All this responsibility, it may be, had got on Bob’s nerves a little, so that he was apt to shy at imaginary dangers. But this fact in no wise interfered3 with his coolness and courage.
The whole under part of the submarine’s hull4 was filled with smoke—a smoke that had the acrid5 smell of burned gas. On hands and knees, Bob groped his way through the haze6, pulled a switch, and set an electric ventilator fan at work. The fan soon cleared the ship, and the first figure Bob saw was that of the gasping7 Chinaman. He was on his knees in the tank room. In front of him lay a twisted and broken gasoline tank—a small reserve reservoir sometimes used to help out the larger tank when the fuel in it was running low. This auxiliary8 tank had not been used for a month, but had hung empty from a rack in the tank room.
At the Chinaman’s side lay a cigarette and a half-burned match.
“What the deuce happened?” cried Glennie, creeping after Bob.
234
“Your Chinaman tried to light a cigarette,” answered the young motorist, quick to reason out the cause of what had happened. “He was under an auxiliary gasoline reservoir, and the match set it off.”
“Thunder, Bob!” exclaimed Gaines, who had dropped down below after Glennie, “there hasn’t been any gasoline in that tank for a month.”
“Nonsense!” exclaimed Glennie. “Vapor wouldn’t stay in that tank for a month. It would escape and find its way out.”
“Gasoline vapor is heavier than air,” said Bob; “and it would remain indefinitely at the bottom of the reservoir. A little of it probably leaked through the bottom of the feed pipe, so that the match set it off. Luckily for the chink there wasn’t very much of it.”
“Have you any more cigarettes?” demanded Bob sharply.
Ah Sin dug a handful out of the breast of his blouse.
“Is that all?” demanded Bob.
“No gottee allee mo’.”
“Don’t strike any more matches,” went on Bob sternly. “You’re going with us to Para, and you’re going to do the cooking. Take him in hand, Speake,” he added to Speake, who had dropped down behind Gaines, “and show him how we do that part of our work on the Grampus. Keep an eye on him, and see that he doesn’t blow up the boat.”
“Never did like a Chinaman, nohow,” grumbled11 Speake. “If he gits too blame’ troublesome, I’ll break his scrawny neck. Come on here, yaller mug!”
Speake made off forward, toward the torpedo13 room, and Ah Sin meekly14 followed. Just then a thump15 on235 the deck, and a loud hail, announced that Dick had arrived with the gasoline.
“Rig the hose, Gaines,” called Bob. “Clackett, get the pump on deck. We’ve got to get the fuel into the tank in short order and then slant16 away for the Amazon and Para.”
While Gaines and Clackett busied themselves, Bob and Glennie went up to the periscope17 room. Carl was just climbing the ladder to help Dick. Glennie, without further talk, picked up his suit case and went on to the room that had been set apart for his use.
“I guess not,” returned Bob. “Speake is looking after him.”
Clackett came with the pump and passed it to Dick, who was in the boat with the barrel of gasoline. The pump was rigged, the end of the hose clamped on, and Clackett and Dick got busy pouring the fuel through the hose and into the big tank below.
While they worked, Clackett explained to Dick that they were to make a quick departure for the Amazon. Dick was disappointed, for he had hoped for a night’s shore leave in Port of Spain, where he had some friends. When he learned that business of Glennie’s had all to do with their short stay in port, Dick was inclined to be resentful.
The ensign had not made much of a hit with Ferral—nor with any of the rest of the submarine’s complement19, for that matter. Dick, however, did no more than grumble12. If Bob Steele thought it necessary to pull out for the Amazon in such short order, then there was nothing more to be said. Bob knew what he was about.
Dick alone, of all the submarine’s crew, had been the only one to set foot on shore. As soon as the gaso236line was transferred, and the boatman paid for his services, the anchor was taken in and the Grampus laid her course for the Serpent’s Mouth and began her long voyage toward the Amazon. Dick took the wheel. Bob, studying the charts, gave him the course. Glennie came out of his room and watched the two lads while they were at work.
Everything was going well, and the rhythmical20 hum of the motor echoed through the boat from the engine room. Glennie walked over and took a look at the periscope. In the mirror were reflected the slowly receding21 shore line and the distant mountains that arose behind the town.
“You fellows seem to know your business,” remarked Glennie.
The ensign turned from the periscope and went up on deck.
“Why are you keeping the boat so high in the water?” he called down.
“He knows so much, matey,” said Dick to Bob, “why not let him figure that out for himself?”
“Because,” Bob answered, shaking his head at Dick, “we can make better speed when we’re riding light. Once out of the Gulf23 of Paria, though, the sea will probably be so rough we’ll have to submerge.”
The ensign continued to ask questions and Bob continued to answer them until Speake announced dinner. The meal was served to the crew at their different stations, Ah Sin carrying the plates and the steaming cups of coffee.
