David Pollard was fighting hard to conceal the nervous dread that had seized him.
"Farnum," he found chance to whisper, at last, "something tragic has happened to the boys, at last. What on earth can it be? Whatever it is, we're utterly powerless to help them!"
CHAPTER VII
MISSING—A SUBMARINE AND CREW
Fifteen minutes more dragged by.
"Where's your show, Mr. Farnum?"
"Something has gone wrong, eh?"
The correspondents were pressing about the worried builder and the uneasy inventor.
"There's a tragedy going on over there, isn't there?" demanded another journalist, pointing out across the water.
"I—I'm afraid there is a chance of it," nodded Mr. Farnum, dejectedly, again looking at the watch in his hand. "It's getting on toward an hour since the 'Pollard' went down."