CHAPTER X. WHAT BECAME OF THE DOLPHIN.

But what of the others?

What had happened?

Barney and Clifford were holding vigil at the opening to the hatchway. They were waiting eagerly for word from Frank Reade, Jr.

All of a sudden there was a blinding flash of brightest light, an awful roar and a shock.

Both men were lifted as if by a catapult and whirled away in surging masses of water.

They had instinctive sense enough to cling to each other through all.

It seemed an interminable length of time that they were tossed and hurled and carried through the water.

Then they sank and once more felt the bed of the ocean beneath them.

They lay upon the sands for some little while.

Then the water grew calm about them and they recovered themselves. They sat up and looked about.

The locality did not greatly differ from the one they had left.

It was the same expanse of sand and coral reef.

Their helmet lights made a limited circle of radiance about them. Beyond that all was darkness.

“Well,” exclaimed Clifford, placing his helmet against Barney’s, “what does this mean?”

40“Shure, sor; it beats me. I’m afther thinkin’ somethin’ blew up!”

“Oh, yes, there was an explosion.”

“Shure, sor.”

“But what was it?”

“I’m sthuck, sor.”

“Could it have been the Dolphin?”

Barney shook his head.

“I’ll niver believe that, sor. No, it’s my opinion that thim omadhouns av the Aurelian had the insthrumentality av it all.”

Clifford gave a start.

“I have it!” he cried.

“Phwat, sor?”

“It is the work of Parker. He dropped a torpedo down upon us. It’s a wonder that it did not kill us. If his aim had been true we should now be dead!”

The Celt looked his horror.

“Shure, an’ phwat av it sthruck the Dolphin?”

“I do not think it fell in that locality,” declared Clifford, “though I have no doubt the Dolphin felt the shock somewhat.”

Then Barney gave a wild start.

“But, shure, sor, it’s fools we are to be here an’ leave Misther Frank phwere he is.”

“That is right,” agreed Clifford. “We must go and look for him.”

With which they got upon their feet and looked about them.

Nothing was to be seen of the Dolphin or her searchlight. All was gloom about them.

But beyond the circle of their helmet lamps Clifford saw a white reef.

“The sunken galleon is on the other side of that,” he said; “the shock of the explosion carried us over here.”

“All roight, sor!” cried Barney, with alacrity.

So they set out for the reef. Below was a sandy plain, and they fancied they could see the excavation over the galleon’s deck.

But when they reached the spot it was not there. Nor was there anything at all familiar in the surroundings.

“Well,” muttered Clifford. “I can’t say that I like this. Let us look on further.”

41And this they proceeded to do.

From one spot to another they wandered. But each grew less familiar and the more strongly impressed the fact upon them that they were lost.

Hundreds of fathoms from the surface in very mid-ocean. What an awful reflection.

It held the two men aghast. Nothing but despair and death hung over them like a grim pall.

Meanwhile what of the Dolphin and Pomp and Hartley?

At the moment that the torpedo exploded Pomp was adjusting the searchlight, and Hartley was watching the operations of his friends in digging for the galleon.

“They have found it, Pomp!” he cried; “and Frank has gone down into it.”

“Golly! I done hope nuffin happen to him down dere!” cried the coon. “I’se drefful afeared ob gittin’ in some place laike dat whar yo’ never kin git out!”

“I share your fears, Pomp,” said Hartley. “Yet we must admit that Frank knows his business well.”

“Fo’ suah, sah!”

The words were barely out of Pomp’s lips when he saw a distant object come sliding down through the water.

“Wha’ ‘am dat?” he muttered, but said no more.

The instant the object touched the bed of the sea, there was a fearful, blinding flash, an awful boom and shock.

Then all was chaos and oblivion for a time.

The Dolphin was picked up as if it was a bubble, and hurled through the waters most violently.

It seemed as if it would never cease whirling, when there was a crash and a shock. Then Pomp found himself standing on his head in a corner of the cabin, and Hartley was jammed into another corner.

It was some moments before either recovered breath enough to speak.

Then suddenly the electric lights were paled by the light of day. Both glanced through the windows and saw that they were on the surface of the sea.

The Aurelian was seen some distance away.

“Jemina!” exclaimed Hartley as he gained his feet, “what on earth happened to us?”

“Golly, dat am jes’ wha’ I was finkin’!” cried Pomp.

