CHAPTER XIX ON THE BOTTOM
Night was falling on the waters of the blue Caribbean when Johnny andSamatan finally reached the _Sea Nymph_, and were told of the sub'spredicament. For a full hour after darkness fell, Doris and Johnny sat onthe after deck. But they spoke hardly a word. They were thinking of abrave, American girl, two hundred feet below surface, in a foreignsubmarine.
"Johnny!" Doris gripped the boy's arm suddenly. "Is that a light--or isit a star?" She pointed out to sea.
"A light! No, it's a star. No! No! It _is_ a light! See! It blinks!"
"Dave!" Doris called. "The navy is coming!"
And so it was. As they stood there waiting, the light grew brighter andbrighter. Then a long, sleek form, dark as the night, slid alongside the_Sea Nymph_.
"Ahoy there!" a voice called.
"Ahoy!" Dave echoed. "We'll send our small boat for you at once"
Ten minutes later, the young commander of the American submarine was onboard.
"What's the situation?" he demanded, briskly.
"They're down here, about two hundred feet," said Dave. "Their pumpswon't work and they can't get up!"
"That's it, eh? It sounds bad." The young officer's voice was somber. "Isuppose you assumed we had a diver on board, and--until three daysago--we did have. But now he's in the hospital with a raging fever!"
"Might I inquire," the professor asked, slowly, "what a diver would do?"
"Certainly," said the officer. "We have three hundred feet of hose.Somewhere on the side of their sub, if it's anything like ours, is ashort piece of pipe with a thread on it, to which our hose could beattached. After that--when they have opened an inner valve--we can pumpin enough air to float them. But without a diver--"
"I," said the professor, "am a diver. Have you the equipment?"
"You?" The young officer looked at the aged professor admiringly, butwithout making a reply. All eyes were focused on the dignified old man.
It was Dave who best understood the situation.
He knew the professor had made many a trip to the bottom of the sea in adiving outfit, but that had been years before. Now he was a frail, oldman. "The pressure at two hundred feet is terrific," the boy thought."And his doctor has warned him--even about going down in the ball! Hemust not go."
Still Dave remained silent. He was thinking hard--thinking how even inlife's twilight this splendid old man displayed a glorious courage.
"I must go down." It was the professor's voice. "It is my duty. Those areyoung people with life before them. They must not be allowed to perish."
Still the young officer did not speak.
"All right, Professor," Dave said huskily. "But first--give me an hour! Iwill try something. If I fail--then your turn comes!"
Slowly the professor grasped Dave's hand.
In a few precise words, Dave outlined his plans. Then he leaped towardthe steel ball. With all possible speed he was bolted in, lifted over therail, and lowered slowly into the ominous, black waters.
Never before had he been down at night. The spectacle that met his eyesas he sank, was surprising almost beyond belief. The whole sub-sea worldseemed on fire. It was like being out in a moonless night, surrounded bybillions of fireflies.
As his eyes became accustomed to the bizarre scene he was able todistinguish individual specimens from among the myriads of luminouscreatures that crowded the waters. Here, like excursion boats all aglow,a score of jellyfish floated past. There, a throng of shrimp stood out indark outline against the background light, suddenly darting franticallyaway as some great fish with bright spots along his sides gave chase.Casting off balls of illumination, the shrimp were lost to sight in aflare of light.
But there was little time for such thoughts, as this underseas missionconcerned the lives of nine young people. A sudden storm would spelltheir doom....
Dave had asked for an hour, and he must save the professor from taking sogreat a risk, if possible. No less experienced person--not evenDave--could safely descend to such depth in a diving suit....
Suddenly he saw the light from the sub's porthole, just before him.
"Steady!" he said into the mike. "Doris--tell them to stop lowering, andswing me to the right about twelve feet."
Instantly they obeyed his orders and for a time, he studied the sub. Thenhe saw what he had sought--the threaded end of pipe for letting in theair. Once again he had his position changed. Now he was close to the bitof threaded pipe. But the dangling air hose from the sub on the surface,still was several feet away. More orders.... More moments.... and everysecond counted.... At last the steel ball rested on bottom. The sub wassix feet distant, and now the hose dangled directly before his window.
What Dave hoped to do was to seize the screwcap at the end of the hosewith the pincherlike affairs attached to the outside of the steel ball.Then, by twisting his pinchers round and round, he would try to attachthe hose to the sunken submarine.
Could he do it? His heart sank as the force of a wave far above, drew thesteel ball off the bottom for a moment.
"I--I've got to do it! I've _got_ to," he muttered.
Once again his hand was on the lever. It rose, slowly, as the hose beforehim swayed.
"Back a foot," he called to Doris.
Back he slid. "Now," he breathed. There was the hose and screwcap, andthere were his pinchers. Swiftly, skillfully, he manipulated the lever,and, by a fortunate providence, caught the cap just as he should.
