CHAPTER XXVI
ENTANGLED
Dr. Klauss, seeing his two friends, called to them something in thelanguage he and they used between them. It seemed to be an appeal forhelp.
“Look out for them!” cried Mr. Sheldon, who had gone on ahead. He hadan iron bar for a weapon.
“Don’t you two interfere!” yelled Ted. “If you do it will be worse foryou.”
“What is it; we don’t understand,” said one of the men in German.
“We have had to subdue Dr. Klauss,” answered Jerry, who could manage tospeak a little of the language of the Fatherland. “He has threatened totake us down to the bottom of the sea at a depth that would kill us all.
“We are doing this as a precautionary measure,” went on Jerry,struggling with the German language. “We intend to turn the ship about,and land ourselves. Then we will give Dr. Klauss his liberty, and hecan do as he pleases. But we will not let you interfere with our plansnow!”
Jerry’s stand was determined.
“Good!” cried Mr. Sheldon, who had understood part of the talk. “That’sthe way to handle them!”
Dr. Klauss, still struggling somewhat in the binding chains, shoutedsomething in that strange tongue. The two elderly Germans seemed tohesitate, and Jerry feared they might try to effect a rescue, though hehad little doubt of the ability of himself and the others to overpowerthem.
“Don’t try anything rash!” Jerry shouted. “We intend no harm to Dr.Klauss. We are only anxious to save ourselves. It will be best for youto do nothing.”
The old men appeared to think so, too. They talked between themselvesin low voices and then spoke to the commander in the secret language.What they said appeared to displease the fanatic, but his entreatieswere in vain.
“First class in arithmetic!” called Ted, in grim humor, and this seemedto settle it. The old men went back to their cabin and when the partypassed it, carrying the captive commander, they were again bent overtheir papers, calculating, in all probability, the weight of the saltin the ocean.
“Well, so far so good!” Jerry exclaimed in relief, as they depositedDr. Klauss in his cabin.
“I order you to release me! This is an outrage!” cried the insane man.“You shall all be punished for this.”
“We deeply regret the necessity for it,” said Mr. Sheldon courteously,for, after all, Dr. Klauss had really saved their lives. “We areonly doing this,” Bob’s uncle went on, “to protect ourselves. If youwould agree to set us ashore, or on some vessel that would take us toAmerica----”
“No--no! You must not go!” screamed the commander wildly.
“Then we cannot release you,” said Mr. Sheldon firmly. “But understand,we mean you no harm, and as soon as we have landed we will restore yourliberty--or allow your friends to do it for us. Then you may do as youplease with your boat!”
Dr. Klauss struggled as only a madman can, but the chains were toostrong. He could not escape. The successful plotters placed theircaptive in as comfortable a position as possible, securing him in sucha manner that he could move about. But the chains were locked on him,and arrangements were made to stand watch-and-watch outside his cabindoor.
“Now!” cried Ned, when this had been done, “the next thing to do is tosee about getting back home. Whereabouts are we, anyhow?”
“Somewhere in mid-Atlantic, about three hundred feet down,” announcedTed. “We can soon go up, and take an observation.”
“Go up!” cried Professor Snodgrass, who had taken no part in thecapture and subduing of Dr. Klauss. “Oh, I had hopes, before thisvoyage ended, that I could get my crab specimens from the bottom of thesea. Would it not be safe to go down just once? I should like to put ona diving dress and see if I could not get what I want.”
“Well, I suppose we could do that,” agreed Jerry slowly. “Now that weare in possession of the ship we can do as we please, within certainlimits.”
“But are you sure that if once you get on the bottom of the ocean youcan raise the craft again?” asked Mr. Sheldon, anxiously. “I don’tbegrudge the professor a chance to get his specimens, but we must takeno chances. Our condition has been desperate enough. Now we have anopportunity to get back home, and we must not let it slip.”
“Oh, we can get up again, easily enough,” said Ted Rowland. “I’llguarantee that. With a free hand my mates and I can navigate this boatall right. We’ll have to get out the charts and maps, though. Dr.Klauss always kept them to himself. Then I can take an observation,work out our position, and we’ll know where we are--in which directionto sail. I guess it will be safe to get your crabs, ProfessorSnodgrass.”
“Good!” cried the scientist. “You do not know how happy you have mademe. Let us go down at once, and I will get into one of the divingsuits.”
“And so will I!” cried Jerry.
“What! Are you going to take a chance?” asked Bob.
“It isn’t much of a risk,” declared the tall lad. “I watched Dr. Klaussdo it.”
“I think I’ll try it, too,” decided Ned.
