“Our only chance seems to be to set up a big enough racket to draw attention,” replied Bobby. “I don’t believe the crew know anything about our being here, and if we can once make our presence known we’ll probably be sent ashore soon enough. Let’s bang on the walls and yell and see if that gets any results.”
They did both these things, but to all appearances they might as well have saved themselves the trouble. No answering sound came to show that they were heard, and in the midst of their efforts a new thing happened. A slow shudder ran through the ship, it trembled and vibrated, and then a rhythmic pulse began beating somewhere in the huge fabric.
The boys ceased their shouting and hammering, as the meaning of this sank in upon them. Under the power of the auxiliary engine the ship was moving, and they, prisoners on board, were being taken to a destination that for all they knew, might be on the other side of the world!
CHAPTER X
IN THE DEPTHS
Billy was the first to break the portentous silence. “We don’t know where we’re going, but we’re on our way,” he chanted lugubriously. “It looks to me as though we are in a regular mess.”
“It’s wonderful the way you catch on to things right away without any one having to tell you,” said Fred sarcastically. “How in the world did you ever find it out, Billy?”
“You fellows had better cut out the humor and set your wits to work at some plan to get us out of this,” said Bobby, impatiently. “We’ve got to attract attention some way, there’s no two ways about it.”
They shouted and hammered at the bulkheads until both their throats and muscles were sore, but with no better success than before. They realized the futility of the attempt after a time and held a council.
“We’re here, and so we might as well make the best of it,” observed Bobby. “There’s no telling when we’ll be discovered here—possibly not until the ship makes port. The first thing to do is to try to find something among all this mess of cargo that’s fit to eat. I don’t know about you fellows, but I feel as though a little grub might not go so bad.”