"Did you torpedo another ship?" queried the captain.
"We tried to; but a torpedo boat destroyer came up too close," he answered.
"How many shots did it fire?" asked Ralph.
"Two," was the laconic reply.
"How long have we been submerged?"
"Two hours," answered the man. "As I came down the report from the periscope showed a clear sea, and we are now about to resume surface travel and repair one of the periscopes."
The boys glanced at each other and at the captain.
"Yes," remarked the captain, "that was a pretty close call."
The attendant left them without closing the door, and as the prisoners glanced about, nothing was to be seen of the stairway which led to the conning tower. Men were noticed at work, each being stationed at some particular machine or set of machinery. Then, with a bang, something like a trap door swung aside and the stairway was revealed, and a peculiar light streamed in through the hatch opening.
"It's the sun," said Ralph, in ecstacy.