“No—no! You must not go!” screamed the commander wildly.
“Then we cannot release you,” said Mr. Sheldon firmly. “But understand, we mean you no harm, and as soon as we have landed we will restore your liberty—or allow your friends to do it for us. Then you may do as you please with your boat!”
Dr. Klauss struggled as only a madman can, but the chains were too strong. He could not escape. The successful plotters placed their captive in as comfortable a position as possible, securing him in such a manner that he could move about. But the chains were locked on him, and arrangements were made to stand watch-and-watch outside his cabin door.
“Now!” cried Ned, when this had been done, “the next thing to do is to see about getting back home. Whereabouts are we, anyhow?”
“Somewhere in mid-Atlantic, about three hundred feet down,” announced Ted. “We can soon go up, and take an observation.”
“Go up!” cried Professor Snodgrass, who had taken no part in the capture and subduing of Dr. Klauss. “Oh, I had hopes, before this voyage ended, that I could get my crab specimens from the bottom of the sea. Would it not be safe to go down just once? I should like to put on a diving dress and see if I could not get what I want.”
“Well, I suppose we could do that,” agreed Jerry slowly. “Now that we are in possession of the ship we can do as we please, within certain limits.”
“But are you sure that if once you get on the bottom of the ocean you can raise the craft again?” asked Mr. Sheldon, anxiously. “I don’t begrudge the professor a chance to get his specimens, but we must take no chances. Our condition has been desperate enough. Now we have an opportunity to get back home, and we must not let it slip.”
“Oh, we can get up again, easily enough,” said Ted Rowland. “I’ll guarantee that. With a free hand my mates and I can navigate this boat all right. We’ll have to get out the charts and maps, though. Dr. Klauss always kept them to himself. Then I can take an observation, work out our position, and we’ll know where we are—in which direction to sail. I guess it will be safe to get your crabs, Professor Snodgrass.”