小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 经典英文小说 » Tom Swift and his Submarine Boat25章节 » Chapter Eighteen The Electric Gun
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
Chapter Eighteen The Electric Gun
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
 There was much excitement aboard the Advance. The submarine came to a stop in the water, while the treasure-seekers waited anxiously for what was to follow. Would they be rammed2 again? This time, stationary3 as they were, and with the other boat coming swiftly on, a hole might be stove through the Advance, in spite of her powerful sides.
 
They had not long to wait. Again there came a jar, and once more the Swifts' boat careened. But the blow was a glancing one and, fortunately, did little damage.
 
"They certainly must be trying to sink us," agreed Captain Weston. "Come, Tom, we'll take a look from the stern and see what they're up to."
 
"And get the stern electric gun ready to fire," repeated Mr. Swift. "We must protect ourselves. Mr. Sharp and I will go to the bow. There is no telling what they may do. They're desperate, and may ram1 us from in front."
 
Tom and the captain hurried aft. Through the thick plate-glass windows they could see the blunt nose of the Wonder not far away, the rival submarine having come to a halt. There she lay, black and silent, like some monster fish waiting to devour4 its victim.
 
"There doesn't appear to be much damage done back here," observed Tom. "No leaks. Guess they didn't puncture5 us."
 
"Perhaps it was due to an accident that they rammed us," suggested the captain.
 
"Well, they wouldn't have done it if they hadn't followed us so close," was the opinion of the young inventor. "They're taking too many chances. We've got to stop 'em."
 
"What is this electric gun your father speaks of?"
 
"Why, it's a regular electric cannon6. It fires a solid ball, weighing about twenty-five pounds, but instead of powder, which would hardly do under water, and instead of compressed air, which is used in the torpedo7 tubes of the Government submarines, we use a current of electricity. It forces the cannon ball out with great energy."
 
"I wonder what they will do next?" observed the captain, peering through a bull's eye.
 
"We can soon tell," replied the youth. "We'll go ahead, and if they try to follow I'm going to fire on them."
 
"Suppose you sink them?"
 
"I won't fire to do that; only to disable them. They brought it on themselves. We can't risk having them damage us. Help me with the cannon, will you please, captain?"
 
The electric cannon was a long, steel tube in the after part of the submarine. It projected a slight distance from the sides of the ship, and by an ingenious arrangement could be swung around in a ball and socket8 joint9, thus enabling it to shoot in almost any direction.
 
It was the work of but a few minutes to get it ready and, with the muzzle10 pointing toward the Wonder, Tom adjusted the electric wires and inserted the solid shot.
 
"Now we're prepared for them!" he cried. "I think a good plan will be to start ahead, and if they try to follow to fire on them. They've brought it on themselves."
 
"Correct," spoke11 Captain Weston.
 
Tom hurried forward to tell his father of this plan.
 
"We'll do it!" cried Mr. Swift. "Go ahead, Mr. Sharp, and we'll see if those scoundrels will follow."
 
The young inventor returned on the run to the electric cannon. There was a whir of machinery12, and the Advance moved forward. She increased her speed, and the two watchers in the stern looked anxiously out of the windows to see what their rivals would do.
 
For a moment no movement was noticeable on the part of the Wonder. Then, as those aboard her appeared to realize that the craft on which they depended to pilot them to the sunken treasure was slipping away, word was given to follow. The ship of Berg and his employers shot after the Advance.
 
"Here they come!" cried Captain Weston. "They're going to ram us again!"
 
"Then I'm going to fire on them!" declared Tom savagely13.
 
On came the Wonder, nearer and nearer. Her speed was rapidly increasing. Suddenly she bumped the Advance, and then, as if it was an unavoidable accident, the rear submarine sheered off to one side.
 
"They're certainly at it again!" cried Tom, and peering from the bull's-eye he saw the Wonder shoot past the mouth of the electric cannon. "Here it goes!" he added.
 
He shoved over the lever, making the proper connection. There was no corresponding report, for the cannon was noiseless, but there was a slight jar as the projectile14 left the muzzle. The Wonder could be seen to heel over.
 
"You hit her! You hit her!" cried Captain Weston. "A good shot!"
 
"I was afraid she was past me when I pulled the lever," explained Tom. "She went like a flash."
 
"No, you caught her on the rudder," declared the captain. "I think you've put her out of business. Yes, they're rising to the surface."
 
The lad rapidly inserted another ball, and recharged the cannon. Then he peered out into the water, illuminated15 by the light of day overhead, as they were not far down. He could see the Wonder rising to the surface. Clearly something had happened.
 
"Maybe they're going to drop down on us from above, and try to sink us," suggested the youth, while he stood ready to fire again. "If they do—"
 
His words were interrupted by a slight jar throughout the submarine.
 
"What was that?" cried the captain.
 
"Dad fired the bow gun at them, but I don't believe he hit them," answered the young inventor.
 
"I wonder what damage I did? Guess we'll go to the surface to find out."
 
Clearly the Wonder had given up the fight for the time being. In fact, she had no weapon with which to respond to a fusillade from her rival. Tom hastened forward and informed his father of what had happened.
 
"If her steering16 gear is out of order, we may have a chance to slip away," said Mr. Swift "We'll go up and see what we can learn."
 
A few minutes later Tom, his father and Captain Weston stepped from the conning17 tower, which was out of water, on to the little flat deck a short distance away lay the Wonder, and on her deck was Berg and a number of men, evidently members of the crew.
 
