"Oh, you—Benson!" shot from a middy's mouth.
The cry led half a dozen of the young men toward the all but exhausted rescuer. They came with long, lusty strokes that brought them to Benson, quickly, while he trod water and tried to raise the face of the girl above the surface.
The girl's eyes were closed, now, her cheeks pallid and waxen. Twice her face dropped beneath the surface, but Jack fought to bring her lips up into the air.
Then strong hands seized them both.
"Untwine the young lady's arms, if you can," begged the submarine boy.
Two of the cadets succeeded in doing this. More midshipmen were about them, now, yet not one among them could have boasted of being a better swimmer than was Jack Benson himself.
But now the young skipper of the "Farnum" was plainly exhausted.
Freed of the need of more immediate work, Jack, as soon as he was free, rolled over on his back, floating.
In the meantime, four other midshipmen swam close to where the girl's athletic brother had been seen to go down. He came up, at last, more than half gone, but the middies pounced upon him—and then he was safe.
Hal was at the wheel, now, with Williamson and the naval machinist below in the engine room. That gave Eph Somers a chance to spring out on the platform deck with Ensign Trahern and the sole remaining midshipman.