"Hard to tell," replied the Captain. "You'd have to take
an observation to make sure."
"I'll do it," cried the youth. "You steer, please, and
I'll go in the conning tower. I can look forward and aft
there, as well as straight up. Maybe I can see the Wonder."
Springing up the circular ladder leading into the tower,
Tom glanced through the windows all about the small pilot
house. He saw a curious sight. It was as if the submarine
was in a sea of yellowish liquid fire. She was immersed in
water which glowed with the flames that contained no heat.
So light was it, in fact, that there was no need of the
incandescents in the tower. The young inventor could have
seen to read a paper by the illumination of the phosphorus.
But he had something else to do than observe this
phenomenon. He wanted to see if he could catch sight of the
rival submarine.
At first he could make out nothing save the swirl and
boiling of the sea, caused by the progress of the Advance
through it. But suddenly, as he looked up, he was aware of
some great, black body a little to the rear and about ten
feet above his craft.
"A shark!" he exclaimed aloud. "An immense one, too."
But the closer he looked the less it seemed like a shark.
The position of the black object changed.
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