“It was hard to concentrate,” said McFee, “but I know I’m right. And, brother, that’s good shooting.”
“Wish we could know just how much damage we did,” March said.
“But you don’t want to know badly enough to surface and find out, do you?” asked Mac with a grin. “The planes will find out when they come along in a few minutes. They’ll tell us—later, just what we did. Anyway the sound man reports that the ships are scattering in so many directions he can’t keep track of them.”
Then March heard something else from the sound man. “Sounds as if there’s solid rock below us—at about two hundred eighty feet.”
“Wonderful!” cried March. “Settle down to it and we’ll just lie there and rest. Shut off all motors. Then let them try to find us.”
“Destroyers coming in up above, sir,” the sound man said.
“Pretty slow, weren’t they?” Mac commented.
March picked up the phone from the orderly and spoke to the ship. “They’ll be coming any minute now. Hold fast. And we’ll be snug on the bottom.”
The first depth charge came far above them, and the shock from it was very slight. But then the submarine bumped slightly as its keel settled gently against the bottom. Motors were shut off and Kamongo tilted a little to one side as it lay down on the sloping shelf of rock at the bottom of the sea.
There came the metallic click and then the monstrous b-b-r-r-rrooom of a depth charge to the right and above them. Then one to the left. Then one beyond the bow. Then one beyond the stern.