"Are we going to sink?" asked Jack.
"We've already sunk," replied Frank. "Whether we'll get to the surface again or not I don't know."
The lads heard the hiss of air through the vent in the manifold. Brown was letting water into the ballast tank to keep the submarine down. He turned as Captain Nicholson walked over to him.
"They got our periscopes, I think," he said coolly. "But our torpedo went just the same!"
Sure enough the tube was empty. The force of the shock had caused Captain Nicholson to launch the torpedo before he was ready, and there was no knowing whether it had been aimed true or not.
The commander now took account of the casualties. One of the men had an ugly gash across his forehead from being thrown against a stanchion, another had a bleeding and probably broken nose. Brown applied first aid to the injured, while Captain Nicholson got the submarine under way again and headed for the mouth of the harbor.
"I wonder if that last torpedo went home," said Frank. "Do you suppose it did, captain?"
"I don't know," was the reply. "We are blind now, our periscope having been shot away, and there is no way of telling without going to the surface and exposing ourselves to gunfire."
"Is there any danger of our being sunk?" asked Jack.
"Danger!" he repeated. "You bet there's danger. Still, thanks to a tight hull and a true compass, we have a fighting chance."