"Can nothing be done to save them?" asked Hythe.
The captain shook his head.
"Nothing," he replied deliberately. "Nothing. Had there been a ghost of a chance we would have taken the risk."
For several moments the occupants of the conning-tower stood in silence, gazing fixedly at the chaos of water before their eyes. By this time the "Aphrodite" had passed the influence of the eruption, for she no longer rolled and plunged on her submarine course.
"The danger is now over, Mr. Hythe," said Captain Restronguet at length. "Perhaps you would care to resume your bed? I am afraid that everything is in a fearful mess 'tween decks, though."
"It is lucky for us it is no worse, sir. For the moment I----"
A dull thud upon the deck of the submarine caused the sub's remarks to remain incompleted. The shock literally caused the "Aphrodite" to reel.
"Bring her up, sir, bring her up!" exclaimed Devoran's voice at the telephone. Captain Restronguet did not wait for an explanation. Ordering the quartermaster to trim the horizontal rudders he himself pressed the lever controlling the emergency ballast tanks. Up rose the submarine, though not with her accustomed rapidity, and soon she was pounding sluggishly in the still agitated sea that swept her fore and aft and washed over on all sides.
"A craft of sorts has foundered right on top of us, sir," continued the chief officer. "There are men still alive in her--or, at least, I fancy so."
Captain Restronguet and Hythe waited to hear no more. Leaving the conning-tower in charge of the quartermaster they rushed off to where Devoran was stationed. The fore-scuttle of the rearward conning-tower was obstructed by the bulky quivering hull of a large fishing-vessel. She was lying on her port bilges, her keel being wedged in between the deck and the base of the conning-tower, but so insecure was her balance that every movement of the "Aphrodite" in the furious sea threatened to slide her once more into the depths.