"Why did you fire on us?" shouted the agent angrily.
 
"Why did you follow us?" retorted Tom.
 
"Well, you've broken our rudder and disabled us," went on Berg, not answering the question. "You'll suffer for this! I'll have you arrested."
 
"You only got what you deserved," added Mr. Swift. "You were acting18 illegally, following us, and you tried to sink us by ramming19 my craft before we retaliated20 by firing on you."
 
"It was an accident, ramming you," said Berg. "We couldn't help it. I now demand that you help us make repairs."
 
"Well, you've got nerve!" cried Captain Weston, his eyes flashing. "I'd like to have a personal interview with you for about ten minutes. Maybe something besides your ship would need repairs then."
 
Berg turned away, scowling21, but did not reply. He began directing the crew what to do about the broken rudder.
 
"Come on," proposed Tom in a low voice, for sounds carry very easily over water. "Let's go below and skip out while we have a chance. They can't follow now, and we can get to the sunken treasure ahead of them."
 
"Good advice," commented his father. "Come, Captain Weston, we'll go below and close the conning tower."
 
Five minutes later the Advance sank from sight, the last glimpse Tom had of Berg and his men being a sight of them standing22 on the deck of their floating boat, gazing in the direction of their successful rival. The Wonder was left behind, while Tom and his friends were soon once more speeding toward the treasure wreck23.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 ram dTVxg     
(random access memory)随机存取存储器
参考例句:
  • 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存,640K内存则更佳。
2 rammed 99b2b7e6fc02f63b92d2b50ea750a532     
v.夯实(土等)( ram的过去式和过去分词 );猛撞;猛压;反复灌输
参考例句:
  • Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来,出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
  • I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 stationary CuAwc     
adj.固定的,静止不动的
参考例句:
  • A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
  • Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。
4 devour hlezt     
v.吞没;贪婪地注视或谛听,贪读;使着迷
参考例句:
  • Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
  • Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵,终会被皱纹所吞噬。
5 puncture uSUxj     
n.刺孔,穿孔;v.刺穿,刺破
参考例句:
  • Failure did not puncture my confidence.失败并没有挫伤我的信心。
  • My bicycle had a puncture and needed patching up.我的自行车胎扎了个洞,需要修补。
6 cannon 3T8yc     
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮
参考例句:
  • The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
  • The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。
7 torpedo RJNzd     
n.水雷,地雷;v.用鱼雷破坏
参考例句:
  • His ship was blown up by a torpedo.他的船被一枚鱼雷炸毁了。
  • Torpedo boats played an important role during World War Two.鱼雷艇在第二次世界大战中发挥了重要作用。
8 socket jw9wm     
n.窝,穴,孔,插座,插口
参考例句:
  • He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。
  • The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。
9 joint m3lx4     
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合
参考例句:
  • I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤,肩膀脫臼了。
  • We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。
10 muzzle i11yN     
n.鼻口部;口套;枪(炮)口;vt.使缄默
参考例句:
  • He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
  • The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。
11 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
12 machinery CAdxb     
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构
参考例句:
  • Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗?
  • Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。
13 savagely 902f52b3c682f478ddd5202b40afefb9     
adv. 野蛮地,残酷地
参考例句:
  • The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。
  • He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。
14 projectile XRlxv     
n.投射物,发射体;adj.向前开进的;推进的;抛掷的
参考例句:
  • The vertical and horizontal motions of a projectile can be treated independently.抛射体的竖直方向和水平方向的运动能够分开来处理。
  • Have you altered the plans of the projectile as the telegram suggests?你已经按照电报的要求修改炮弹图样了吗?
15 illuminated 98b351e9bc282af85e83e767e5ec76b8     
adj.被照明的;受启迪的
参考例句:
  • Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
  • the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市
16 steering 3hRzbi     
n.操舵装置
参考例句:
  • He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
  • Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵,口吻也马上变得温和了。
17 conning b97e62086a8bfeb6de9139effa481f58     
v.诈骗,哄骗( con的现在分词 );指挥操舵( conn的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • He climbed into the conning tower, his eyes haunted and sickly bright. 他爬上司令塔,两眼象见鬼似的亮得近乎病态。 来自辞典例句
  • As for Mady, she enriched her record by conning you. 对马德琳来说,这次骗了你,又可在她的光荣历史上多了一笔。 来自辞典例句
18 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
19 ramming 4441fdbac871e16f59396559e88be322     
n.打结炉底v.夯实(土等)( ram的现在分词 );猛撞;猛压;反复灌输
参考例句:
  • They are ramming earth down. 他们在夯实泥土。 来自辞典例句
  • Father keeps ramming it down my throat that I should become a doctor. 父亲一直逼我当医生。 来自辞典例句
20 retaliated 7367300f47643ddd3ace540c89d8cfea     
v.报复,反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次,他讥讽她没有经验,她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
  • The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句
21 scowling bbce79e9f38ff2b7862d040d9e2c1dc7     
怒视,生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • There she was, grey-suited, sweet-faced, demure, but scowling. 她就在那里,穿着灰色的衣服,漂亮的脸上显得严肃而忧郁。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • Scowling, Chueh-hui bit his lips. 他马上把眉毛竖起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
22 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
23 wreck QMjzE     
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难
参考例句:
  • Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
  • No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533