"Unreel the hose," the inventor continued, and Mark and Jack ran to do this.
In a few minutes the line was stretched into the engine room, and water was being thrown on the flames, for Washington had started the pump as soon as he saw the conflagration.
The fire was in one corner, near the electrical switch board, and had been caused by the blowing out of one of the fuses, which occasioned the little explosion. The wood work near the switches was blazing fiercely, and soon the ship was filled with smoke.
"Empty the ballast tanks!" called the professor. "We must rise to the surface!"
"We'll all be burned up!" cried Tom. "First we nearly smother and then we get on fire. Neber saw such luck!"
With a rush the Porpoise began to rise, as her tanks were lightened. With steady hands, though with fear in their hearts, Jack and Mark continued to play the water on the flames, while the professor and Washington got out a second line and aided them.
"The fire is dying out!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson. "We'll soon get the best of it."
In five minutes the worst was over, though it had been an anxious time, and one of danger. The ship came to the surface, and the open man-hole let out the thick smoke that had nearly suffocated the travelers.
As soon as it was cool enough in the engine room an examination was made of the damage done. It was not as bad as the professor had feared, and the running part of the ship was not harmed. A new fuse was put in and the electric lights turned on.
The night was spent with the ship floating on the surface of the ocean, only enough speed being kept up to give her steerage way. The professor did not want to go below the waves until he had repaired the switch board.