In an instant the hum of the propeller motor ceased, and the benumbed boys and Professor Snodgrass, unable to move for a second, so paralyzing had been the shock, felt the craft sinking with them toward the ocean.
“We’ve been struck!” cried Jerry. “We’re disabled!”
“Yes, and we’re going down!” yelled Ned.
Down and down went the crippled Comet, down through the storm that was crashing all around her.
[CHAPTER XVI]
THE “SONDERBAAR”
Jerry, whom the shock of the lightning bolt had knocked to one side, jumped for the lever of the elevating rudder, hoping, if nothing else could be done, to cause the Comet to volplane more easily to the surface of the sea. At the same time he called out:
“The hydroplanes, Ned! Set them quick! Bob, see if the gas generator is working! There’s something wrong!”
“It’s cracked!” shouted Professor Snodgrass, getting up from where he had been thrown against a locker. “The generator is cracked right across, Jerry!”