Moore struck savagely at Ned as he attempted to draw him away from the lever, but missed. In a second Jimmie had his arms about those of the Captain and they went down together.
Ned leaped to the lever and shut off the power. In three minutes more the Sea Lion must have been wrecked on the shelving shore. As it was she stopped within a few yards of the danger line.
"You're a pair of murderers!" said Ned, coolly, as he seized Moore by the throat and flung him into the room where his son was incarcerated.
Young Moore's face appeared at the door as his father was forced in, and angry words between the two followed as the door was closed.
"There'll be a social session in there now," laughed Ned. "Each one will blame the other for the predicament they are in!"
"Let 'em fight it out," Jimmie advised, rubbing a bruise on his arm, which had been somewhat injured in the fall.
Hans was now gazing about the boat with something more than curiosity in his eyes. He had observed how quickly the submarine had responded to a touch of the lever, and was actually wondering if he wasn't on board one of the magic ships he had read of in the nursery.
"Sit down outside this door and see that nothing more happens in the kick line," Ned directed, thinking to give the uneasy youth something to occupy his mind. "If they get the door open, give them one of those left-hand jolts."
With another glance about the German sat down contentedly. Then Ned went to the stern and looked out of the glass panel.
"Is the Shark still in sight?" asked Frank. "Look out to the east and you'll see her if she's anywhere about."