"Isn't there any way of escape?" asked Jack in a low voice, as he crouched in the bow and peered into the whirlpool, on the edge of which they were circling.
"I don't see any," replied Mr. Roumann. "I am very sorry I got you into this trouble. If I had not insisted on coming for the red substance we would not be in this danger."
"It's as much our fault as yours," declared the professor. "We were anxious to get some of the treasure also."
"And now none of us will have any use for it," observed Andy dryly. "When we slide down into that hole it will be all up with us."
They all shuddered as they saw the black hole, around which the waters raced in a circle.
"I wonder what's down there?" asked Mark.
"It isn't a good thing to think about," responded Jack. "I always was afraid of whirlpools."
The boat was now beginning to go around faster. The occupants were getting dizzy with the motion. They could hear a distant roar, and knew that it came from the water falling down some great depth, into which they seemed fated to be dashed.
"Did you turn on all the power of the boat?" asked Jack after a period of silence. "Seems to me we didn't come along very fast in this craft. The one we were in first went at a great rate. Maybe we don't understand how to make it go at top speed."
"I turned the knobs every way I could think of," replied Mr. Roumann. "But it would take terrific speed and power to free us from the suction of the whirlpool."