“Everybody git ready for their funerals!” exclaimed Washington in a deep voice. “I ain’t got many——”
“Cheer up,” interrupted Jack, poking Washington in the ribs. The colored man was very ticklish, and he began to laugh heartily, though, perhaps, he did not feel like it.
Suddenly, above the sound of his shouts, there came a crashing, grinding noise from the engine room.
CHAPTER XII
THE BIG HOLE
“Something has gone wrong!” exclaimed the professor as he jumped up. He reached the engine room ahead of any one else, and when the two boys got there they found him busy twisting wheels and shifting levers.
“Anything serious?” asked Jack.
“It’s the gas machine again,” Mr. Henderson replied. “It broke where we fixed it. However it doesn’t matter. I was going to lower the ship anyhow, as I want to approach the island from the water. We will go down a little sooner than I counted on.”
The disabling of the gas machine caused the vapor to escape slowly from the tank, and this made the ship sink gradually. By means of the emergency stop-cock the descent could be controlled almost as well as though the machinery was in working order. Half an hour later the Mermaid rested on the water.
It was a little rough, as there was quite a swell on, and not so pleasant as floating in the air on an even keel, but they made the best of it.
On account of the little accident, and not being certain of its extent, it was deemed best not to send the ship ahead. So they laid to until morning.