Frank saw this, but yet hoped that some turn of fortune would aid him. The chase came to a termination, though, in a peculiar way.
Suddenly the whale vanished as quickly as though dispelled into mist. Frank fancied that it had taken a turn at right angles.
He instantly slackened the engines. The Dolphin was coming about when she found herself immersed in a cloud, which even the electric light could not penetrate.
Nothing could be seen in any direction. All was blackness. It was an astounding turn of affairs.
“Great heavens!” cried Stanhope. “What has happened?”
The Dolphin was at a standstill, preparatory to coming about.
For an instant Frank did not know what to do.
Which way had the whale gone? What did the sudden wave of darkness mean?
The answer came almost instantly, and in a startling way.
Suddenly at the pilot-house window there loomed up a giant face, as full of deviltry and cunning as ever was seen.