum. "For that matter, captain, when we've had more practice
with this boat we'll tune the engine up to eighteen full knots an hour.
In the second boat we are going to try for an assured speed of
twenty-two to twenty-four knots."
"It seems to me," said Jack, musingly, "that the ideal submarine torpedo
boat ought to have a speed of from twenty-eight, to thirty-five knots."
"Why?"
"So that the speed of the submarine boat shall always be ahead of the
speed of any battleship afloat."
"Again, why?"
"Why, so that the submarine can give effective chase to a battleship."
"But submarines are intended only to go with fleets of their own country,
or else to remain on station at or near the mouths of harbors to be
defended."
"All well and good," argued Captain Jack, nodding. "In future wars a
battleship fleet is likely to keep away from any harbor known to be
defended by the enemy's submarine boats. But, if a submarine torpedo
boat could have speed enough to give chase to a fleeing battleship, and
sink when within range of the battleship's guns, yet still be able to
pursue, under water, and destroy the battleship, that would mean the
day when battleships wouldn't be of any further use, wouldn't it?"
"Undoubtedly," admitted Mr. Farnum. "But you see, captain, so far
as present human ingenuity goes, a boat can't be built to sail as
fast under water as another can be made to go on the surface."
"But that's the problem I'm going to tackle, as soon as I get our plans
a little further along," murmured David Pollard, eagerly. "Benson is
right. When we get a submarine boat that can pursue the fastest
battleship, on the surface or below it, then the United States, with
a hundred such submarines, could defy the combined naval powers of the
world. If the United States can own a large fleet of such boats, then
we can control the seas of the world."
No more attempts at diving were made on the trip. The horror of that
last dive remained with all, safe as they now were.
All the way the "Pollard," though well out from shore, ran within sight
of the light-houses.
Shortly before two o'clock in the morning Captain Jack Benson, again
at the deck wheel, steered in for the light at Cape Adamson. He was
going at slow speed as he rounded the point and headed in for the bay.
"Be careful how you go, captain, and be on the alert to obey signals,"
cautioned Mr. Farnum. "We've got to thread our way into a perfect
hornet's nest of war craft. A dozen battle ships, several cruisers
and a flotilla of torpedo boats are at anchor over yonder."
It wasn't long before the searchlight of one of the battleships picked
up the "Pollard" with its broad ray. Then, from the flagship the
colored lights that blazed out and faded spelled the signal:
"Who are you?"
"Pollard, submarine," replied the little craft's signal lights.
"Expected. Come in close for orders," came the signaled answer.
There was something sombre, grim, awesome about this great fleet of
mighty fighting craft as the young captain stole his boat in among them.
These craft represented much of Uncle Sam's fighting strength, a
bulwark of safety, to our coasts and commerce.
Close up within megaphone-hailing distance Captain Jack ran his boat.
The watch officer of the "Columbia," the battleship that served as
flagship to the fleet, stood with megaphone ready.
"Ahoy, 'Pollard'!" he called.
"Ahoy, flagship!" Captain Jack answered through a megaphone.
"Fleet patrol boat will show you to your anchorage. Are your owners
aboard?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then, in the morning, they will hear from the admiral."
"One moment, sir," Captain Jack shouted back. "We have aboard a maniac,
a man who tried to destroy us on the trip down. He has naval discharge
papers."
"His name?"
"William Henderson."
"Henderson? Wait a moment!" came back from the flagship's rail.
Those on the "Pollard's" deck saw a younger officer leave the watch
officer and hurry away. This younger officer soon returned with a
paper which he handed to the watch officer.
"'Pollard' ahoy!" came from the latter.
"Flagship ahoy!"
"William Henderson was an inmate of a naval hospital, where he had been
sent to be watched on a suspicion of lunacy. A few days ago he
escaped. We'll take him off your hands and see he is sent back where
he belongs."
"Thank you, flagship."
The fleet patrol boat, which had been hovering near, a small cabin
launch, now steamed in alongside the submarine. An ensign and four
men came aboard. Captain Jack led them below, pointing out Henderson.
The four sailors lifted him, carrying him up and over the side to
their own boat.
"Now, follow us, captain," directed the ensign, "and we'll lead you
to your anchorage."
Five minutes later the "Pollard" rode snugly at anchor, with all made
trim and secure. But Captain Jack and his two boy friends, despite the
lateness of the hour, were in no hurry to turn in below.
It was the first glimpse any of the trio had ever had of such an imposing
war fleet, and all wanted to stay on deck drinking in the glory of
the sight.