[CHAPTER XVI]
DISASTER
The captain raised his field-glass.
"It's the 'Rambler,' that's certain," he cried, with a groan.
Dense columns of brownish smoke poured from the motor boat, while the spurts of flame which darted upward rapidly increased in volume.
"Oh, the wicked scoundrels!"
"Doesn't that beat anything you ever heard of?"
"And nothing can be done to save her!"
"Great Scott, she's a goner, as sure as fate!"
A great burst of flame, capped by a mass of heavy smoke, shot violently upward at this moment, followed by the report of an explosion. A thousand particles scattered in all directions, then, with a convulsive lurch, the "Rambler" settled down and disappeared beneath the surface of the river.