“You must be mistaken!” gasped Glennie. “Either that, or else Tolo is a madman! Why, the explosion of that bomb would have wrecked the submarine and killed us all.”
The ensign shuddered.
“It would have been barbarous!” he went on, worked up by the enormity of the crime that had been planned. “As an act of war, it would have been savage enough, in all conscience, but here we are at peace with all the world, and under the protection of Old Glory!”
“I can’t help that, Glennie,” said Bob grimly. “We’ve got to take the facts as we find them. I managed to get hands on the revolver you dropped, and had strength enough to fire one shot. The bullet missed its mark, and Tolo jumped up and started for me. But I guess the revolver scared him off, for he whirled around before he got very close and darted up the conning-tower ladder.”
“He left the fuse burning?”
“Yes; and evidently expected a blowup.”
“Why wasn’t there a blowup?”
“Well, the coffee that had got me into trouble got us all out of it. I fell, knocked over a stool, the stool knocked over the cup, and the coffee was spilled out and flowed over the burning fuse.”
“That’s the most remarkable thing I ever heard!” declared Glennie.