The midland journal., 1917-11-09

I Quickly the green tFenslucency that
followed gave place to darkness. Ida
slipped on the tipping floor. Donald
ran in; she heard him calling to her
through the darkness, and felt his arms
grope for her.
'sIt's all right, DEAR" he said has
| tily. Davies has probably got tan
gled up with the diving rudders. It's
i bit stiff for him to handle alone. It
doesn't mean anything particular"
But Ida could read the fear in his
voice, and she knew that it meant ev-
erything. The diving apparatus had,
in fact, jammed when the F55 ground
ed upon the beach, and the rudder had
| become twisted. Under Davies hands
it had been released and had worked
i in the wrong direction.
| With her bow pointing downward
at an angle of 80 degrees. The F55
sank until her nose dug into the ooze
300 feet beneath the surface, into the
cup-shaped crater Of the submarine
peak.
Then, slowly settling under the
weight of the water, the stern fol
lowed, and the little craft remained
submerged on the seabed. Darkness
covered her. The inmates felt their
eardrums throb under the pressure.
At the first indication of danger
Clouts had contrived to shut off the
petrol engines That alone prevented
an explosion when the sea rushed
through the aft escape hatch.
Fortunately, the after part of the
ship remained above the surface for
a few moments after the bow went
under, and only couple of sweeping
seas came in. Short as the period of
respite was, it enabled Donald and
Clouts to grasp the hatch and replace
it. They fought in deluge of water
that swept them from their feet and
dashed them, half stunned, against. the
walls of the engine room. But they
got the hatch into place.
Clouts came in, and presently Da-
vies joined them. He began to stam-
mer brokenly, but Donald laid his hand
in kindly fashion on the lads shoulder.
"You are not to blame, Davies" he
said. ''It was my own fault for try
ing to run the old boat instead Of
putting you all ashore. No doubt the
vertical-rudder blades are bent and
fouled the rocks. Now we've got to
think, and harder than we have ever
thought before"
eve amt a-going to drown like rats
in traps, sir" said Sam Clouts hear
tily.
"Not if / know it, Clouts," Donald
returned. "Now, first, it isn't possible
to adjust the rudder, and we can't
rise without it. That's self-evident. I
think. We are comparatively safe for
some time to come, because we have
just taken on a supply of natural air,
and we haven't opened the air-fasks
yet. But, of course, it means only
two days respite"
eff might say so, sir" said Clouts,
sit means that we must put on the
diving SUITS"
you're right" answered Donald.
"We aren't in a hopeless position by
any means. If we manage to keep our
heads. Miss Kennedy, We'll get you
out Of here in jiffy if you don't mind
getting your feet wet.
"You see," he continued, in explana-
ton, "fortunately-very fortunately
for us-we have the new Siebert div
ing apparatus aboard, which was to
have been used for special purpose
in connection with our work for the
government"
"One moment, sir" said Davies.
"Have you a match?"
Donald handed him one of the few
that remained. Davies struck it,
looked at the depth meter, and whistled
eXpressively.
1.-TWO hundred and eighty feet, sir"
he said in low tone.
"Yes, that was about what I imag.
ined," replied Donald. "It is about as
much as the old F55 would stand with
out buckling."
"But two hundred is the extreme
limit of deep-sea diving, sir" Davies
protested.
''The Siebert apparatus is especially
devised for going deeper than that"
returned Donald. SIN fact, Siebert
himself went down to six hundred.
though he was all in when he came up.
You see, Davies, the new factor in the
Siebert dress is that it has compen-
sating pressure. / didn't specialize on
it, but / understand it is a sort of
internal oxygen arrangement, COM
pressed, which partly neutralizes the
| k,s5
pressed oxygen to last six hours.
| u