The Submarine Boys' Lightning Cruise / The Young Kings of the Deep

omers, blaster of d

manded Cap

glad that scow isn't a real battleship, with

battleship, twelve-inch barkers and all, we'd be twenty feet

we were after. Now, Benson, you've seen the first part of it. We have the other dummy to fire. The real gunner, on a submari

red Jack Ben

omers and the lieutenant stood outside. At the naval officer's direction Jack Benson came up on the other side of the scow, about

order to fire. Then he watched the scow with a

he sh

nd dummy torpedo rose, a few yard

ers, turning toward the conning tower. "Mr. Benson, if you a

full on the other craft, amidships, and the torpedo its

s. "But, when you're below the surfac

y's vessel," declared Benson. "Then I'd drop below, using the compass for direction

d being able to judge distances by the eye alone. And now, Mr. Benson, if you'll run over yonder, carefully, w

sir-?" smiled the yo

ntrive either to tow the scow, or to sink her somehow. If either of the loaded torpedoes fails to explode, we'll have to pick it up, at all hazards. If we left a

north-east. It was no easy task to get a rope around first one dummy torpedo, and then the

sink the scow, before da

nv

fire the torpedo at her

nson, e

fficer. "For that matter, if you fail, there'll be on

into the conning tower to take the wheel while Jack Benson slipped below to direct the loading of the torpedo into the tube.

n four hundred yards. Captain Jack, therefore, determined

other at the signals, ran the submarine over so that he could head the craft around to deliver a broa

ady, E

aye,

hich the young submarine commander took

ir

it is,

tower, the slight commotion that the torped

counting: "One, two,

came a low rumb

o-

d of the submarine boys tingle. A column of spray shot up, followed by de

ears. Then the scow-where was it? Only the waters rolled wh

of what an engine of war you are handling, because this craft would be much more deadly, and vastly more nerve-racking to an enemy, because she would approach under wa

ing a poor-box in a church," laughed Jack. "It called

w understand what show the battleship of coming days will have against a single hostile torpedo boat. Why, the captain of a torpedo boat, if he has but on

wardice, doesn't it?" as

he enemy with as little loss as possible to yourself. Moreover, the commander and crew of a submarine t

. "Still, if one has to come, I hope I'll be in

the craft of the Navy. Still, in our Civil War, and in the War with Spain, we had to commission a good many volunteers. So, in the event of

e other loaded torpedo t

"You've sunk the scow as deep as

may as well put bac

, Be

west. Hal and Eph, as the submarine started back, took a drill in loading and unloading torp

k was content to run along at slow speed. Nor had the bo

uck, lightly, on a reef. Almost by instinct Jack threw the wheel over to port. Something was rasping, forcefully,

n?" called up Lieuten

, sir, I'm sure,"

ouble, Hal Hastings leap

ng up the stairs into t

Jack swinging the nose o

ander signaled for the

outed Jack, cool

r," call

compartments along the keel forward. S

aye,

e submerged," guessed Lieutenant Danvers. "We'r

to Biffens to follow

ghts outside, and also the white light at the signal masthead. Then he turne

. "Don't you make out, sir, bobbing up and down when the waves part, what looks like the stump of the broke

d your judgment sound. That, then, was what we struck on-the mast-stump of a water-lo

ty, for the report of Eph from

ea, and a submarine ca