"They're sinking!"
"All a part of the performance," stated Mr. Pollard.
Before some of the visiting journalists could quite realize it, the tip of the conning tower had disappeared below the surface.
"That's all very interesting to look at," half shuddered one of the women.
"But what if they couldn't bring the boat up again?"
"The boat is built to go up or down, at need," Mr. Farnum assured her.
"Captain Benson has never had an accident yet."
So the group of some thirty newspaper people watched intently, keeping their gaze on the place where they had seen the last ripples close in over the vanishing conning tower.
The minutes passed by. The shore boat, with the hundred-pound anchor and cable in the bow, hovered just where Captain Jack had directed, but what could be going on in the submarine at the bottom of the little harbor?
"Mr. Farnum, don't you sometimes get nervous over such things?" demanded one of the women.
"Never," the boatbuilder assured her.
Yet is was not long before the yard's owner pulled out his watch to look at the dial. Eleven minutes had passed since the disappearance of the submarine. The next time Farnum glanced at his watch the time had lengthened to fifteen minutes. Then the time dragged by to half an hour.