"Yes," answered the captain in a tense voice, "and only Dick and Carl were aboard of her."
"How could that have happened?"
"When the boys got back to the ship, the boat must have been left at the steamer's side while the luggage was being secured. The boys had time to get down into the boat, and before the sailors could follow the squall came rushing down and tore the boat away from the Santa Maria. Hard luck, Matt! Still, the case isn't hopeless by any manner of means. The whaleboat has an air chamber at each end and can't be sunk. If the boys can stay in her, and keep her right side up, we'll be able to rescue them."
The fierce pitching and plunging of the submarine told Matt that she was again battling with the elements on the surface. A look into the periscope also laid bare the heaving and churning waters within a narrow zone of observation, but nowhere could the whaleboat be seen.
"Follow the wind, cap'n," said Cassidy. "By doin' that we ought to be able to find the boat."
"That's my intention, Cassidy," returned the captain. "Take the waist-tarp and go up into the conning tower. Carry a rope with you, and be ready to throw it the moment we sight the boat."
"Let me go, captain!" requested Matt. "I'm already as wet as I can possibly be, and I should like to do my part."
"Very well, Matt," replied the captain. "Put the tarp around him, Cassidy."
Cassidy lifted the lid of the locker and took a circular oilskin from inside. There was a round hole in the centre of the oilskin, and around the outside edge were eyelets.
The mate pulled the tarp over Matt's head and tied it about his waist.