But the refugees were not destined to capture the insane commander as easily as they had before. With a mocking laugh Dr. Klauss shoved over a lever and the steel sliding door of the pilot house closed. It was locked from within.
“There!” cried Ted. “Why didn’t I think he’d do that? I should have wedged that door open. Now we can’t get at him!”
“Isn’t there any way of opening the door from the outside?” asked Jerry, pausing, crestfallen, with his companions.
“No, he can lock it securely from within,” answered Bill Burke.
“Well, we can’t stop him now!” exclaimed Tom Flynn. “We’ll have to batter it down. That maniac will send us all to the bottom and keep us there!”
Indeed there was grave danger of this. The submarine, under the influence of the mad commander, was plunging downward at a terrific rate.
“Batter down the door!” cried Tom. “I’ll get a sledge hammer——”
“No!” interrupted Jerry. “We might damage the ship, or spring the plates and cause a leak. Isn’t there any other way?”
“Stop the motors!” cried Ned. “We can do that from the engine room and then he can’t do us any harm. Disconnect them from the pilot house control.”