CHAPTER VII

OFF FOR THE SOUTH POLE

"Are you hurt?" asked Jack.

"I think my leg is broken, but otherwise I'm not damaged," replied the detective. "Even if I am disabled, it makes no difference, you are my prisoners. I command you to stay here until help comes."

The boys did not know what to do. They did not like to see even an enemy suffer, but, at the same time, they knew he had no right to arrest them.

"Here comes a wagon," said Mark, catching the sound of wheels.

"Well, fo' de land sakes! Gollyation! What terrible catafterme hab occurred in dis unapproachable manner?" a voice demanded.

"It's Washington!" cried Mark, as he saw Professor Henderson's colored a.s.sistant driving along the road.

"Dat's who it am!" exclaimed Washington as he noticed the boys. "My! My!

But am you boff dead?"

"No, only one of us," said Mark with a laugh, as he and Jack ran toward the wagon.

"Ha! Ha! Dat's one ob yo' jokes," said Washington. "But hurry up, boys.

De perfessor he done sent me to meet you. He reckoned you'd becomin'

ober on an early trolley. He's in a hurry to git away."

"Don't you boys dare to leave!" exclaimed Detective Ducket.

"Who's dat?" asked Washington.

"Never mind," said Mark. "He was hurt in the trolley smash, but not badly. We'll send help, from the first farm house we come to. Come on, Washington, we'll go with you."

The boys jumped into the wagon, and Washington started off. He explained that the inventor was anxious to make a start that day, as there would be an unusually high tide which would be followed a little later by a low one, and that would make it difficult to cross the harbor bar.

"So I hired dis wagon an' come after you," said the colored man.

At the first house they came to the boys stopped and told about the accident. The farmer agreed to go and get the detective and the others who were hurt and take them to a hospital.

"I guess we're rid of that detective now," observed Jack, as they started off again.

"Yes, but we're getting away under a cloud on our characters," said Mark. "I'd like to stay and see the thing through, if we had time."

"But we can't, and there's no use worrying over it," spoke Jack.

In a short time they were at the inventor's cabin, and related to Mr.

Henderson all that had occurred.

"Well I guess your detective friend will have a hard time to find you in a few hours," said the old man. "We start on our trip for the south pole this evening."

There were busy times for the next few hours. Many supplies had to be placed on board, and, while the boys, with Tom and Bill, saw to this, the professor and Washington were occupied with putting the last touches to the submarine boat's machinery.

Most of the supplies from the cabin were placed in the _Porpoise_, including food and clothing and a good quant.i.ty of minerals that, with sea water, generated the gas that made steam.

An early supper was made on sh.o.r.e, as the professor said they might be so busy for the first few hours of the starting trip that they would get no chance to eat. Then the cabin and buildings where the submarine had been built, were securely fastened.

"I guess we're all ready," announced the professor, taking a last look around.

One by one they went aboard the _Porpoise_ crawling down through the man hole. The inventor was the last one to enter. He clamped the cover on by means of the cam levers and switched on the electric lights. Then he took his place in the conning tower with Andy Sudds.

"Forward, to the South Pole!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson.

With a turn of his wrist the inventor started the engines. The big screw in the shaft revolved, pulling the water in at one end of the craft and sending it out in a swirling stream at the other. The trip was fairly begun.

For several miles the _Porpoise_ glided along on the surface of the ocean. It was a calm evening, and the boys down in the cabin of the craft could look into the reflecting mirrors on the wall, which were connected with observation magnifying gla.s.ses in the conning tower, and view what was going on, though their heads were below the surface of the sea.

As it grew darker the view of sh.o.r.e and water faded away. The engine kept up its speed with Washington to see to it every now and then, oiling the bearings, some of which did not run quite smoothly because of their newness.

"I'll send her down a bit now," observed the professor. "I don't want to run into any more warships or scare the crews by making them think we are a foreign torpedo boat."

He opened the sea c.o.c.ks in the ballast tanks and soon the _Porpoise_ sunk about two hundred feet beneath the waves. The craft, which had been pitching and tossing under the influence of a ground swell, became more steady and quiet once it left the surface.

The searchlight in the conning tower was turned on, and in the glare of it Andy and the professor were able to steer properly, aided by the compa.s.s which gave them the true southern course.

It was now quite dark. Additional electric lights were switched on in the cabin, engine and dining room. Andy came out of the conning tower and announced that Captain Henderson wanted Washington to get supper.

All the cooking was done by electricity, and, in addition to a supply of the usual and ordinary kinds of food, there was a big lot of patent condensed victuals to draw on. Soup, broiled steak, potatoes, hot biscuits, rice pudding and coffee made up the repast which was enjoyed by all.

Toward the close of the meal Professor Henderson began to sniff the air of the cabin.

"What's the matter? Do you smell a storm brewing?" asked Andy.

"No, but the air is not as fresh as it should be," replied the inventor.

"Washington, release a little more of the supply from the compression tanks."

The ship, which had been left to steer itself automatically while the professor was absent from the conning tower, was moving along at about half speed. The gage showed they were going at twenty miles an hour, and were three hundred feet below the surface.

"Washington and I will share the first night's watch between us," said the inventor, after the supper things had been cleared away. "There will not be much to do, as the ship will steer automatically in whatever direction I set her. Still I want to see how she behaves. The rest of you might as well go to your bunks."

The two boys were especially glad of a chance to go to bed, as they had had but little sleep the night before on account of the fire. So they lost no time in undressing and rolling up in the blankets, for it was quite cool so far down under the water.

"Well, we've slept on the earth, above the earth and now we're under the waters," observed Jack.

"There's only one place more to spend your time taking a snooze," said Mark.

"Where's that?"

"Inside the earth."