"What's up?" cried Bill Witt as Ted came bouncing into the torpedo
room.
"Wait a moment and you'll see," replied Ted.
From the engine room aft came the purr of the motors as the last
precious stores of "juice" were turned into the engines and the
propellor shafts began to revolve amid the hum of machinery.
"Reverse and back away at full speed," was the next order flashed to
the engine room.
And then, while the _Dewey_ was straining in every steel sinew, her
commander reached forward and touched off the four torpedoes in rapid
succession.
The little submersible seemed torn by an internal explosion. As each
torpedo shot out into the water the vessel shook under the force of
the explosion, rocking to and fro under the concussion.
"We're off; we're off," shouted McClure as he bent over the depth
dial. The hands of the indicator began to spin around and the _Dewey_,
relieved of every pound of ballast, shot upward like a rocket.
"Hurrah, hurrah!" the cry reverberated through the ship.
Pages:
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181