“Yes.”
Frank took a torpedo and went forward. He placed it in the tube. Drawing a careful line on the whale, he pressed the pneumatic lever.
There was a recoil and a muffled report. The torpedo had sailed through the water apparently in a straight course for the whale.
Had it struck the cetacean it would have proved its end. But unfortunately this was not the case.
The torpedo just passed over the body of the whale. Gliding fifty yards beyond it struck a reef, and exploded with terrible force.
For a few moments the water literally boiled in the vicinity.
The whale shot forward like a stone from a catapult.
One moment it was visible flying in the distance.
Quick as thought Frank saw his mistake and acted.
He sprang into the pilot-house and pressed the motor key. The boat shot forward like a flash.