At the officer’s words every one leaped up and dashed on deck, scarcely knowing what to expect, for the appearance of a submarine was the last thing any had dreamed of and all felt sure the sub-sea craft must be the one they sought. For a moment they gazed upon an apparently bare sea, then, half a mile away, they caught a glimpse of a dark object resembling the water-logged hull of a ship as it lifted against the sky on a long roller. Already the destroyer’s men were at the forward gun and with every one excited and expectant, the little ship bore down upon the submarine.
“By glory, they must be going to surrender!” cried Rawlins. “If they weren’t, they’d submerge.”
“Then why in thunder don’t they signal?” exclaimed the Commander.
Turning, he barked out an order and a moment later, a string of bright flags rose to the destroyer’s stubby mast.
But there was no response from the submarine,--no answering signal.
“There’s something fishy about her!” declared Rawlins. “Guess they’ve got something up their sleeves!”
“They won’t pull any monkey shines with me, hang them!” burst out Commander Disbrow. Then, to the expectant gunner, “Put a shot alongside of her!”
Hardly were the words uttered, when the decks shook to the roar of the gun and a huge column of water rose like a geyser a few feet from the submarine.
“That ought to wake them up!” cried Mr. Henderson.
“But it didn’t!” exclaimed the diver who was staring through his glasses. “By glory, they must all be dead!”