So they finally emerged, with every light either fully extinguished or else so effectually concealed that there would not be the slightest chance for a hostile eye to discover their presence there on the water.
An anchor was silently let go, and the submarine lay there, all snug and secure. The boys hastened to get on deck to secure a breath of pure air before seeking their bunks for the balance of the night.
It was just as dark as ever; indeed, after being accustomed to the powerful light that had been used while they were below it seemed worse than before to Ballyhoo, who rubbed his eyes and whimpered that he feared he must be going blind, for somehow he just couldn’t see a thing around him.
They had been warned not to converse above whispers, which instructions all of them faithfully carried out. Sounds carry wonderfully over the water, as they very well knew; an oar striking against the side of a rowboat makes a noise that can be heard a mile away, according to the condition of the atmosphere at the time.
“Look up, and you’ll see the stars,” Oscar told him. “But it is terribly black around here. I can just barely manage to find where the island lies.”
“You don’t happen to notice any lights ashore, do you?” asked Ballyhoo, as though he kept that significant fact constantly on his mind.
“Nothing doing,” reported the other promptly. “If there are people on the Key, then they’ve either gone to sleep, or else for some reason are keeping under cover.”
The night air seemed damp and chilly after being below so long, and, consequently, the boys soon felt that it would be much more comfortable down in their snug quarters. Besides, Ballyhoo was yawning as though in need of sleep.
“I’m really ashamed of myself to be gaping so,” he told the others, “but I just can’t help it. Must be something in the sea air around here that makes me so terribly sleepy.”
So they presently left the “hurricane deck,” and shortly afterwards crawled into their berths. The last Oscar knew of anything the boat was gently moving up and down on the long night swell of the sea, broken somewhat by the Key near at hand.