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Page 16
He turned to leave the tank, but as he wheeled around his
light flashed on a solid wall of steel back of him. The
emergency outlet had been closed! He was a prisoner in the
water compartment, and he knew, from past experience, that
shout as he would, his voice could not be heard ten feet
away. His father and Mr. Sharp, as he was aware, had gone to
a nearby city for some tools, and Mr. Jackson, the engineer,
was temporarily away. Mrs. Baggert, in the house, could not
hear his cries.
"I'm locked in!" cried Tom aloud. "The worm gear must have
shut of itself. But I don't see how that could be. I've got
to get out mighty soon, though, or I'll smother. This tank
is airtight, and it won't take me long to breath up all the
oxygen there is here. I must get that slide open."
He sought to grasp the steel plate that closed the
emergency opening. His fingers slipped over the smooth,
polished surface. He was hermetically sealed up--a captive!
Blankly he set his lantern down and leaned hopelessly
against the wall of the tank.
"I've got to get out," he murmured.
As if in answer to him he heard a voice on the outside,
crying:
"There, Tom Swift! I guess I've gotten even with you now!
Maybe next time you won't take a reward away from me, and
lick me into the bargain. I've got you shut up good and
tight, and you'll stay there until I get ready to let you
out."
"Andy Foger!" gasped Tom. "Andy Foger sneaked in here and
turned the gear. But how did he get to this part of the
coast? Andy Foger, you let me out!" shouted the young
inventor; and as Andy's mocking laugh came to him faintly
through the steel sides of the submarine, the imprisoned lad
beat desperately with his hands on the smooth sides of the
tank, vainly wondering how his enemy had discovered him.
Chapter Five
Mr. Berg is Suspicious
Not for long did the young inventor endeavor to break his
way out of the water-ballast tank by striking the heavy
sides of it. Tom realized that this was worse than useless.
He listened intently, but could hear nothing. Even the
retreating footsteps of Andy Foger were inaudible.
"This certainly is a pickle!" exclaimed Tom aloud. "I
can't understand how he ever got here. He must have traced
us after we went to Shopton in the airship the last time.
Then he sneaked in here. Probably he saw me enter, but how
could he knew enough to work the worm gear and close the
door? Andy has had some experience with machinery, though,
and one of the vaults in the bank where his father is a
director closed just like this tank. That's very likely how
he learned about it. But I've got to do something else
besides thinking of that sneak, Andy. I've got to get out of
here. Let's see if I can work the gear from inside."
Before he started, almost, Tom knew that it would be
impossible. The tank was made to close from the interior of
the submarine, and the heavy door, built to withstand the
pressure of tons of water, could not be forced except by the
proper means.
"No use trying that," concluded the lad, after a tiring
attempt to force back the sliding door with his hands. "I've
got to call for help."
He shouted until the vibrations in the confined space made
his ears ring, and the mere exertion of raising his voice to
the highest pitch made his heart beat quickly. Yet there
came no response. He hardly expected that there would be
any, for with his father and Mr. Sharp away, the engineer
absent on an errand, and Mrs. Baggert in the house some
distance off, there was no one to hear his calls for help,
even if they had been capable of penetrating farther than
the extent of the shed, where the under-water craft had been
constructed.
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