Rapidly, they hurried to the boat, scrambled in, and were soon speeding towards the destroyer, all impatient to learn what had occurred to cause them to be summoned and utterly at a loss as to what the “important news” could be.
“Great Scott, but he’s in a hurry!” cried Rawlins, as the sound of the anchor winch and the rattle of incoming cable reached them. “He’s getting in his anchors already. And he’s pacing up and down as if the deck were red hot. I wonder what’s up!”
“It’s an S. O. S.!” announced the Commander, as Mr. Pauling gained the deck, “and it might mean anything. Came in ‘S. O. S.--submarine’ and then stopped short. Not another word.”
Before he had ceased speaking, the destroyer’s screws were churning the water and the island was rapidly slipping away.
“By Jove!” exclaimed Mr. Pauling. “Looks as if these men were up to their old game! But where was the ship when she called? Do you know her position?”
“No, only in a general way,” replied the Commander. “Bancroft got the message by accident--was overhauling the radio compass when he picked it up. That’s the only way we know even the direction. They’re southwest, that’s all we know.”
“I’ll say that’s important news!” cried Rawlins. “That shows the sub’s still afloat, but I’d like to know what the dickens became of the plane.”
“Do you think they really sank a ship?” asked Tom. “Why, they can’t expect to get away with that sort of thing!”
“Of course, they did,” declared Mr. Pauling. “Otherwise the vessel would not have sent the S. O. S. and the very fact that the message was cut off shows they did. Poor fellows! They never had a chance and we may be too late to save them now. As for getting away with it, these men are desperate--utterly unprincipled, as you know. Nothing they can do will make their plight any worse. They’ve sunk ships before--so why not again?”
“But why should they?” persisted Tom. “I should think they’d just be trying to get away, not stopping to sink ships.”