“What is it, captain?”
“We are in St. George’s Bay, ten miles from the port of Belize, British Honduras. Two days ago, while we were well out in the gulf1, I opened the letter containing the first part of my sealed orders. Those orders, as you know, sent us to Belize. Before we reach there and open the envelope containing the rest of our orders, I think it necessary to test out the Grampus thoroughly2. Unless I am greatly mistaken, the instructions yet to be read may call for work that will demand the last ounce of preparation we can give the submarine. I have stopped the motor, and we are lying motionless on the surface of the sea. The lead shows that there are two hundred and twenty-five feet of water under us. The steel shell of the Grampus is warranted to stand the pressure of water at that depth. Do you follow me?”
“Certainly, captain.”
“Now, Bob, I have been watching you for a long time, and I believe that you know more about the gasoline motor than I do, and fully4 as much about maneuvering5 the submarine. We are going to dive to two hundred and ten feet—the deepest submersion by far the Grampus ever made. I wish you to take entire charge. If you get into difficulties, you must get out of them again, for I intend to stand by and6 not put in a word unless tragedy stares us in the face and you call on me for advice.”
A thrill ran through Bob Steele. The submarine, with all her complicated equipment, was for a time to be under his control. This move of Captain Nemo, junior’s, perhaps, was a test for him no less than for the Grampus.
“Do you hesitate, Bob?” asked Captain Nemo, junior.
“Not at all, sir,” was the calm answer. “I was just running over in my mind the things necessary to be done in making such a deep dive. The pressure at two hundred and ten feet will be terrific. At that depth, the lid of our hatchway will be supporting a weight of more than thirty-two tons.”
“Exactly,” answered the captain, pleased with the way Bob’s mind was going over the work.
“If there happened to be anything wrong with the calculations of the man who built the Grampus, captain, she would be smashed like an eggshell.”
“We are going to prove his calculations.” The captain seated himself on a low stool. “Gaines is at the motor, Clackett is at the submerging tanks, Speake has charge of the storage batteries and compressed air, and Cassidy is here in the periscope7 room with us to drive the Grampus in any direction you desire.”
“Dick Ferral is with Gaines,” added Bob, “and Carl Pretzel is with Clackett.”
“Exactly. Every man is at his station, and some of the stations are double-manned. Now, then, go ahead.”
Bob whirled to a speaking tube.
“We’re going to make a record dive, Clackett,” he7 called into the tube, “and Captain Nemo, junior, has placed me in charge——”
“Bully for the captain!” came back the voice of Clackett, echoing weirdly9 distinct in the periscope room.
“Our submergence will be two hundred and ten feet,” went on Bob. “You and Carl, Clackett, will put the steel baulks in place. I’ll have Dick and Gaines help you.”
Another order was called to the engine room, and presently there were sounds, forward and aft, which indicated that the metal props10, to further strengthen the steel shell, were being dropped into their supports.
“Cassidy,” said Bob, “see that the double doors of the hatch are secured.”
“Speake,” ordered Bob, through another tube, “see that the tension indicators13 are in place.”
“Double doors of the hatch secured,” reported Cassidy a moment later.
“Tension indicators in position,” announced Speake.
“Dive at the rate of twelve yards to the minute, Clackett,” ordered Bob.
A hiss15 of air, escaping from the ballast tanks as the water came in, was heard. A tremor16 ran through the steel fabric17, followed by a gentle downward motion. Bob kept his eyes on the manometric needles. Twenty yards, twenty-five, thirty, and forty were indicated. A pressure of ten pounds to the square centimeter was recorded.
“Plates are beginning to bend, captain,” called Speake.
8
This was not particularly alarming, for the baulks would settle down to their work.
“Close the bulkhead doors, Dick!” called Bob.
“Aye, aye!” returned Dick, and sounds indicated that the order was immediately carried out.
“Sixty yards,” called Clackett; “sixty-five, seventy yards——”
“Hold her so!” cried Bob.
“What is the danger point in the matter of flexion, captain?” asked Bob, turning to Nemo, junior, whose gray head was bowed forward on his hand, while his gleaming eyes regarded the cool, self-possessed youth with something like admiration18.
“Ten millimeters,” was the answer.
“Bravo! We are five yards from the bottom. Do a little cruising, Bob. Let us see how the Grampus behaves at this depth.”
The entire shell of the submarine was under an enormous pressure.
Bob gave the order to start the motor, and the popping of the engine soon settled into a low hum of perfectly20 working cylinders21. A forward motion was felt by those in the submarine.
