According to their charters no land was within fifty-six miles of the submarine craft.
The lights were turned on full and an examination made.
It showed that the new Holland had run into the Sargasso Sea, that dense mass of seaweed which floats along the Atlantic shore near and in the Gulf Stream.
The weeds were so long and thick that the boat could not be budged. The screws were tangled up completely, and for the time being the new Holland lay helpless.
The weeds pressed against the windows of the craft and through the mass darted innumerable fish, some of the most ugly order Oscar had ever witnessed. The larger fish were continually preying upon the smaller.
"Let us try to ascend," said the young captain, and this they did, but without success. The weeds were above them as well as around them, and to try to go down under the mass only made matters worse, for many were fast to the very bottom of the ocean.
"Here's a pickle truly," sighed Andy Greggs. "How far do you suppose this Sargasso Sea extends?"
"Humph! Perhaps for miles," answered Captain Oscar.
"Well, we've got to do something."
"We will do something," was the quiet answer. "We can't stay here."