“I was thinking of that. But for the present I would rather stay right here and watch these fellows.”
It was not long after this when the twins and Spouter departed, stating that they would report to Captain Dale as speedily as possible. Then Jack and his cousin and Gif settled down to watch the Germans.
For Germans they were, beyond a doubt. They were all heavy-set, burly fellows, and once or twice when the machinery was stopped the cadets heard one man, who was evidently in charge, give a number of commands in the German tongue.
For nearly an hour longer the pounding and clanking continued. Most of the work was done on the rocky shore of the waterway, but some took place inside the submarine and also on the forward deck of the craft. The submersible was of good size, being over two hundred feet in length.
“I’d like to get a whack at that U-boat,” declared Gif. “I bet I’d make it so she wouldn’t do any more cruising in a hurry.”
“Exactly what I was thinking, Gif,” said Jack. “If we could only injure the propellers, or something like that, there wouldn’t be any danger of their sailing away. You see, they may have it all fixed to leave at a minute’s notice in case of an alarm.”
“If they did that they’d have to leave some of their machinery behind,” put in Fred. “But I suppose they’d be willing to do even that rather than risk capture.”
When the cadets thought that their ears could no longer bear the awful noise to which they had been subjected, the sounds of the machinery suddenly ceased. They heard a strange humming from the interior of the submarine, but even this presently came to an end, and then there was a silence within the cavern which was absolutely oppressive.
“I guess some kind of a move is at hand,” whispered Jack. “Let’s lay low and see what they do next.”
Several men, including two who were evidently officers and in charge of the work, came out of the submarine. The workmen were now washing up at the underground waterway, and presently all cast aside their working clothes and donned ordinary street garments.