The big searchlight gave a fine illumination, for the ice above and below reflected back the beams, and what would otherwise have been a sea of darkness was made one of daylight.
The water swarmed with fish, but they were like none that the adventurers had ever seen or dreamed of before. There were monsters with hideous heads, and eyes so large that they occupied nearly half of the ugly bodies.
Then there were serpent-like forms, fish with long slender bodies and whip-fashioned tails, with jaws that extended before them for ten feet or more. Others there were, great lumbering monsters that crawled along on the ice, somewhat as seals do.
After several hours' travel the submarine ran into a school of fish that had shapes like those of polar bears, while their heads were like those of sharks. The creatures swarmed up to the side of the vessel, and some scratched with their claw-like fins on the glass windows of the conning tower and the side bull's-eyes.
A meal was prepared by Washington, and all the adventurers brought good appetites to the table. On and on rushed the ship, every hour coming nearer and nearer to the pole.
Professor Henderson had turned the steering of the craft over to Mark, who, with Jack as an assistant was sending her along at a good speed, when suddenly the submarine seemed to slacken in her progress.
"What's the matter now I wonder?" asked Mark.
"Maybe the engine bearings got hot, and Washington had to slow up to cool them," suggested Jack.
He looked through one of the side windows in the conning tower, a moment later, and uttered a cry of fear.
"What is it?" asked Mark.