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Page 42
The glass of the lookout swept the waves. "Nothing there," he
said gruffly. Then with a gasp he cried loudly, "Torpedo port;
torpedo port!"
Porky saw a slim, swift something cleaving the water. It made
straight for the ship. His reason told him that it would strike;
he grasped his brother by the arm. "The Colonel!" he cried and
made for the cabins below.
Their hurried descent was broken by a terrific crash which threw
them headlong. They scrambled to their feet and, gaining the
Colonel's door, burst it open.
"Quick, quick, Colonel!" they cried.
They bustled him up the companionway. The little Firefly had
already listed heavily to port when another torpedo struck her
with shattering force. She rocked back and forth, striving to
right herself. The boats were being lowered. The Captain called
for the Colonel, and insisted on his entering the largest
lifeboat. Two other boats were already crowded and launched.
The Firefly settled with a sickening motion.
"All off!" cried the Captain. He glanced over the deserted ship,
and jumped for the boat the Colonel was sitting in. As he landed
a bulky parcel shot past him, and landed at the colonel's feet.
Then another bundle sailed accurately through the air. The first
was the Colonel's uniform; the second, his great top-coat. On
the slanting, shivering deck the twins stood looking down,
yelling madly. "Put on your clothes!" Porky was frantically
calling.
"Look in the pockets!" called Beany.
The Captain stood up with a despairing gesture. "Jump!" he
commanded.
The boys nodded, but instead of obeying, they disappeared behind
the cabin. For a moment the men rested on their oars, then at a
command from the Captain they pulled furiously away from the
sinking ship which threatened to engulf them as she went down.
However, they had gained a safe distance before the doomed
vessel, rocking back and forth, gained a dreadful momentum,
showed her splintered and shattered hull as if in mute excuse for
her action, and disappeared forever in the engulfing sea.
The Captain stood looking at the place were the vessel had
disappeared.
Colonel Bright buried his face in his hands.
"Gone!" he groaned. "What shall I say to their people?" He
choked as he put on the clothes the boys had rescued and thrown
after him. He felt in the pocket of the coat as Beany had yelled
for him to do. It held a water-proof belt stuffed with chocolate
and malted milk tablets. Again he groaned.
"What ailed them? Why didn't they jump?" he asked. Over and
over again he asked the question but there was no one to answer.
In the distance the other boats were working toward the east.
Far the other side of where the doomed boat had gone down, they
could see the gray back of the submarine, now lying on the
surface. Strangely enough, she did not try to pursue or shell
them. The men at the oars rowed furiously to escape. The wind
rose, and the rain, which had been drizzling down, commenced to
fall in torrents. It made a shield as enveloping as a heavy fog.
The submarine was not to be seen, and they, of course, were
hidden from her. Hour after hour the rain fell; and all the men
rowed, taking turns at the heavy oars. The Colonel sat silent.
He could not forget the young gallant pair gone down with the
ship, two splendid lives snuffed out in an hour.
Night came to the drenched, hungry men a time of torture. In the
morning, the Colonel divided a part of the chocolate, which
restored a portion of strength to the rowers. So another day
dragged toward its close. The rain had stopped, and a hot sun
had dried their clothing. They were beginning to feel the pangs
of thirst, but the hoard of chocolate and malted milk tablets
mercifully held out. In the far, far distance they could see one
of the other boats. The others were gone. Where, they could not
tell.
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