Pluck and Luck #139: Jack Wright and His Deep Sea Monitor — page 7: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Quick—take us up again, do you hear? Heavens a In epite of their jeopardy, Veale smiled at thie cowardly : oe professor's alarm, for their knapsacks then held enough air _to lastithem five hours each, and even if the boat went down by Sianey would be safe if they did not descend more than Sire — hundred feet into an extraordinary pressure. A. ea Jack rushed down into the fast-flooding cabin, and getting ‘a some cotton waste he hurried back with it, and thade an effort i to stop up the holes to keep out the water. He was partly suc- cessful. By this time Tim and Fritz came up to the turret, and Hop- - kins hastily slid down to the deck, and piteously begged them _ to bring him to the top. Gee “Avast thar, professor!” growled Tim, shaking off Hopkins’ = tig ¢linging hands, “don’t yer see as Jack’s in trouble in thar?” ) <a “Shiminey Chrizinas! vos someding habben vonet, Shack?” roared Fritz. : is “The turret screw-caps were taken off by somebody,” re- ae plied the boy, pointing upward where the water was drip- gd ping through the stuffing. oe He seized the pump-lever to empty the boat of her ballast, 4 in order to raise her to the surface, when he heard a startled _ exclamation from his friends, and glancing up through the _ window, he saw the figure of an immense shark appear in the halo of light. -¥or an instant the monster paused, glaring at the boat, and ian it shot forward directly toward the men on deck. Tim and Fritz started away to the right, and with a shout ' of horror Peleg Hopkins rushed to the port side, The shark passed over the spot they had just left, and darted by the turret with great rapidity. % The professor was so terrified that he became panic stricken, 2 sid looking back over his shoulder, he continued on with such _ impetus, never looking where he was going, that he struck the “ -wire- rope rail surrounding the deck with a violent shock. Losing his balance he pitched over head first, and the next £3 moment he plunged from the deck down into the dark yawn- . ing gulf below’ and disappeared trom the view of his com- — panions. | ~~ “Dontier und blitzen!” cried Fritz with a bear aee “He ~ vhas gone down und dot boat vhas in such conditions alretty 2y dot ve don’t been able to sink her down und help him vonct. Och, vot ve do now, neider?” a as eh “Keelhaul me, lad!” gasped Tim, “ther water may be so ee deep here we may not be able ter dive down arter. him without et a losin’ our lives! ” “Jack had not been idle, however, _ room, where duplicates of most parts of the boat were kept aah case of ‘an emergency, and sécured several screw- “Caps, m a : way, he unbolted the Ge ee hie went up on deck. 38 Sha Within one minute he reached the turret, ascended to the | Eten, and screwed new caps on in place of the ones that had ‘been stolen.. ee boat is all right, ee he cried, cheerily. “Now stand by to aid me resctie poor Hopkins, for I’m going to send ee he Sea Serpent down in search of him, as deep as I dare to Miefts turret again, { Tim Yee ~ “ c nt wot >» ee ac) 5 i~ XO. sors ” boas for as soon as he saw the ; - entastrophc occur to the Riaccasee. he hastened into the store- With ee in his pets he passed ass the water- -room ander, ieee Fritz had gone to 0 the railing and noord over, hewin iio thts yawning afoyss, without: acahne any signs 0 he professor, and the young inventor turned a lever and pumped — in more water ballast. Wess lights, and with geal inc aca pressure the air in the boat b came heavier. There were yalves in the ceiling for letting off the vitiat air, and automatic atomizers for spraying the atmosphere with a solutien of quick-lime and potash, to purify the air. < Carbonic acid combines so readily with water, though, that if a current ran through the boat there would have been 0, i need of the lime solution, os In a few minutes Jack saw by the sake that they were at a 7 depth of one hundred feet, and the bottom was not yet in sah 1d “Tim, drop the plummet, and sound the depth below,” There was a sounding-lead of the Brooke pattern on deck, and the old Sailor heaved xt and, watching the line till it” - paused, he cried: me. “Ten fathoms more, sir, an’ thar’s a hard bottom!” “Highty feet!” muttered Jack: Devil's Jaws rocks. with nervous dread teat the unfortunate arbnae see ini have perished, and presently the Sea Peron a reached the bottom at a sandy spot. ; ie See Not a drop of water now leaked red through the screw-Caps, pounds ,to the square inch, which would have crushed her Like Bi an egg shell were she not built of such strong material and so solidly braced with tough steel girders. tz Not a sign of the professor was seen anywhere, wae — seene around them was strange in the extreme. 3 and prickly-looking urchins at) the strangest forms, wine TESS, of coral-like mosses, anemones resembling big cactus flower Se and great ribboned grasses floated their long arms about. most glaring colors, while yellow and lilac fans of the Bi waved from eee in the rocks Rs filagree camo great black spider crabs ial here a there, <iiigeneo tia fought each other with savage ferocity, and the ee ¥ devoured the smaller ones in vast multitudes. “Do you see anything of Hopkins yet?” eagerly asked fa. “Nary a sign,” answered Tim, scanning his surround] “Turn dot searchlight aroundt alretty,” said Fritz. | Jack caused it to revolve by turning one of the eva the brilliant light pierced the dark, currentless water In sweeping circle. Wpon one side there arose a great mass of tonsil called the Devil’s Jaws by the. people of Wrightstown, cther side was a great bed of. sand, in which lay the C wreck of a fishing smack, and in baek of them was a fo ne dense eel grass fifty feet high. ; a ET ONSTS over the eee spot Jack beheld the shar o ARE afterwards they were startled to hear the pe 1 iant tones of Hopkins calling: S “Help! Help! Help!” Jack listened a moment, and then mas to his f ls “He is over in the eel grass near the shark! He a Ss seen the lights of the boat to call to us for help.’ ee “Tack her over thar!” called Ten, “ther shark must i | him! ” ; j ay sath ‘a w ‘ J rad . ‘ all @ ‘ ¢ : Pi age -) > fe Far pal ae , } Nae <3 7 we? Op Fis 14 @ é ; e's YH NY. Wicker ied ry RS See OI 2 i Laure ae ae ie PR a Sa LST 47, es { 4 4 Les Se er aaa Se a Eg. 4 PPS eR ye | ~