Stanhope was surprised.
“Why, man,” he exclaimed, “that has never been discovered. It does not exist!”
“Yes, it does,” averred Frank, “but it is never navigable to surface vessels, owing to its being choked with ice. But the Dolphin can go under the ice.”
“Under the ice?”
“Exactly.”
“Wonderful!” cried Stanhope, excitedly. “I never thought of that. It is certainly the nearest way to the North Pacific. We shall pass into Behring Sea?”
The Dolphin was already out of sight of land, and headed northward. She was a fast sailer, and rode the waves like a duck.
Frank now decided to begin his submarine voyage. He went into the pilot-house and pressed a lever.
Instantly every door and window was hermetically sealed and the electric lights were turned on full force.
The Dolphin took a plunge beneath the surface.