"Hot and lively," put in Speake.
"And short," added Gaines; "that's the best part of it. If it had kept up much longer, I'd have been down with heart failure. We not only had a close call in the matter of losing the ship to Fingal and his gang, but likewise in the matter of that submarine mine. My nerves are in rags, and I hope Nemo, Jr., isn't going to sit down on us too hard. That would be about the last straw!"
"Hard lines that we couldn't have nabbed Don Carlos," wailed Speake. "I'd have taken particular pleasure in herding him with the rest of our prisoners."
"We've got Pitou," said Matt, "and he's of more importance. There——"
"Hello, down there!" came from Clackett.
"What now, Clackett?" sang out Matt.
"That steamer's a warship—I've just been able to make her out. By jing, I believe she's the Seminole!"
The announcement aroused a commotion.
"Make way for us to get out on deck, Clackett!" called Matt. "If she's the Seminole, I want to speak her."
Matt, Speake, Clackett and Ysabel clustered on the forward deck near the conning tower.