As the Grampus came around, she was rolled like a barrel, Matt, Glennie, and Dick, all three, being entirely submerged. But the stout craft was nothing more than a big air chamber, and so long as her plates held together she was practically unsinkable.
Righting herself, the submarine brought the three boys up out of the whirling maelstrom of water.
Matt looked behind. Glennie, dauntless and determined, still reared above the hatch, peering ahead and directing the course; and Dick, farther aft, was hauling at one of his spare lines, coiling it in his hand and making ready to cast as soon as the Grampus came close enough to the overturned boat.
[CHAPTER IV.]
GALLANT WORK.
The southern horizon had become almost a continuous glare of lightning. This was a help to the rescuers, otherwise the deep gloom that prevailed would have rendered it impossible for them to do anything. The thunder rolled heavily, and this, united with the splash and roar of the sea, lent an accompaniment to the scene well calculated to try the strongest nerves.
At times, Matt, Glennie, and Dick seemed to be adrift in the waste of waters with no substantial foothold under them. Rounded deck, and even the conning tower, were covered with the creaming waves. When they were not completely deluged, the stinging spray was hurled into their faces, temporarily blinding them.
Glennie, however, kept his wits about him. Dick and Carl had never liked the ensign, principally because his naval rank and his family pride seemed to have gone to his head, enlarging it. But the way Glennie hung to the conning tower, keeping his eyes in the direction of the overturned boat and his hands on the steering and signaling devices in the inner side of the tower, made a good deal of a hit with Dick.
By dexterous manœuvring, Glennie brought the Grampus to windward of the five men. He did not dare halt the submarine, for to try and hold her powerless in that rolling tumult would have invited disaster. Matt and Dick, understanding this, prepared to hurl their ropes as they came close to the other boat.