"Now," he breathed.
But again there came that sickening lift and swing--and one crash of hiswindow against the sub, would spell his doom.
Now he was on bottom again. A move--a second move--then a third--and hewas back in position. Now--
"No," he breathed, desperately, "not this time."
For again came that sickening lift.
* * * * * * * *
In the meantime a coastguard cutter had anchored close to the _Sea Nymph_and an officer came aboard.
"I am Major Braden, of the Marines," he said, bowing to Doris, Johnny andthe professor. "I'm on extraordinary duty just now--watching thesewaters. I used to be in command when we occupied these islands formilitary purposes, and I understand you've located a foreign submarine."
"And six spies, now held captive on land," Johnny added. "We took enoughmaps and reports from their hangout, to start a secret service all ourown!"
"Good! Great! A real service to your country, young man!"
"But the sub's still on bottom," Johnny added, "and we're trying to raiseher now. They--they've got one of our good friends on board!"
"I'm sure you'll succeed," exclaimed the Major. "And when that sub breakswater--we'll have three, six-inch guns trained on her. She'll notescape," he concluded a little grimly.
* * * * * * * *
For a full quarter-hour, Dave struggled in vain to bring the threadedpipe on the sub, and the screw-cap at the end of the hose, into exactposition. At one time he actually turned the cap, and felt it catch. Butit would not turn further.
"Started wrong," he murmured. "Threads are crossed. Must take it off atonce."
Ten seconds of struggle and he was back where he had started. His heartsank. Should he give up? He closed his eyes to think--and saw theprofessor's frail, kindly face before him.
"No!" he groaned. "I won't give up!"
Slowly, carefully, he maneuvered himself into position. The lever roseslowly, and glided forward. He gave it a turn. It stuck. Deftly hetwirled his lever; 'round and 'round it spun.
"Now!" he breathed. He gave the lever an experimental tug. _The cap heldfirm._
"Try it!" he fairly shouted into his mike.
Ten seconds later, the hose hanging loosely before his window, twistedand writhed like a snake. It was filling with air. He watched the spotwhere it joined the pipe on the sub. Should bubbles appear, all his workwas lost. Ten seconds, he watched. No bubbles. Twenty-
-thirty--fortyseconds. Still no bubbles.
"Hooray!" he shouted hoarsely. "Hooray! We win!"
And from the sunken sub came an answer:
"It is good! We are getting air!"
After having his steel ball moved to a safe distance, Dave settled downto watch. Had they won? Would the sub really rise?
Fifteen long, tense, minutes passed. Then, like a giant fish which hadbeen asleep on the bottom, the dark bulk before him began to stir.
"Thank God!" Dave exclaimed, fervently.
A moment more and the sub rose slowly toward the surface. And, like acattleboy driving the cows home at eventide, Dave followed in his steelball.
True to the Major's promise, powerful lights and capable-looking gunswere trained on the sub when, with a rush, she broke surface. But therewas no need for that. The members of the youthful crew were too glad toescape death on the bottom of the sea, to offer any resistance tocapture.
The first person to appear above the sub's deck was Mildred. Awaiting herin the Tub was Johnny, and how he greeted her was a sight to behold. Sometime later they sat on the porch of the Kennedy home--Dave, Doris, Johnnyand Mildred.
"Well, Johnny," said Dave, "our work beneath the very deep sea is done.We'll collect a few specimens--turtles, crawfish, and bright, tropicalfish close to the surface--then hoist anchor for New York!"
"New York? Where is that?" Johnny asked dreamily.
"It's an ancient Dutch colony," Dave chuckled.
"Oh, yes! I remember!" said Johnny. "I think I'll not go there, if youfolks don't mind." He hesitated.
"Mildred tells me she located their motorboat while she was in thesubmarine. Major Braden thinks we've done a brave deed or two and put himin a good way to clear up this spy business--so he's going to repay us byhelping bring the schooner to the surface. But of course," he drawled,"there will be a lot of work to be done after that."
"And you'd like to stay and help" said Dave. "I don't blame you. I'd liketo stay myself. Well, old son, all I can say is--go ahead and God blessyou!"
"I'll be back in the States in two or three months, I guess," saidJohnny. "I--I'm sort of thinking of going to college. College iswonderful for just anybody!
"I hope you come back to these waters with the steel ball," observedJohnny, after a time. "I'd like to have one good, long, look for oldSamatan's treasure chest."
"Oh! That?" said Dave, with a short laugh. "Probably just a myth. But ifwe ever get back--you shall have a try at it, I promise you!"
* * * * * *
Transcriber's note:
--Copyright notice provided as in the original printed text--this e-text is public domain in the country of publication.
--Obvious typographical errors were corrected without comment.
--Dialect and non-standard spellings were not changed.
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends