"Look!" he cried, indicating the eyepiece of the submarine telescope which he had let down over the side.
Woodward gazed into the eyepiece and then I did, also. There we could see the side of a submerged submarine a short distance away, through the cave-like entrance of what appeared to be a great under-water harbor.
"What shall we do?" queried Woodward.
"Attack it now before they are prepared," replied the hermit decisively. "Put on the helmets."
All of us except those who were running the launch buckled on the head-pieces, wrapping our guns in waterproof covers which we had found with the suits.
As soon as we had finished, one after another, we let ourselves over the side of the boat and sank to the bottom.
On the bottom we gathered and slowly, in the heavy unaccustomed helmets and cumbersome suits, we made our way in a body through the entrance of the harbor.
Upward through the archway we went, clinging to rocks, anything, but always upward.
As we emerged a shot rang out. One of our men threw up his arms and fell back into the water.
On we pressed.