"Let us hope so."
They all gathered in the cabin. The professor explained the nature of the creatures, as far as he knew them from what he had read or heard. He pointed out, through the gla.s.s windows, over which the suckers were still clinging, how they maintained their grip, by exhausting, through their big mouths, the air between their saucer-like surfaces and the ship to which they were clinging.
"Can"t we go out and fight "em?" asked Andy, who was always ready to use a gun.
"I doubt if we could get out," replied the professor. "Though we can not see them, I believe the creatures cover every part of the ship from stem to stern. We could never open the door of the diving chamber with that terrible sucker covering the iron portal."
"Maybe if we wait long enough a lot of sharks will come along and eat "em up," put in Jack.
"I am afraid sharks will not come to these frozen waters," said the professor. "They like a warm climate."
"And you don"t think it would be feasible to use dynamite," asked Mark.
"We can"t get out to place it where it would blow up the fish and not us," answered Mr. Henderson. "If we could it might serve."
A silence fell on the group. They were in sore straits and there seemed no hope of rescue. The big disk-like bodies that covered the windows did not move, but remained there, staring with horrible persistency into the interior of the ship.
CHAPTER XXVI
LAND UNDER ICE
Suddenly the craft began to move. Slowly at first, then, with more speed it forged ahead through the water.
"Are we free?" asked Andy, starting up.
"Who started the machinery?" demanded the professor.
"No one," replied Jack. "We are all here. There is no one in the engine room."
"But we are moving," said Mark.
"It"s dem sucker-fish!" exclaimed Washington. "Dey is takin" us off to der dens an" dere we"ll all be eat up!"
"I"m afraid part of it is true," said Mr. Henderson. "The creatures are certainly making off with us. How powerful they must be!"
"Will dey take us to a cave?" faltered Washington. "Will dey eat us up?"
"I don"t think they"ll eat us up," spoke the inventor. "It would defy even their powerful sucking apparatus to bore through the steel sides of the _Porpoise_. What I am afraid of is that they may move us to some hidden depth where we will be caught under the rocks or in the ice, and so lose what little chance there is of getting free."
"And the worst of it is we can"t do a thing to help ourselves!"
exclaimed Andy. "This is the worst game I was ever up against!"
The adventurers were indeed helpless. They could not get out of their ship to attack the monsters, even had they dared to. Their engine, powerful as it was, had proved no match for the creatures, and now they were being carried away, ship and all, to some unknown place.
The ship did not go through the water fast. Though the suckers seemed to be working in union their bodies were too unwieldly, and the ship so large, that their pace was slow. Nevertheless they kept steadily on.
Several times, in their desperation, the adventurers tried the force of the big screw against that of the suckers. It was of no avail. Neither was the device of emptying the tanks, and trying to force the craft up as far as the roof of ice would permit it to go.
"It"s of no use," announced Mr. Henderson with something that sounded like a groan. "We must prepare for the worst."
"How long can we live here without going to the surface after a fresh supply of air?" asked Bill.
"About three days," was the answer. "I took the precaution to put a double supply into the tanks, in readiness for an emergency, but I never thought of such a terrible situation as this."
The submarine seemed to be moving more rapidly now. It was useless to try to see through either the windows in the side or in the conning tower, for all the gla.s.s was covered by the horrible bodies.
"What will they do with us when they get us where they want us?" asked Andy.
"What can they do except hold us prisoners until--until--" The professor broke off the sentence he dared not finish.
For an hour or more the craft was moved through the water at moderate speed. Then it came to a stop. Those on board were alert for what might happen next.
"I guess dey done got us in der cave," said Washington with chattering teeth. "Now dey"ll begin to devour us wid dem terrible big mouths!
Golly, I wish I was home!"
"Stop that nonsense!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson. "Be a man! There is no danger yet. The sides of the _Porpoise_ will defy worse enemies than those attacking us!"
At that instant the ship began to move again. It was hauled slowly through the water.
"They are pulling us backward!" said Andy, as he watched the needle of the compa.s.s.
Once more the submarine was stopped. Then it moved forward at a more rapid pace than at any time since the suckers had seized it. An instant later it brought up against some solid object with such a jar that those inside were thrown off their feet.
"Something has. .h.i.t us!" cried Jack.
"More likely we"ve struck something," said the professor.
Again the ship forged to the rear, and once again it was sent swiftly ahead. Then came the second shock, harder than the first, which sent some of the party headlong.
"They are banging us against a rock!" cried Mr. Henderson.
"Do you mean those sea suckers?"
"Yes. They have probably found that the sh.e.l.l of the _Porpoise_ is too hard even for their powerful jaws. So they have taken us to some place where the rocks show and are banging us against them in order to break the ship, so they can get at what is inside."
Once more the ship was drawn backward and again dashed against the stone. The shock was a hard one and toppled over all who were not clinging to something.
"They are ramming us bow on against the rocks," cried Andy. "It will break us apart if they hit us many more times!"
Washington hurried forward. He came back with his eyes showing terror.
"There"s a lot of rocks right ahead ob us!" he exclaimed. "I see "em through th" little window jest above th" screw. There"s land under this here water!"
"Land under this ice do you mean?" asked the professor.