“Not many people have ever had the novel experience of navigating22 the ocean seventy yards below the surface,” remarked the captain, with a slow smile.
“It’s a wonderful thing!” exclaimed Bob. “The Grampus seems equal to any task you set for her, captain.”
The air of the periscope room was being exhausted23 by the breathing of Bob, Nemo, junior, and Cassidy. Bob ordered the bulkhead doors opened, in order that fresh oxygen might be admitted from the reservoirs. Just before the doors were opened, Captain Nemo,9 junior’s, face had suddenly paled, and he had swayed on his seat, throwing a hand to his chest.
“You can’t stand this, captain!” exclaimed Bob, jumping to the captain’s side. “Hadn’t we better ascend24?”
The captain collected himself quickly and waved the youth away.
“Never mind me, my lad,” he answered. “I feel better, now that a little fresh oxygen is coming in to us. Go on with your maneuvering.”
All was silent in the submarine, save for the croon of the engine, running as sweetly as any Bob had ever heard. Aside from a faint oppression in the chest and a low ringing in the ears, the Grampus might have been cruising on the surface, so far as her passengers could know.
Bob turned away from the manometer with a remark on his lips, but before the words could be spoken there was a shock, and the submarine shivered and stopped dead.
“Full speed astern, Gaines,” cried Bob.
The blades of the propeller27 revolved28 fiercely. The steel hull29 shook and tugged30, but all to no purpose.
Captain Nemo, junior, sat quietly in his seat and never offered a suggestion. His steady eyes were on Bob Steele.
Bob realized that they were in a terrible predicament. Suppose they were hopelessly entangled31 in the ocean’s depths? Suppose there was no escape for them, and the shell of the Grampus was to be their tomb? These reflections did not shake the lad’s nerve.10 His face whitened a little, but a resolute32 light gleamed in his gray eyes.
“How are the bow plates, Speake?” he demanded through one of the tubes. Speake was in the torpedo33 room.
“Right as a trivet!” answered Speake.
After five minutes of violent and useless churning of the screw, Bob turned to Cassidy. The mate, grave-faced and anxious, was looking at him and waiting for orders.
“Aye, aye, sir,” replied the mate.
When the little searchlight was in position, a gleam was thrown through one of the forward lunettes out over the bow of the Grampus. Bob, feeling keenly the weight of responsibility that rested on his shoulders, mounted the iron ladder to the conning tower and looked through one of the small windows.
To his intense astonishment35 he found the bottom of the sea pervaded36 with a faintly luminous37 light, perhaps due to some phosphorescence given off by the marine3 growth. Through this glow traveled the brighter gleam of the searchlight.
The Grampus was lying in a dense38 forest of nodding, moss-covered stems. The vegetation of the ocean bed, with its lianes and creeping growth, twisted all about the submarine, fluttering and waving in the currents caused by the swiftly revolving39 propeller.
A gasp40 escaped Bob’s lips, however, when he fixed41 his attention forward. For a full minute he stood on the ladder, taking in the weird8 and dangerous predicament of the Grampus.
Then an exclamation42 fell from his lips, and he looked down to see Captain Nemo, junior, slowly mounting to his side.
11
The captain pressed his eyes against the thick glass and then dropped back.
“A ship!” he exclaimed. “We have rammed44 an old Spanish galleon45 and are caught in her rotting timbers!”
He looked upward, his startled eyes engaging Bob’s, and the two staring at each other.
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收听单词发音
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1
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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3
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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5
maneuvering
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| v.移动，用策略( maneuver的现在分词 )；操纵 | |
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6
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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7
periscope
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| n. 潜望镜 | |
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8
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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weirdly
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| 古怪地 | |
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10
props
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| 小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋 | |
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11
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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12
conning
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| v.诈骗，哄骗( con的现在分词 )；指挥操舵( conn的现在分词 ) | |
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13
indicators
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| （仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号 | |
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14
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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15
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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16
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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17
fabric
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| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
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18
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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19
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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20
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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21
cylinders
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| n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 )；圆柱；汽缸；（尤指用作容器的）圆筒状物 | |
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22
navigating
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| v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃 | |
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23
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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24
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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25
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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26
whooped
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| 叫喊( whoop的过去式和过去分词 )； 高声说； 唤起 | |
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27
propeller
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
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28
revolved
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| v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想 | |
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29
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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30
tugged
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| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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33
torpedo
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| n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏 | |
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34
projector
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| n.投影机，放映机，幻灯机 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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36
pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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38
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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39
revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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40
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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41
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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42
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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43
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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44
rammed
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| v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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45
galleon
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| n.大帆船 | |
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