The Boy Volunteers with the Submarine Fleet. Kenneth Ward

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      "What do you suppose has happened?" asked Ralph.

      "The electric mechanism has been hitched to the propeller, and, if I am not mistaken, we are going down," said the captain.

      "It did feel as though the forward end dipped down a moment ago," said Alfred.

      Another wait for a half-hour, and then a most peculiar sound reached their ears. Simultaneously, the ship seemed to stop and go on. Again voices were heard, and the same reaction in the hull of the submarine was felt, accompanied by the dull noise, as before.

      "They have just fired two torpedoes," said the captain.

      CHAPTER IV

      THE TERRORS IN THE DARK ROOM OF AN UNDERSEA BOAT

      Imagine yourself locked in a compartment, barely large enough to stretch yourself out straight, in a ship under the sea, in total darkness, knowing that should any one of the hundreds of things within that ship go wrong, it would mean a plunge to the bottom of the sea, beyond the help of all human aid.

      The danger to them was just as great while on the surface of the water, for the guns mounted on most vessels at this time, would make the submarine a legitimate prey. One shot would be sufficient, for ingenuity has not yet found a way to quickly stop a leak in a submarine. Such a vessel, when once struck, dare not dive, for that would quickly fill the interior of the vessel with water.

      It must, in that case, remain afloat, subject to the hail of shot which must follow, their only salvation in that event would be to hoist the white flag. Few, if any submarine commanders have done so, and even should that occur, it would not prevent the hull from being riddled before the fact could be made known. The three-inch guns mounted on most of the merchantmen, with an effective range of three miles, could tear the weak hull of a submarine to pieces at a single shot, and all would be sure to go down before help could arrive from the attacking steamer.

      "The machinery seems to go very slow now," remarked Ralph.

      "They may be cautiously coming to the top," replied the captain.

      "Did you hear that peculiar noise?" said Alfred, as he laid his hand on the captain's arm.

      "That was plainly a shot from a ship," said the captain.

      "Do you think we could hear firing through all this metal?" asked Ralph.

      "Much easier than if we were on deck," answered the captain.

      "Why do you think so?" asked Alfred.

      "Because water is a better conductor of sound than air," was the reply.

      "Do you mean that we can hear it better than if the sound came through the air?" queried Alfred.

      "The sound can be heard not only much plainer, but also much sooner than through the air," answered the captain.

      "I think we are going down again," remarked Ralph.