"Then I am not surprised," said the officer in a low voice.

"Surprised?" said Ralph. "Did you say 'surprised?'"

The officer sighed, turned his head away, and was silent.

A lieutenant and four seamen reached the side of the submarine, and were drawn aboard.

"Ah! it was your ship that went down in the bay last Wednesday," said the chaser's lieutenant.

"Yes; we were picked up by the submarine, together with my two young friends here," said the captain.

"And how does it happen that you are in command of this vessel?" he asked in surprise.

"We captured it about a half an hour ago, and have the chief officer and the crew below," replied the captain.

"That is certainly a remarkable exploit," replied the lieutenant. "I suppose you will be glad to meet the commander of _l'Orient_?" said the lieutenant.

"Ah! Captain Tournai, you mean! I recognized the French colors. But I supposed he was in the Mediterranean; it will be quite a pleasure, indeed. Do me the honor to signal him," said the captain.

The lieutenant gave the necessary instructions, and the flags wig-wagged from the bridge of the little vessel.

The sub-lieutenant was called out of the conning tower, and Alfred directed to unloosen the cords.

"I suppose you will take charge of the prisoners," said the captain.

"I should be glad to do so, with your permission, although you have a right, of course, to turn them over to _l'Orient_," said the lieutenant.

"No; it is sufficient gratification to know that we have the vessel,"

said the captain, "and I shall be glad to leave to you the disposition of the men and the vessel."

"What procedure would you suggest?" asked the lieutenant.

"I shall give an order to the sub-lieutenant directing the men to come out of the hold," said the captain. Then, turning to the sub-lieutenant, he said:

"You will inform the men below that they are to present themselves at the hatch."

The officer bowed, and entered the conning tower He immediately descended. Before he had, reached the bottom the captain said:

"Halt! Notify them from where you are. I shall not permit you to go any farther."

All the men were found to be stationed near the hatchway steps. One by one they appeared, and were escorted out, a dozen marines in the meantime having appeared in two boats. As they emerged from the door they were escorted to the side and directed to take their places in the ship's boats.

"That makes twenty-one," said Alfred.

CHAPTER X

THE SECRET KEY TO THE BOMB FUSE

"Shall I go down and a.s.sist in bringing up the lieutenant?" said the sub-lieutenant, as the doctor of the submarine pa.s.sed out.

"No; I have decided that he shall not be removed until this evening,"

said the captain. "In the meantime the doctor may return, and give him such aid as is necessary."

The sub-lieutenant's face turned pale, and he trembled. This was the first show of weakness that he exhibited. The boys looked at the captain, and turned their glances toward the officer of the chaser. They could not understand it. The captain continued:

"I believe the chief machinist is also injured, as well as two of the machine tenders. They may also remain until after the lieutenant is brought up."

All present noticed the wrought-up condition of the sub-lieutenant, and the latter soon exhibited evidence that he was breaking down. At last he remarked with trembling voice:

"At what time can they be brought up?"

"I cannot tell at this time; possibly not until tomorrow," said the captain, directing a searching glance at the officer.

"He is very ill," said the doctor.

"I have no doubt of it," replied the captain. "The length of their stay in the submarine will depend on the length of the fuse attached to the time explosive in the hold."

The sub-lieutenant almost dropped as the captain uttered these words, and the boys exchanged significant glances, while the lieutenant of the chaser smiled.

"You did not think," continued the captain, "that I would be so lax in my duty as to permit you to plant a mine under our feet?"

The sub-lieutenant dropped his eyes without answering. The captain gazed at him intently, as he continued: "For the present you will be detained, and the time of the removal of the lieutenant with his companions will be decided within the next two hours."

With this decision the sub-lieutenant was put in charge of the marines, while he descended to enter the boat. As he was about to step aboard, he turned to the captain and said: "It will be too late if you defer the decision for two hours."

"Ah!" said the captain with a faint smile, "you have thought better of it. Will the fuse last an hour?"

The sub-lieutenant nodded. The captain waved his arms and directed the officer to proceed. The latter unceremoniously pushed the sub-lieutenant into the boat.

"I will see to it that the fuses are taken out," said the sub-lieutenant, recovering from his sullen att.i.tude.

The captain paid no attention to the remarks of the officer. As soon as the sub-lieutenant was well out of hearing, the captain turned to the boys and said: "It may be a difficult and trying duty to you to perform, but it is the only safe thing to do. As you know almost every part of the submarine from the investigation you have made, I would ask you to follow me, and I will tell you what to do."

The boys nodded their heads, and entered the conning tower with the captain. The latter turned, before descending, and said:

"You will have observed, no doubt, that the scheme was to turn over the submarine to us as soon as possible, leaving a time fuse, which, within a specified time, would have blown the ship to atoms. By so doing they would accomplish two purposes, namely, destroy the ship, and save their own lives. We must not put confidence in any statement they may make."

"But wouldn't it be a good idea to let the sub-lieutenant remove the fuses, as he said he would do?" asked Ralph.

"Would you be willing to rely on that?"

"Well, I wouldn't," replied Alfred. "I could tell by the way the sub-lieutenant acted that he would play a trick if he could."

"That is just why I want you to a.s.sist me in check-mating," said the captain.