"What's the matter, Bill—-you seasick?" queried Ted.
"Wish that's all it was," muttered Bill.
"Tell us, what's up?" pressed Ted.
"Isn't very cheery news for a fellow knocked out like Jack after making such a plucky fight for his life and saving his lieutenant," answered Bill with a shrug of his broad shoulders.
Jack smiled.
"If I survived that, I guess I can hear what's troubling you," was his reply.
"Well, it's bad news, boys—-mighty bad," went on Bill. "Chief
Engineer Blaine reports a leak in the main oil reservoir to starboard.
That mine explosion loosened up the seams and the fuel stuff is slowly
but steadily streaming into the deep blue sea!"
CHAPTER IX
VIVE LA FRANCE!
Ted ran aft to the engine room to get a fuller report on the new danger that confronted the Dewey. There he found that what Bill Witt had said was only too true. Either portions of the flying steel from the exploded mine had punctured the skin of the submarine, or else the plates had been loosened by the detonation. The oil was leaking away at an alarming rate and there was no way here in the open sea to get at the leak. The Dewey would have to go into drydock before the repairs could be made.