“Why, the White Shark surely is a wonderful craft!” exclaimed Jack delightedly, gazing about him.
Tom echoed his enthusiasm; but Mr. Dancer merely said:
“Wait; I have more, much more, to show you.”
He opened one of the doors that led off the main chamber which they had just been examining. It disclosed a small cabin, furnished with two Pullman bunks, one above the other.
“There are three cabins like this,” said Mr. Dancer. “Those other two doors open into a bathroom and kitchen respectively. The last door leads to my private cabin.”
In turn these rooms were shown. Mr. Dancer’s cabin was similar to the others, but slightly larger. A writing desk and some scientific instruments were within it. The kitchen proved to be a perfectly equipped “ship’s galley,” clean and compact, and the bath room fixtures were of the whitest porcelain, and included a fine shower bath.
“Now for the engine room,” said Mr. Dancer, when the boys had expressed their delight over the features of the White Shark they had already seen.
He opened a metal door in the after bulkhead of the main cabin and ushered the partially bewildered lads through it. The engine room of the White Shark was an odd looking place. Instead of pipes and valves, wires and switches were everywhere. In the center of the metal floor were two powerful electric motors, and at the side of each was a dynamo which, Mr. Dancer explained, connected with the storage batteries in which electricity was stored for practically every purpose on the diving craft.
“I light, cook, and drive my engines by electricity,” explained their guide; “in fact, everything on board is done by it. Even my steering devices and aluminum diving apparatus is electrically controlled. It is simple, takes up but little room and is always efficient.”
“Those must be very powerful engines,” ventured Tom, who had been examining them with interest.