"It can't be done now, for we have moved away from the opening in the deck of the barge a yard or so," had been the answer sent up by Jay after the two imprisoned Brighton youths had inspected the barge through the aquascope of the Nautilus.
Well, the only chance hope of rescue now, it seemed, depended on getting the cables spliced and the winches winding before the bomb was detonated. Like beavers the deckmen of the Jules Verne were exerting themselves. It was a fight for two lives, and the men of the Jules Verne were spending themselves to the limit.
"How much time remains?" asked Superintendent Brown after what seemed an eternity of tugging with the torn cables.
In turn he was told that less than five minutes remained. By the clock in the chart house of the Jules Verne it was just twenty-six minutes after one. And Jay had sent up word that the bomb was set for one-thirty!
As a last resort Captain Austin called for volunteers and asked that they dive from the deck of the Jules Verne as the bomb was exploded in the coal barge and see whether they could find any trace of the two Brighton boys in the water, or learn whether or not the Nautilus had been ripped open wide by the force of the explosion. A half dozen stepped forward, and the captain asked them all to be ready.
"Stand by the telephone and try to get them so soon as the explosion goes off, for they may not be hurt at all," were Larry's orders. With receiver glued to his right ear he sat awaiting the crash.
Just then the foreman in charge of the cable repairs reported that he could commence to wind in another half minute.
"Tell Thacker and Monaghan we are going to raise them now by the cables and to keep a stiff upper lip down there," commanded Austin.
Larry buzzed and buzzed, but in vain. No answer came from the interior of the Nautilus. What had happened? Larry was frantic as he pushed down hard and harder on the button.