After the meal Bob went up on deck with Glennie, and Dick did the steering24 from the top of the conning25 tower. The Gulf of Paria was a great watery26 plain,237 over which the waters of the Orinoco spread themselves before mingling27 with the sea.
The ensign, feeling that he was disliked, drew back into his shell and bore himself with a chilly28 reserve. Along toward three o’clock Bob relieved Dick and sent him below to sleep. Directly after supper Dick would have to relieve Gaines and stand his trick at the motor, and it was necessary for him to get a little rest. Carl would also have to relieve Clackett, and, in order to be fit for his duties, the Dutch boy had turned in immediately after dinner. He was sleeping on the floor of the periscope room, and Dick curled up on the locker29.
The afternoon saw the Grampus well across the gulf, and by five o’clock she changed her course to south by east, leaving the densely30 wooded hills of Trinidad far behind with the coast of Venezuela in plain view to starboard.
Ah Sin, having been duly instructed as to his duties, prepared the supper on the electric stove, and served it. Speake relieved Bob at the steering gear, and when Dick went below to take Gaines’ place at the motor, Bob sprawled31 out on the locker to catch his own forty winks32. A stiff sea was running, and the Grampus was submerged to a depth that merely left the periscope ball clear of the combers.
As the darkness deepened, Speake had Carl put the turbines at work, throwing out sufficient water ballast to lift the conning-tower lunettes clear of the waves. The electric projector33 was then turned on, and a ray of light shot through the forward lunette and marked the submarine’s path through the tumbling sea.
For some hours everything went well. Then abruptly34 the motor began to sputter35 and misfire, lessening36 the speed of the boat and throwing her—now that she was riding higher and with the top of the238 conning tower awash—more at the mercy of the waves.
Loose furniture began to slam around the periscope room. Bob was thrown from the locker, and sat up, wondering what had gone wrong with the motor.
“What’s the matter down there, Dick?” he called through the motor-room tube.
“I’m a Feejee if I know,” Dick answered. “You’d better come down and take a look.”
Bob was soon at his chum’s side. His keenly trained ear was usually able to locate any ordinary trouble, but this time he was puzzled. The ignition was all right, and the supply pipe from the tank was clear. Nevertheless, the motor sputtered37 and jabbered38 with a wheezy but unsuccessful attempt to do its full duty. The platinum39, in the blade or spring of the commutator, will, in rare cases, get loose and cause misfiring, but that was not the cause of the present trouble. Another rare cause, resulting in similar symptoms, lay in the loosening of the carbon pole in the cell of a battery. But, just now, the batteries were not at fault.
Finally, as a last resort, Bob examined the gasoline that was being fed into the carburetor. A few drops in the palm of his hand aroused his suspicions. The next moment the hydrometer test was made and water was found in the gasoline.
“How did it get there?” demanded Dick. “The gasoline has worked well enough all afternoon and so far during the night.”
“None of the gasoline you bought in Port of Spain has been used as yet?”
“Not a drop.”
“Well, connect up the carburetor with the storage reservoir. If there is a little water in the carburetor, it will soon work out. After that, empty this tank,239 strain the gasoline through chamoiskin, and then give the tank a compressed-air treatment. I’ll send Clackett to help you.”
As Bob turned to crawl away, he picked up a six-inch ebony cylinder41, about the size of a lead pencil, from near the tank. It was a chopstick!
“Has the Chinaman been here?” he asked.
“Not that I know of,” answered Dick. “Why?”
“Nothing,” said Bob, but he was thinking as he stepped into the torpedo room, aroused Clackett, and sent him aft to lend Dick a hand.
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1
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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4
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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acrid
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| adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的 | |
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6
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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7
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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8
auxiliary
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| adj.辅助的，备用的 | |
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9
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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10
babbled
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| v.喋喋不休( babble的过去式和过去分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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11
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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12
grumble
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| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
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13
torpedo
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| n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏 | |
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14
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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15
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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16
slant
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| v.倾斜，倾向性地编写或报道；n.斜面，倾向 | |
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periscope
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| n. 潜望镜 | |
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18
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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19
complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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rhythmical
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| adj.有节奏的，有韵律的 | |
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21
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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22
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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23
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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24
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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25
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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26
watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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28
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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29
locker
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| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
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densely
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| ad.密集地；浓厚地 | |
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sprawled
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| v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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32
winks
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| v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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projector
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| n.投影机，放映机，幻灯机 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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35
sputter
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| n.喷溅声；v.喷溅 | |
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lessening
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| 减轻，减少，变小 | |
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sputtered
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| v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的过去式和过去分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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38
jabbered
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| v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的过去式和过去分词 )；急促兴奋地说话 | |
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39
platinum
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| n.白金 | |
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40
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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41
cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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