They had been at sea several days, and were proceeding2 leisurely3 southward, when Bob took one of the daily observations.
“Look at the chart, Dick. Unless I’m off in my reckoning, those blue things in the distance, that look like clouds, are the mountains of Trinidad.”
“Right-o, mate! The Gulf4 of Paria is to the south, and right ahead of us is the Boca Drago, or Dragon’s Mouth, the entrance to the gulf. What’s our first port of call?”
“Georgetown. That’s where we’re to pick up the midshipman.”
“But we’re two days ahead of time, and he won’t be expecting us. Why not put in at Port of Spain for a little social call? I was there once, on the old Billy Ruffin, and it’s a fine place for getting on your go ashores and seeing the sights.”
“This is a business trip, old chap, and not a sight seeing excursion. Our schedule has been made out for us, and we’ve got to follow it through. It’s a big responsibility we’re under, and if anything should happen to the Grampus, there’d——”
At this moment a tremendous shock interrupted Bob Steele. The big steel hulk of the submarine stopped dead, reeled for an instant like a drunken man, and208 then rebounded5 sternward against the push of the propeller6. Accompanying the weird7 maneuver8 was a fierce thrashing of the waves outside.
Sunk level with the surface of the sea, conning9 tower awash, the Grampus had been proceeding at a good clip on her southward journey. Bob Steele and Dick Ferral were in the periscope10 room, Bob with his attention divided between the periscope table, the steering11 wheel, and the small compass, and Dick on his knees beside a locker13 on which were a number of admiralty charts.
Dick was thrown sidewise by the shock, and Bob only saved himself a fall by taking a convulsive grip on the spokes14 of the steering wheel.
“Fore16 rudder will not work, sir!” cried Speake through the tube communicating with the engine room.
One admirable thing about Bob was that he never got “rattled.” Under any and all circumstances he kept his head.
“Stop your motor, Gaines!” he cried instantly through another of the tubes, then, whirling to still another, he called: “Prepare to empty the ballast, Clackett!”
The ready “Aye, aye, sir!” that came through both tubes proved that those in motor room and tank room were on the alert.
The hum of the engine died slowly, and muffled18 sounds from the tank room showed that Clackett was calmly attending to his work.
In time of accident no man could leave his post, for the safety of the submarine, and the lives of those within her might depend upon an instant compliance19 with orders. Iron-nerved men formed the crew of the Grampus, for each had been selected by Captain Nemo, junior, with that quality in mind.
209
Meanwhile Bob Steele had been studying the top of the periscope table carefully.
“So far as I can make out,” said he, in a puzzled tone, “there is nothing above.”
“The Orinoco brings down a lot of drift, mate,” put in Dick, “and we may have struck a log floating between two waves. If our rudder has been damaged——”
He was interrupted by another blow, fully20 as severe as the first. But this stroke came from the side and not from forward, and hurled21 the submarine over so far that every loose article slammed to starboard, and it seemed as though the boat must surely turn turtle.
“Start the turbines, Clackett!” roared Bob through the tank-room tube; “empty the ballast tanks!”
“Sorry to report, Bob,” came the instant response of Clackett, “that the turbines are disabled an’ won’t work.”
Bob was astounded22. “Then empty the tanks by compressed air!” he cried. “Sharp’s the word, Clackett!”
The hiss23 of air, fighting with the water in the tanks, was heard. At once the boat began to ascend24 and presently the slap of waves against the outer shell proved that they were on the surface.
“Take the wheel, Dick,” called Bob, and leaped up the iron ladder into the conning tower.
The lunettes, or little windows in the tower, were frosted with spindrift, and Bob threw open the hatch and pushed head and shoulders over the top.
“Great spark plugs!” he cried; “a whale!”
“A bull cachalot!” exclaimed Dick from below, staring through the periscope.
“Vat iss dot, Dick?”
The voice of Carl Pretzel, none too steady, floated up to Bob from the periscope room. Carl was not on210 duty, and had probably come up to find out what was going on.
“Why,” went on Dick excitedly, “a cachalot is one of the hardest fighters in the whole whale family. We probably ran into that old blubber head while he was taking his morning nap, and he’s got his mad up. By the Old Harry25! See him spout26! We’re going to have trouble with him, Bob! His head’s like India rubber, and he could poke15 it through the plates of the Grampus and never hurt himself.”
Bob had got his head out of the hatch just in time to snatch a glance at the flukes of a big whale disappearing in the sea.
He signaled half speed ahead by the engine-room jingler27. The elevation28 of the periscope ball gave Dick a much more extensive view of the surface than it did Bob from the top of the conning tower. The whale had come to the top again, and, while Bob was able to see the geyserlike column of water the creature threw up, Dick could take in the cachalot’s immense proportions.
“He’s lumpy all over,” announced Dick, “and every lump is an old harpoon29 mark. He’s a veteran, mates, and he’s coming right at us. He’ll stave in the plates, Bob! Dodge30 him!”
