The Boy Volunteers with the Submarine Fleet Part 12

THE NIGHT'S STRUGGLE TO FREE THE VESSEL

The boys wondered at the remark which the captain had made, and were about to ask him for an explanation, when the electric lights suddenly died out, and all were left in total darkness. The captain crawled past the boys and felt his way toward the stern of the vessel.

"The storage batteries!" was all he said.

That there was confusion on the part of the crew of the vessel, was apparent, for the sub-lieutenant shouted one order after the other, until he seemed to be incoherent, and, as a result, no one knew what was expected of him or what to do.

Evidently, the captain knew the trouble and how to remedy it, for within a minute the lights were again in commission, and the captain was noticed at the main switch. From that point he shouted to the sub-lieutenant:

"I found a box on the switchboard. It had slipped down and thrown out the switch bar at the time the boat made the last lurch."

"Thank you for the service," said the sub-lieutenant, to the surprise of the captain and boys.

As the captain returned to their room he remarked: "The sub-lieutenant was very polite; probably he would not be so likely to thank me for some other things I have done."

"What! since you left us two minutes ago?" asked Ralph.

The captain nodded. "But I started to say a few minutes ago," he continued, "that we ought to have our work planned out ahead and thoroughly understand each other. There is one thing I must impress on you, and that is, we must not again be locked up in this room. I have no faith in the present commander, and would be very much mistaken if he permits us to have our freedom after we once get free of the nets."

"What must be done if he again orders us locked up?" asked Alfred.

"That brings us to the point where we must make a canva.s.s of the situation as it confronts us. Let me see; there are three men in addition to the commander, who need not be reckoned with in a contest.

Fortunately, one of the men is a machinist, and the only other man except the sub-lieutenant, of any intelligence, is the doctor. I doubt if he would be a strong factor against us," said the captain.

"The fellow who had charge of the men carrying the boxes is nothing but a chump," said Ralph. "I wouldn't be afraid of him."

"I am considering more the character of the men who are able to handle the boat, and who know the intricacies of the mechanism. I can see where men of that sort will be able to make it very interesting for us if we should attempt to capture the officers and crew," said the captain thoughtfully.

It was evident that the vessel was slowly righting itself, for every minute or two there would be a slight sinking movement, which was very gratifying.

"Where are the revolvers?" asked the captain.

"I found a dandy place for them, and can get them in a minute, if wanted," said Ralph.

"Captain, I wanted to ask you some time ago what you meant by saying that the sub-lieutenant didn't know any more about submarining than he ought to. What did you mean by that?" asked Alfred.

"One of the things I had in mind was, when he was trying to start the propellers, that he could have found an easier way to learn whether they were in the water or not," was the answer.

"How so?" asked Ralph.

"The indicator board in the conning tower shows just how far the vessel is under water," replied the captain.

"But," said Alfred, "would that tell it correctly if one end of the vessel should be up and the other down, as this is?"

"Why not? It would indicate how far down in the water the hull would be amidship, and it would not require much involved calculating to figure out where the stern of the vessel would be if he knew the angle at which the hull was resting," answered the captain.

"I would just like to know how far we are down," said Ralph, looking up the stairway into the conning tower.

"Do you think you could spot the right dial face if you went up?" asked the captain.

"I think I could," said Ralph, rather doubtingly, it must be admitted.

"Then I'll give you a little hint, if you'd like to try to make an investigation," said the captain. "Directly forward of the table, which contains the chart, and below the three levers, you will see a gla.s.s column with red colored liquid in it,----"

"I know what you mean now," said Ralph, interrupting.

"Well, simply get the number on the card on the right side of the gla.s.s column. Do you understand?" remarked the captain.

"Yes; but why not take the numbers on the left side also?" asked Ralph.

"They merely indicate the pressure. Depth below the surface is all we want," rejoined the captain.

"Well, here goes; and I hope they won't catch me at it," said Ralph, as he slowly moved out.

"One moment," said the captain, as he put forth a restraining hand.

"What will you do, or how will you act if some one should catch you in the tower?" he asked.

Ralph hesitated: "I hadn't thought of that; why,--well,--I suppose I should try to explain it in some way or other," he said.

"I am afraid that would not do. Allow me to make a suggestion. Go up boldly, as though you had a perfect right to, or that you did not suspect it was a forbidden place; if some one accosts you look at him in a surprised way, make an apology, and retire; I give you this pointer because you may be fl.u.s.trated and unable to make a prompt reply, and that would show guilt of some kind," said the captain.

Ralph went out and loitered about, gazing at the various pieces of machinery, and finally stood on the steps of the conning tower, which, at the angle of the boat in its inclined position, were almost horizontal. He stretched himself out on the stairs, and turned his head.

From that point he could see the red liquid in the gla.s.s column, but it was difficult to read the figures.

The glare from the electric light interfered with his sight, and before he had an opportunity to get a glimpse of the figures from his new position, one of the petty officers crawled along the pa.s.sageway, and, noticing him lying on the stairs, peremptorily ordered him to get down.

Ralph glanced at the man, smiled at him, and promptly complied, chagrined at his failure. As he entered the little room the captain eagerly questioned him: "What did it say?" he asked.

"That fellow ordered me away before I could make out the figures," said Ralph, "but I'm going to try it again."

"How near was the liquid from the top of the gla.s.s tube?" asked the captain.

"Well, I should say about so far," replied Ralph, indicating s.p.a.ce between his thumb and finger. "I guess it was about an inch."

"How long do you think the tube is?" asked the captain.

"I think it must be a foot long; probably more," was the answer.

"I asked you to give me an estimate of the length of the entire tube so as to give me some a.s.surance that you knew the value of an inch. You were right; those tubes are twelve inches long. Now let me see; I ought to know what figures are an inch from the top!" remarked the captain thoughtfully.

"Pardon me, Captain, but how does it come that you know all about these boats?" asked Alfred.

"I used to be an officer on a French submarine," he replied in a quiet tone, and immediately proceeded to make certain mental calculations.

Then he continued: "One inch below the top! That is twenty."

"Twenty what?" asked Ralph.

"Twenty feet; the Germans have the English foot on all their boats. I wonder they didn't think about that, and make a change before starting out."