"I—I——" stammered Berghoff.
"Bah! You are a coward; come, I am all ready."
"I don't mind the submarine, curse it; but it's the thought of the lives on board her."
"My friend, you are too sensitive. Come, are you ready?"
"Ye-es," choked out Berghoff, his teeth chattering, and the sweat pouring off his face. The man was shaking like a leaf, and his breath came raspingly from between his half-opened lips.
"Now!"
He steeled himself to utter the signal firmly, but it was merely a harsh whisper that issued from his dry throat.
The long fingers pressed down. Berghoff, swaying like a stricken thing, placed his hands before his eyes. But the sound that both had been expecting did not come. No roaring explosion followed the pressing of the button, no flash of livid flame and shattering of the wonderful structure of steel they had hoped to destroy. A death-like stillness prevailed.
"You've failed!" choked out Berghoff.
His companion's eyes flashed in the darkness like a cat's. He swallowed convulsively.