“They can’t get the tube loaded, Bob,” cried Dick, “before the cachalot will be on us.”
There came a low thump34 from forward, followed by a gurgling splash. From that Bob knew that the bow port had been closed and that the water was being211 blown out of the tube by compressed air. Then a faint rattle17 told him the breech door was being opened preparatory to loading the torpedo.
By then Bob was able to see the charging whale. He was a tremendous fellow, and he was making straight for the submarine with all the force in his great body. The water flashed away from his shining sides, and a long trail of foam35 unrolled behind his churning flukes.
“I’ll do the steering from here, Dick!” shouted Bob, laying hold of the patent device which enabled one to steer12 from the tower.
Bob headed the boat so as to meet its strange antagonist36 bow on. Whale and submarine came together with a terrific impact. For an instant the whale seemed stunned37, sheered off a little, and the sharp prow38 raked his side.
The next instant the Grampus was beyond the whale. Bob, looking behind, could see the huge cachalot leaping clear out of the water, and falling into it again with a splash like some mountain dropping into the sea.
The whale was terribly wounded, and bleeding, but the wound seemed only to have increased his pugnacious39 disposition40.
“Watch the periscope, Dick!” roared Bob. “Can you see him? He’s out of sight from here.”
“He’s sounded, mate,” answered Dick, his tense voice proving the strain his nerves were under. “I’m hoping he’ll leave us now, and—— There he is again! He’s coming for us like an express train.”
A spouting41 of reddened water gave Bob the location, and he put the Grampus about, so as to face the danger and bring the cachalot in front of the port torpedo tube.
“Tell them to make ready in the torpedo room!”212 shouted Bob. “They must fire the Whitehead the moment I give the word.”
Dick repeated the order. The torpedo was contrived42 so as to travel at a certain distance under water. If discharged at too great a distance from the whale it would sink to its normal depth, and so miss the charging monster altogether. Bob, watching the cachalot with sharp eyes, awaited the right moment for letting the Whitehead go.
“Fire!” shouted Bob suddenly.
A gurgling swish, a spluttering cough, and a thud followed. The surface of the sea directly ahead of the submarine was full of ripples44 that marked the passing of the deadly infernal machine.
“Full speed astern!” cried Bob.
Dick repeated the order to Gaines. Barely was the motion of the propeller reversed when whale and torpedo met. There was a dull roar, and the sea lifted high in a veritable flurry. The Grampus slid backward rapidly, rocking on the troubled waters. Then, the lifted waves having descended45, the whale was seen torn cruelly and lying on his back. Already the triangular46 fins47 of sharks were in evidence, rushing from every direction upon the prey48.
Bob descended to the engine room and found Dick steering with one hand and wiping the perspiration49 from his face with the other.
Speake, meanwhile, had been taking the turbine to pieces. He now appeared in the periscope room with a wooden sieve51 half full of small fish.
“Mullet for dinner, Bob!” he laughed. “A shoal of fish was bein’ chased by the cachalot. The draft holes213 of our turbines was open an’ the fish run in. No wonder the turbines wouldn’t work!”
“Good enough,” answered Bob laughing, “if you can call anything good that put our turbines out of commission at a time when we needed them. Have some of them for dinner, Speake.” He turned to Dick. “Lay our course for the Port of Spain, old chap,” he added. “We’ll put into the harbor and look the submarine over to see whether her bow has been damaged any. I’ll go below and have a look at the fore rudder. Possibly we can tinker that up temporarily. It would never do to pick up the midshipman with the Grampus at all out of commission.”
They were to call at the Port of Spain, after all, and Dick Ferral was mightily53 pleased with the prospect54.
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1
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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5
rebounded
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| 弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效 | |
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6
propeller
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
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7
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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8
maneuver
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| n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略 | |
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9
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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10
periscope
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| n. 潜望镜 | |
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11
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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13
locker
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| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
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14
spokes
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| n.（车轮的）辐条( spoke的名词复数 )；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 | |
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15
poke
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| n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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16
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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17
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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18
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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compliance
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| n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从 | |
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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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hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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23
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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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
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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26
spout
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| v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱 | |
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27
jingler
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| 喝醉酒的人 | |
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28
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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harpoon
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| n.鱼叉；vt.用鱼叉叉，用鱼叉捕获 | |
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30
dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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torpedo
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| n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏 | |
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32
clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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33
dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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34
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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35
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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36
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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37
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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38
prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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39
pugnacious
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| adj.好斗的 | |
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40
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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41
spouting
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| n.水落管系统v.（指液体）喷出( spout的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水 | |
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42
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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43
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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44
ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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45
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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46
triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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47
fins
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| [医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌 | |
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48
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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49
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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50
squeak
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| n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密 | |
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51
sieve
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| n.筛，滤器，漏勺 | |
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52
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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53
mightily
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| ad.强烈地；非常地 | |
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54
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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