“I believe you’re right, Jimmie!” Ned put in as he gazed through the heavy glass on the port side. “I can see that we’re swinging close to the mainmast. There is no motion to the boat, so that makes me think your solution is about right. Now to get loose!”
“Yes, I agree with you!” stated Harry. “But how? If your assumption is correct, we’ve got a big piece of line wound around the outboard end of the shaft. It is probably more or less tangled up in the propeller also. We can’t turn the engines over!”
“Maybe we could throw out the clutch and turn the shaft backwards enough to unwind the line!” suggested Frank.
“I’m in favor of rising to the surface if the slack of line will permit,” offered Jack. “We could then open the hatchway. It would be easy enough from there to clear the line from the screw.”
“That’s probably the best way out of it,” commented Ned. “Suppose we try that. Harry, can we rise as Jack suggests?”
“I don’t know,” came Harry’s hesitating reply. “I’ll try!”
Accordingly the boy clambered from his position near the forward bulkhead to the compartment amidships, where the pumps were located. A shift of valves followed by a touch on the levers connecting the storage batteries with the electric pumps started the process of emptying the ballast tanks.
Almost instantly the forward end of the craft began to rise. Very shortly the deck was in a level position. Then, as Harry continued to empty the water ballast, Frank and Ned, assisted by Jimmie and Jack, threw the clutch on the propeller shaft out of contact in order to permit the tail shaft to turn without moving the engines.
They then endeavored to turn the portion of the shaft which projected through the stern bearing in the back up motion to free the propeller. They hoped thus to release the rope which they believed to be wound around the outboard portion of the shaft.
Strive as they might, however, the shaft stubbornly refused to move. Their utmost efforts were unavailing.