"All right, my fine fellow!" he muttered. "I'll see if I can't tackle you."

Unhesitatingly he advanced towards the stranger. The latter, pausing a brief instant, held up one hand as if warning off his rival, but seeing that Hythe was intent upon grappling with him he stood on his guard.

The sub had no compunction. Although he could not under present circ.u.mstances summon the man to surrender in the King's name, he realized that, by virtues of the special Act of Parliament, he was authorized to summarily arrest any member of Captain Restronguet's command.

The next instant the two divers were locked in a close embrace, Hythe endeavouring to bring the man's arms to his sides, while at the same time he shouted through the telephone for his comrades in the boat to haul him to the surface. The unknown struggled desperately, striving to pa.s.s one heavily-leaded boot behind the sub's ankle. For ten seconds they grappled in the eerie depths of the sea, then Hythe found himself being dragged along the sandy bottom. His signal to be hauled up was being answered, and the steady strain on the life-line told him that unless anything unforeseen occurred another minute would find him and his captive at the surface.

On and on, over the yielding sand the two men were dragged, for the long scope of rope prevented an immediate upward ascent. Suddenly the unknown diver wrenched one hand free. He drew his knife, the blade glinted dully in the pale green light, and with a steady motion severed the life-line.

"Great heavens! He'll sever my air-tube next," thought the sub, but, apparently content with the advantage already scored, the fellow dropped his knife and tightened his grasp upon his antagonist.

"Blow me up!" gasped Hythe through the telephone, but although the men at the air-pumps redoubled their exertions the extra pressure of air escaped through the valve in the young officer's helmet, since he was unable to close it.

"I am attacked. Tell O'Shaunessey and Price to come to my a.s.sistance,"

exclaimed the sub. In spite of his powerful physique he was not even holding his own. He had bitten off more than he could chew.

During the struggle the sand churned up by the feet of the wrestlers rose till it was almost impossible to see more than a few feet away.

Several times Hythe gave a hasty glance to see if his men were coming to his aid--but no.

Four grotesquely-attired figures appeared through the sand-blurred water. With a feeling of dismay the sub realized that he was hopelessly outnumbered. Since he had taken the initiative in provoking the contest he knew that he must expect to accept the consequences; yet he determined to resist as long as his strength of body and mind remained.

Powerful hands grasped him by the arms and legs. He was overthrown and lifted into a horizontal position. Even then he kicked out strongly till his captors, having good cause to fear his leaden-soled boots, desisted in their efforts to secure his legs.

A loud buzzing--the hiss of escaping air--told him that the worst was at hand. The minions of Captain Restronguet were uns.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the union of his air-tube.

CHAPTER VI.

FACE TO FACE.

The hissing sound stopped. Instead, under a pressure of nearly two and a half atmospheres, the water rushed into the disconnected valve. In five seconds it had risen to the sub's knees. Then the inrush was checked.

It was useless to struggle, but with an uncontrollable longing to wrench himself away from his captors, rather than be drowned like a rat, Hythe persisted in his efforts, till he realized that he was in no immediate danger of being suffocated. In the place of the air pumped in from above--air that was anything but fresh--came a cool, invigorating vapour strongly charged with oxygen.

He no longer appealed for aid. He knew that with the air-tube and life-line the telephone wire had been severed. He was cut off from all intercourse from above. Even his air supply was self-contained.

Instinctively he felt certain that he would be carried off to the mysterious submarine. Curiosity prompted him to accept the situation with equanimity, his inborn fighting disposition urged him to resist.

If he were to be made a prisoner he would let his captors know that the liberty of a British officer is not lightly lost.

It was a strange procession on the sandy floor of Cawsand Bay, for others of the submarine's crew had come upon the scene, and surrounded and held by five weirdly-garbed and helmeted men Hythe was frog-marched towards the huge submerged vessel.

A dull patch in the side of the craft indicated that a portion of her plating had been swung back, revealing on closer inspection a door about five feet in height and thirty inches wide.

Here the sub saw his chance. With outstretched arms and legs he defied the crowd of captors to pa.s.s his resisting body through the narrow aperture. Twice he almost freed himself from their clutches. The oxygen-charged vapour he was breathing accentuated his fighting instincts, and mainly through sheer delight at being able to thwart his antagonists he lashed out right and left.

Still retaining their hold the men began to lose patience. One of them turned and looked at another who was standing by. The look was understood. Drawing a small instrument resembling a two-p.r.o.nged fork, from a sheath attached to his belt, the fellow advanced towards the young officer.

Hythe, still resisting, saw the action.

"I wonder what he's up to?" he muttered. "Going to puncture my suit, I suppose, and half-drown me. Take that, you under-handed rascal."

