They were far out to sea, and a submarine cannot carry a lifeboat!

CHAPTER IV

A SUBMARINE’S REVENGE

All now waited on Eph’s word during the next few moments.

If the “Hastings,” striking on that stub of a submerged mast, had had her plates so badly sprang that pumping would not drive out the water as fast as it came in, then this newest of the submarines was doomed to go to the bottom.

All that would then remain to those aboard would be to take to the ocean.

True, they had life-preservers aboard, and with these, officers and men could keep afloat.

In the icy waters of a February night, however, with something like fifteen miles to swim to mainland through an ever-roughening sea, it was almost impossible that the strongest among them could hope to reach shore alive.

Yet, desperately anxious as he was to know the news, Jack Benson did not desert his post by the steering wheel.  Some one must be there.  Nor had Hal thought of leaving the engine room.

So the naval lieutenant remained with Benson, duplicating, in those awful moments, the boy’s cool courage.

It was Ewald who presently came running up the stairs to report.

“Mr. Somers orders me to report that there’s a little trickle of water coming in between two plates about twelve feet abaft of the bow, sir.  But Mr. Somers believes that, even without pumping, we could run forty miles without serious danger, sir.”

Knowing his friend’s ability and good judgment as he did, Jack Benson stood ready to accept that report, without question.  But Lieutenant Danvers inquired: 

“Did you see the leak, Ewald?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What do you think about it?”

“Why, sir, I agree with Mr. Somers.”

“I believe I’ll go down and take a look at the leak,” announced Danvers, slowly.

“Then, while you’re gone,” said Benson, “I’ll keep the searchlight steadily on what I can see of the top of that mast-stump.”

“Why not keep on in toward the shore?”

“Because, sir,” and Jack’s jaws snapped, “if we’ve been insulted in this fashion by an old derelict, I don’t believe in letting the old derelict get off so easily, sir.”

Lieutenant Danvers knitted his brow, thoughtfully, as he hurried down the stairs, then followed Ewald through a steel trapway into the cramped compartments under the cabin flooring.

In three or four minutes Mr. Danvers came up again.

“It’s all right,” he said.  “I can’t see that the leak threatens to become serious, unless we should happen to hit that mast-stump again.”

“I believed it was all right,” the young captain replied, quietly, “after having heard Mr. Somers’s report.”

“You three boys certainly stick together and admire each other, don’t you?” laughed Danvers.