Then, rubbing their bruises, they looked about to see what harm had been done.

42But the boat was apparently uninjured, and floated lightly on the rolling waves.

But certainly something had happened to bring the boat to the surface in such a startling manner.

What this was Hartley tried to think. Then all came to him.

“By the north star!” he cried, “that was a torpedo those rascals exploded, thinking to annihilate us!”

“A torpedo!” exclaimed Pomp. “Den it am berry lucky dat we was not blowed up!”

“Indeed it was!” exclaimed Hartley. “I wish I had a gun; I’d sink their infernal craft!”

“Hi, dar—look out!” yelled Pomp. “Dey hab got a gun fo’ suah!”

A puff of smoke leaped from the side of the Aurelian. There was a distant boom, and a shot passed not a foot above the vessel’s rail.

The aim was not so close as it would be next time, and Hartley knew it.

“Look out, Pomp!” he cried, “they mean to sink us! Send her to the bottom again!”

“Golly, dat am jes’ wha’ I will do!” cried the darky.

He sprung to the keyboard. He swung the tank lever about. But the boat did not sink.

The darky was astounded. A shade of dismay crept across his face.

“Fo’ de lan’s sake!” he muttered. “Wha’ am de mattah? Am anyfing bruk?”

“Mercy on us!” cried Hartley; “don’t say that, Pomp! What will become of Frank and the others?”

It was a fearful reflection.

Boom!

Another shot came within an inch of taking away the bow of the submarine boat.

“They are a set of pirates and murderers!” cried Hartley angrily; “show them no mercy!”

“Massy Lordy! It don’ look as if we was gwine fo’ to hab de chance!” declared the coon.

“Well, don’t expose the boat any longer to the shots. We must at least get out of here!”

“Yo’ am right, sah! Yer goes!”

The coon put on speed and sped beyond range of the Aurelian’s 43gun. Then Pomp applied himself to the all-important matter of repairing the boat.

Pomp was not as thorough a mechanic as Barney, yet he knew something of the mechanism of the Dolphin. He worked zealously.

He found eventually that the shock had dislodged a piece of steel plating in the bulkhead, which had fallen into the cogs of the tank trucks and so obstructed them.

To remove this was a matter of no little effort and time.

It required six hours of active work to put the damaged trucks back into good shape.

All this while the Aurelian had been sending down divers as Hartley saw through his glass.

Whether they had discovered the treasure or not was a question.

If they had, then there must have been some sort of an encounter, and Pomp and Hartley feared for the safety of their friends.

Pomp worked like a Trojan to get the boat into working order again, for he knew the importance of at once going to the rescue of the lost ones.

But of a sudden the Aurelian seemed to be pulling up anchor and getting ready to sail away.

The cause of this move was for a time a mystery to Pomp and Hartley.

But the captain chanced to glance at the horizon, and cried:

“On my word, mate, I see the reason for it. Look yonder!”

Up from the southern horizon great masses of yellow clouds were piling up.

The sky had a brassy look, and the sea was lead-like.

“A storm, sah!”

“Yes!” cried the captain; “it is a storm coming up, and they mean to shift their position. Probably they will run for the protection of some cay near here. There is one on the western sea line. It is, I think, Miller’s Cay.”

“Dat am berry funny!” muttered Pomp, shaking his head; “but it gibs us a good chance.”

“You are right! How is the tank?”

“A’right now, sah! I done fink we can go to the bottom berry quick, sah.”

“Good!”

44Pomp closed the doors, and then went into the pilot-house. He pressed the tank lever.

At once the boat began to sink.

Down she went steadily, and Pomp, flashing the searchlight, finally saw the bottom.

Under the sea the Dolphin had nothing to fear from the hurricane. This was her advantage over the Aurelian.

It was now in order to find the missing men of the crew. What their fate was could only be guessed.

But Pomp sent the submarine boat forward at full speed. In a very few moments she was in the vicinity of the spot from which she had been driven by the explosion of the bomb.

But the exact location did not seem easy to find.

“Dat am berry funny!” declared Pomp, after cruising aimlessly about for awhile. “Wherebber can dey hab bin? Whar am dat sunken ship?”

A sharp spasmodic cry suddenly escaped Hartley’s lips and he said hoarsely:

“My soul! Look yonder. What is that?”