For
it was well known that the submarine traps were equipped with electrical
lamps floating on the surface that were illuminated automatically the
moment a submerged vessel came in contact with the charged cables
underneath the water. Thus the light would engage the attention of
either a patrol ship or the lookout on shore who would soon dispatch
a destroyer to the scene.
Discussing this phase of the situation, Captain McClure had just
decided to make a quick ascension to the surface and take his chances
on freeing the _Monitor_ of her entanglements before a German warship
could come up; but at that moment Bonte reported from the wireless
room the approach of a vessel to port, coming up at full speed.
"Looks as though we are always running into hard luck," said McClure
disgustedly.
Jack tried hard to see the bright side of the situation, but had to
confess to himself that things did look rather black for the _Monitor_
and her men. Nevertheless the boy figured to himself that surely there
was some way in which Yankee wit and ingenuity could baffle the
craftiness of the Germans.
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