"Can't they make good the damage afloat?" asked Jack. "Divers could go down, couldn't they?"
"If it were merely a matter of replacing the propellers they might, but it's the damaged shafting that will cause all the trouble."
"Depend upon it, Captain Brookes will find a way out of the mess," replied Stockton, reassuringly. "The only thing that puzzles me is what he will do should we be overhauled by a British cruiser. If he keeps to his word he won't open fire on her, and if he attempts to run away he'll be overhauled. That's a moral certainty."
[Illustration: The doomed vessel was instantly swept out of existence. The massive outlines of the cruiser seemed to melt into a hundred thousand fragments.]
"Well, let's hope we shan't be put to the test," said Tregarthen. "But, by George, didn't the shell which hit us knock up a dust? It simply swept the charthouse and bridge away like brown paper. That means that all the steering will have to be done from the conning-tower until we find time to make good the damage. But stand by—here comes the captain."
Captain Brookes, however, passed them without apparently noticing their presence. He seemed intent upon some great problem, and, lost in thought, he descended the companion ladder and entered his cabin.
"What's the course, Mr. Slade?" asked Gerald of the navigating lieutenant.
"We're going to fall in with the Chilian fleet next," was the reply.