“Well, let’s first find a place where the bottom is not too far down,”suggested Mr. Sheldon, with a smile. “Then after the professor gets hiscrabs we will start for home.”
“Oh, how glad I will be!” cried Grace, who, now that the struggle wasover, had joined her father. “Oh, to be safe ashore once again!”
“Yes, it will seem good,” agreed Jerry. “I only wish we could arrangeto keep this boat, though.”
“We sure could have good times in her,” added Ned. “I wonder if wecouldn’t go back, and pick up our _Comet_ on the way?”
“The _Comet_ must have sunk long ago,” declared Bob. “But we mightrescue that old sailor.”
“Oh, I fancy he has, by this time, been picked up and towed to port,”put in Jerry. “Well, shall we go down?”
“First go up, and renew our air supply,” suggested Ted. “We can’t havetoo much of that. Then we’ll work out our observations, and decidewhere we are.”
This was voted a good plan, and in a short time, under the manipulationof the boys and the members of the crew, the _Sonderbaar_ was tossingabout on the sun-lit waves. She was in the midst of a watery waste, noother craft being in sight.
While the air tanks were being filled, Ted Rowland worked out theirposition. They were about a thousand miles from the coast of America,and not far from the Bermuda Islands.
“Not so bad,” announced Ted. “We will soon be home now.”
“But not before I get my crabs,” stipulated the professor. “Can we godown here?”
“It is too deep just at this point,” said Ted, as he consulted a chartobtained from the pilot house. “But about fifty miles from here thereis a bank that is only about four hundred feet down. We can safely makethat, I think.”
Meanwhile Dr. Klauss had seemed to accept his fate with resignation.He remained quietly in his cabin, and his two foreign friends were intheirs.
The deck hatch of the _Sonderbaar_ was closed, and she sank below thesurface. She was then headed for the comparatively shallow part of theocean, and speeded up.
“We can run as well as if Dr. Klauss were here,” said Ned, who wasallowed to attend to one of the motors.
“Yes, your experience in your motorship comes in well,” observed Ted.The boys were beginning to be delighted with their experience on thesubmarine, now that there was a chance to escape and get home.
In due time they reached the place where it was decided to descendto the bottom of the sea, and in a little while the _Sonderbaar_ wasresting on the white sand. About her swam big and little fishes--allcurious about this new monster of the deep.
Jerry and the professor decided to go out together in diving suits, andlater, if he wished, Ned could take a turn. No one else seemed to wantto.
The diving suits were soon brought out and Jerry and the scientist,donning them, shut themselves up in the water chamber. Everything wentalong without a hitch, and a few minutes later the heavy steel doorswung open,
and the two could step out on the ocean bed.
It was a novel sensation, and Jerry enjoyed it to the utmost, althoughthere was a spice of danger to the adventure. He could not helpwondering what would happen should an accident take place, or if the_Sonderbaar_ should suddenly go off and leave them.
But he put these thoughts out of his mind, and followed the professor.They had their lanterns, and they could look through the glasswindows, and see their friends in the cabin, waving their hands. Ofcourse Jerry and the professor could not talk to each other, but therewas no need.
Professor Snodgrass lost no time in looking for his crab specimens. Atfirst he was not successful, though he did find some rare shellfishwhich gave him manifest delight. Then he came close to where Jerrywas standing on the bed of the ocean, looking at a great fish, of anunknown species, that was eyeing the intruders as if in doubt what todo.
The professor stooped down and picked up something. He held it so Jerrycould see, and the lad beheld a large crab, comfortably established inthe vacant shell of some other creature. The professor had found whathe wanted--a hermit crab.
“I guess he wishes he could talk now,” thought Jerry. “He sure willmake up for it, though, when we get on board again. Well, I’m glad he’sfound it. I don’t fancy staying down here too long, though it certainlyis a wonderful thing to have done.”
The professor walked on a little farther, finding more specimens whichhe placed in a net he had brought along for the purpose. Jerry keptpace with him.
Suddenly the lad saw what seemed to be a dark rope dart out, andencircle the professor’s waist. The scientist turned about, and Jerrycould see that he was surprised. Then another rope was entwined aboutProfessor Snodgrass. Quickly the scientist pulled out the long, keenknife with which the diving suit was equipped, but, before he coulduse it Jerry saw a third rope-like appendage whip itself about theprofessor’s arm.
Then Jerry understood. Professor Snodgrass had been attacked by a giantoctopus. With a cry of horror which almost deafened him, reflected backas it was from the sides of his copper helmet, Jerry strode to therescue of his companion. But before he had taken two steps he felt thegiant arms about himself also.
He and Professor Snodgrass were entangled in living ropes at the bottomof the sea!