A telephone bell ringing loudly interrupted Hythe's remark. Captain Restronguet took up the receiver and held it to his ear; then without replying replaced the instrument.
"I thought we should not be mistaken," he announced. "The 'Vorwartz' is bowling along in our direction. Our detectors make it appear that she's less than ten miles off and running beneath the surface. There is no time to be lost if we want to clear for action."
So saying Captain Restronguet hastened to the fore conning-tower. Whether he meant to take the sub with him or otherwise Hythe did not know; so pending directions he remained in the cabin.
Every officer and man of the "Aphrodite's" crew knew exactly what had to be done. As if by magic the stanchions and rails were cleared away, the "week's washing" bundled down the fore-hatch and placed in a compartment artificially heated. In two minutes the Upper Platform was deserted, and the water-tight hatches placed in position and properly secured. One touch of an electric push and all the circular scuttles in the vessel's side were simultaneously closed and covered with metal plates.
A bell tinkled in the after conning-tower, where Mr. Devoran was in charge. It was the signal that all was in readiness for diving.
"How is she lying?" asked Captain Restronguet of his chief officer by means of the telephone.
"Less than two miles due north, sir," replied Devoran, after giving a hasty glance at the electric detector that by means of two indicators automatically recorded the course of the "Vorwartz."
Captain Restronguet waited no longer. The time had arrived for the "Aphrodite" to dive and intercept Karl von Harburg's submarine, and only by the fact that the gentle rolling of the vessel had ceased did Hythe realize that she no longer floated on the surface.
Left to himself the sub was beginning to get "jumpy." It was a feeling akin to the sensation he experienced on the occasions when he saw the submarine at Spithead and in Cawsand Bay--not fear but nervous excitability. Had he been in the conning-tower he would no doubt have been as cool as a cucumber, being able to see what the others were doing and what was going on outside, as far as the limited range of vision would permit. But to be cooped up in a cabin, utterly alone, and with the possibility of the "Aphrodite" coming off second-best in the encounter that was to ensue did not at all suit the young naval officer.
Suddenly he staggered and only saved himself by grasping a corner of the table. The "Aphrodite," running at great speed, had ported her helm. So sensitive was she to the action of the rudder that she turned round almost on her heel, and the effect upon Hythe was similar to that of a man standing in a railway carriage when the train takes a sharp curve.