At that moment an idea darted into Dick's brain.
"Keep away, Glennie!" Dick yelled, waving his hands. "Sheer off to a good distance, and wait! Carl," and he whirled on the Dutch boy with fierce determination, "we'll take Matt below. We can close ourselves inside the steel shell and the Japs won't be able to get at us."
"Meppy dere's more Chaps in der poat!" demurred Carl.
"No!" thundered Dick. "Do you suppose they'd stay below while this scrimmage was going on over their heads? Down the hatch with you, and take Matt as I lower him!"
Carl saw that there was nothing else for it, and made haste to carry out his orders. The floor was less than five feet under the deck, and Carl was able to stand erect and take Matt in his arms as Dick let him down. The Japs were gaining the deck from all sides as Dick followed, and the hatch cover was banged shut and made fast just in the nick of time.
"Ach, du lieber!" muttered Carl, listening to the patter of bare feet on the plates overhead. "Vat a fix iss dis. Der Chaps haf got us, und dey ain'd got us; und ve haf got dem in der same vay. Ve can't ged oudt, und dey can't ged in. Vat's der answer?"
"A little light, first," said Dick coolly. "Don't let the Japs worry you—there's a stout steel armor between us and them. It's as black as a pocket in here, now that the hatch is closed. Have you got a match?"
It took Carl several moments to dig a match out of his blouse. He had one, just one, and it was a wonder he had even that. No one had any use for matches aboard the Grampus.
Carl drew the match along the steel floor. As the flickering gleam grew stronger, he and Dick took in the dimensions of that part of their prison.
The floor apparently divided the interior of the steel hull in half, the rounded plates of the hull meeting it on both sides. A bulkhead cut off the view aft.