The Boy Volunteers with the Submarine Fleet Part 10

The personnel of the shifts was also changed at intervals so that while the lieutenant during one shift would have at work a certain machinist and petty officer, during the next or second shift thereafter another machinist or petty officer would be on duty. In this manner all became efficient, for they had the opportunity afforded of being drilled and handled by different combinations of men and a.s.sistants.

CHAPTER VII

CAUGHT IN THE DEEP SEA NETS

The starting of the heavy machinery was sufficient indication that night had come. They were now going up and at an angle which was very perceptible. The boys had become quite expert in detecting certain activities, as they tried in every way to understand the use of the signals. One thing was certain; two sets of bells were brought into play as the signal for changing the motive power. The first signal, three bells followed by two more, was invariably the necessary preparation for this event.

A highly pitched bell next gave the signal to stop the gasoline engines and a deep-toned bell indicated the coupling of the electric motor.

Occasionally a new set of signals would resound, which they tried to figure out. During the night Alfred thought he had found the key.

"Did you notice the big hand wheel on the side of the upright tank, which we pa.s.s as we go into the dining room?" he remarked.

"That is connected with a large valve," said the captain. "What did you observe?"

"Well, did you ever notice that before they rang the shrill bell four times we always have heard a whistle?" asked Alfred.

"Why, I have heard the bell ring four times on several occasions without the whistle," contended Ralph.

"So you have, but it was always after the four rings that followed the whistle. A little while ago I was near the tank, and I heard the whistle. The attendant sprang to the wheel, and when the four rings came he turned the wheel around twice. When the four next rings came (without the whistle, of course), he quickly turned it back again," said Alfred.

"That is the submerging tank," said the captain. "I see you are rapidly learning how to handle a submarine," and he laughed at the eagerness of the boys trying to conquer the details of signaling.

During that night there was hardly a half-hour but some movement or other was indicated by the bells. They submerged, halted, rose to the surface, steamed at full speed, and in one or two instances it was evident from the sudden stopping that the submarine had to reverse.

This constantly kept them alert, and while engaged in conversation late in the morning, they were thrown forward on their seats with a motion that indicated a collision with something which was not very rigid, for there was no concussion such as usually accompanies the contact of the hull of a vessel with a hard object.

The boys looked at the captain in astonishment. They could now feel the propeller pulling in the opposite direction, only to be brought back again with the same springy collision, as when it had gone forward and first struck the strange obstacle.

The captain's face paled, and the boys plied him with questions as they saw his perturbed countenance.

"What do you think it is?" asked Ralph, as he saw the anxious seamen, and the second officer rushing about shouting orders, while one of them seized the main valve wheel and turned it.

"We are caught in one of the steel nets," said the captain quietly.

The boys' faces grew deadly pale. They knew what such a calamity meant.

Few, if any of the submarines caught in the nets, ever escaped. The boys, while they did not know this, were, in a measure, aware of the great danger to submarines from this source. They were alarmed particularly on account of the serious manner in which the captain acted the moment the first impact took place.

The captain now arose, followed by the boys, and marched through the narrow pa.s.sageway toward the lieutenant who was leaning over one of the air compressors.

"Is there anything we can do to help you?" asked the captain.

The lieutenant looked up and replied: "We can do nothing but change the trim of the ship. Everything portable in the stern must be moved forward. Your a.s.sistance will be appreciated," was the reply, an answer that was in marked contrast with his former demeanor.

The lieutenant then quickly detailed four men, who, together with the captain and the two boys, were directed what articles to carry forward.

In this exercise they found many unexpected nooks and turns. The articles removed were mostly ship's supplies, stores, boxes of canned goods, drugs in cases, and a lot of tubing. Some of the boxes must have contained machinery, or mechanical parts, for they were very heavy.

They were engaged at this work for fully an hour, and the task proved a difficult one, for the pa.s.sageways were narrow and tortuous, and sometimes it was necessary to move through narrow alleys which ran almost directly across the ship. Every available bit of s.p.a.ce is utilized in these vessels for the operating machinery.

The entire length of the submarine was 126 feet, and the material had to be carried a distance of about eighty feet. The lieutenant was in the stern portion, pointing out the articles which should be taken, while the sub-lieutenant directed the placing of them in the bow.

The captain and Ralph were just depositing a load in the hold near the bow, when a peculiar noise was heard, resembling a sc.r.a.ping, rasping sound. Before they had time to turn around, or move from their positions, the rear end of the submarine seemed to swing upward, bringing down and scattering among the machinery a choice lot of boxes and parcels.

A groan followed. Something peculiar had happened,--a thing unique in the annals of submarining. The vessel, after the peculiar motion, was quiet, but it was lying at an angle of forty-five degrees. The seamen and the captain hurriedly tried to move back in order to discover what had happened and from whom the groans proceeded.

It was hard work, and dangerous, too. Alfred was found pinned between the tanks, and temporarily held by several cases, but, fortunately, he was not hurt in the least.

Directly forward of the conning tower stairway the captain now noticed an object, and upon examination it was found to be the lieutenant, who had been thrown a distance of more than thirty feet through the tangled machinery. He was unconscious.

The physician was soon by his side, and a frightful gash was observed on the right side of the officer's face. Two men nearby were groaning. One had a broken leg, and the other several contusions about the head, and, owing to their crippled condition, it was just as much of a task to lower the bodies down into the inclined hold as to walk upward.

This was finally accomplished, and the lieutenant, with the two injured men, were landed in the long compartment, which served as the dining room.

The sub-lieutenant was found pinned by some boxes between two stanchions, which had not been distributed and placed within the compartments. The seaman soon released him; he was not injured in any way, and now that the lieutenant was in a serious condition, the command devolved on him.

"That motion, if anything, will disentangle us from the nets," said the captain, addressing the sub-lieutenant. The latter did not reply, but turned on the captain with a frown.

"Your opinion is not requested!" he said in a terse manner.

The captain made a quiet bow and moved toward their small room, the boys following.

"I am sorry that fellow is in command," said Alfred. "I never liked him from the first."

"I'll bet we were locked up by that fellow's orders, for I don't believe the lieutenant had anything to do with it," remarked Ralph. The captain nodded his head, as he replied: "I knew that from the first day."

"I'd like to get ahead of him some way," said Alfred.

The captain looked at the boys for a few moments, then quietly put his hands on their arms, as he said: "Getting ahead, or getting even, doesn't pay, as a rule; but I have known where a few have been able to overcome a great many, as a duty, for that is what makes men strong."

Alfred's eyes fairly bulged, as he gazed at the captain. "Isn't it a duty to capture this submarine?"

The captain leaned forward and held up a warning hand. Ralph rose up and glanced around. "Why can't we do it?" he asked.

"There is only one thing lacking; yes, it has been in my mind from the first moment we came aboard, but we cannot do it without weapons. With them in our possession we might succeed. Why, if we could have had them this afternoon it would have been an ideal time to make the attempt,"

said the captain.

"I have something to tell you," said Alfred, as he lowered his voice.

"What is it?" asked the captain.

"I know where there is a box of revolvers," he replied.

"Where?" asked the captain, agitated visibly.

"Do you remember the two big upright drums which I was pinned against when the ship went up?" asked Alfred.