With a sudden wrench he freed his right hand, and clenching his fist hit madly at the diver's front plate. Had the blow struck home the gla.s.s would in all probability have been broken, but the man stepped backwards and the sub's fist encountered water only. That attempt led to Hythe's undoing, for two stalwart fellows seized him by the arm of his india-rubber suit between wrist and elbow. Held as in a vice he was unable to draw back his hand, the diver with the fork-like instrument immediately applied the points to the officer's bare knuckles.

A powerful electric current pa.s.sed through him. He writhed; his limbs jerked with uncontrollable spasmodic movements, till, his spirit literally cowed, he was unresistingly carried through the aperture in the side of the submarine.

The panel glided to, smoothly and easily, leaving the compartment in utter darkness. Then came the sound of powerful pumps at work, and soon, by the weight of his helmet, Hythe realized that the water was being expelled. Within a minute and a half of the time of entering the place the sub was no longer in the sea, although he was under it.

A bell rang and another door opened, revealing a fairly s.p.a.cious compartment well lighted by electricity. The floors, walls, and ceiling were of metal coated with a substance resembling coa.r.s.e cement. Along one side were racks and pegs to take the diving equipment, several complete suits being not then in use. On the other side were coils of rope, lengths of chain, oars, grapnels, boathooks, and other gear used on board ship, while a folding canvas boat in three detached sections occupied a considerable part of the available s.p.a.ce. On the bulkhead in which was the sliding-door by which Hythe and his captors had entered the compartment were various switches for controlling the ejecting pumps, the intake valves, and the lighting of that section of the vessel. In the other transverse bulkhead was also a door, fitted with a watertight sliding hatch. On either side of this doorway were complicated machines of which Hythe could neither make head nor tail.

Feeling more like a thoroughly cowed puppy than anything else he could liken himself to, the sub was divested of his diving-helmet and suit.

The former was placed on the rack beside the others, the suit, not being of the same pattern as that of his captors, was hung up apart from all the rest. All this while the divers retained their head-dresses. They did not even remove the gla.s.s plates. As soon as the sub was free from the enc.u.mbrance of his diving-dress three men entered from another compartment.

They were tall, broad-shouldered fellows, clean-shaven, and with dark crisp hair. From their appearance they might be near relations, possibly brothers. They were clad in dark-blue jerseys and trousers, and dark canvas shoes, and looked more like yacht hands than the crew of a submarine.

"The captain will be pleased to receive you, sir," announced one in good English, with a west-country accent that a foreigner could not possibly acquire, saluting as he spoke. "What name shall I give, sir?"

The young officer hesitated a moment, then, reflecting that it was of no use beating about the bush, replied, "Arnold Hythe, Sub-Lieutenant of H.M.S. 'Investigator.'"

"Very good, sir; will you please step this way?"

The effect of the electric shock was beginning to wear off, nevertheless the sub felt in a very chastened spirit as he followed his guide, the other two men keeping in the rear. Hythe methodically took count of the number of paces he made as he walked along a narrow alley-way on either side of which were doors in the longitudinal bulkheads. Fifteen steps brought him to a stout transverse bulkhead, in which he noticed were two sliding-doors face to face with a s.p.a.ce of about six inches between.

Beyond, the corridor continued for another twenty paces, terminating at a door that was partially concealed by a heavy curtain.

"Sub-Lieutenant Arnold Hythe, of H.M.S. 'Investigator,' sir!" announced the man.

"Come in, Mr. Hythe!" exclaimed a deep, sonorous voice.

The guide stood aside, and allowed the sub to pa.s.s.

Standing in front of two electric lamps so that his face was in deep shadow was the modern submarine magician, Captain Restronguet. He had evidently taken up that position with deliberation, for he had the advantage of being able to scrutinize closely his visitor and at the same time partially concealing his own features; but the sub could see that the captain was a well-made man of about six feet two inches in height, with broad, square shoulders and ma.s.sive limbs.

He was dressed almost as quietly as the three men who had accompanied Hythe from the divers' dressing-room and who were now standing at attention just inside the doorway. He wore a white sweater, dark-blue trousers, a double-breasted serge coat and white doeskin shoes, while on a writing desk by his side lay a canvas-covered cap of the style in vogue at Cowes during the yachting season.

"I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, sir," continued Captain Restronguet, holding out his hand.

Hythe hardly knew what to say. Had he been told that a quarter of an hour previously he would probably have told the captain to go to Jericho, but the antagonistic spirit had left him.

"And so am I, sir," he replied simply.

"Thank you," replied Captain Restronguet, then addressing his men he ordered them to leave his cabin.

"We can talk more freely now," he continued affably. "Pray take a seat.

The accommodation in this small cabin of mine does not compare with a ward-room or the gun-room of one of His Majesty's battleships, but still I think you will find that chair comfortable."

Hythe sat down. The chair was comfortable enough, but he felt remarkably uncomfortable in spite of the fact that the captain's affability sounded perfectly sincere.