A man rushed at
Tom, seeking the while to draw his sword, but the young
inventor, with a neat left-hander, sent him to join the
other two, and the remainder did not wait to try
conclusions. They leaped for their lives, and soon all could
be seen, in the frequent lightning flashes, swimming toward
the warship which was now closer than ever to the submarine.
"Get inside and we'll sink below the surface!" called Tom.
"Then we don't care what happens."
They closed the steel door of the conning tower. As they
did so they heard the patter of bullets from carbines fired
from the San Paulo. Then came a violent tossing of the
Advance; the waves were becoming higher as they caught the
full force of the hurricane. It took but an instant to
sever, from within, the cable attached to the anchor, which
was one belonging to the warship. The Advance began
drifting.
"Open the tanks, Mr. Sharp!" cried Tom. "Captain Weston
and I will steer. Once below we'll start the engines."
Amid a crash of thunder and dazzling flashes of lightning,
the submarine began to sink. Tom, in the conning tower had a
sight of the San Paulo as it drifted nearer and nearer under
the influence of the mighty wind. As one bright flash came
he saw Admiral Fanchetti and Lieutenant Drascalo leaning
over the rail and gazing at the Advance.
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