"Having the wind almost squeezed out of us was the worst that happened," said Mark. "The octupus must have recently dined when it grabbed us, for it didn't offer to eat us. And it didn't grip us as tightly as it might have or I reckon we wouldn't have come out alive. I thought sure we were going to be killed, however."
"So did I," put in Jack.
"I don't want any more such fights this trip," said Andy with a weak smile.
CHAPTER XXVIII
OUT OF THE ICE
Worn out with their encounter with the octupus, Andy and the boys were glad to take to their bunks. The others, too, who were weary from traveling under water, felt the need of rest, and so it was decided to let the ship remain stationary down on the bottom of the ocean for several hours before going on further.
"When we get rested up we'll have a good meal, and then try to gain the surface of the ocean," said the professor.
There was quiet on board the Porpoise for a long time. Washington was the first to awake and he at once set about getting a meal. When it was ready he called the professor, and, one after another all the adventurers rose from their bunks and refreshed themselves with hot coffee, bacon, eggs and preserves, all prepared from condensed foods, of which a large supply had been brought.
"Now to see if we can make our way upward through the ice," announced Mr. Henderson.