Boy Scouts in a Submarine | Page 6

"But he was sent here by the Secret Service department to instruct me,"
Ned said.
"Exactly, and that is all he was expected to do in the case. I don't
understand his conduct."
Jimmie, who had been looking over an afternoon newspaper which lay
on the table, now broke into the conversation.
"Just look here," he said. "This tells why Captain Moore butted into the
game wrong. Just read that."
The Admiral took the newspaper into his hand and read, aloud:
"The Diver, the famous submarine boat invented by Arthur Moore, the
talented son of Captain Henry Moore, of the United States navy, is
soon to be put in commission for a most extraordinary voyage. Under
the command of Captain Moore, who will be accompanied by the
inventor, his son, the Diver will make the trip from San Francisco to
China, almost entirely under water. It is understood that the submarine
goes on secret service for the Government."
"There you are!" cried Jimmie.
"I rather think that does explain a lot," laughed Ned.
"The Diver," said the Admiral, thoughtfully, "has not yet been accepted
by the Government, and I see trouble ahead for the Sea Lion."


CHAPTER III
"THE DANDY SUBMARINE"

The Sea Lion was a United States submarine, yet she was not
constructed along the usual naval lines. It was said of her that she
looked more like a pleasure yacht built for under-surface work than
anything else.
It is not the purpose of the writer to enter into a minute description of
the craft. She was provided with a gasoline engine and an electric
motor. She was not very roomy, but her appointments were very
handsome and costly.
There were machines for manufacturing pure air, as is common with all
submarines of her class, and the apparatus for the production of
electricity was modern and efficient. Every compartment could be
closed against every other chamber in case of damage to the shell.
The pumps designed to expel the water taken into the hold for the
purpose of bringing the craft to the bottom were powerful, so that she
seemed to sink and rise as easily as does a bird on the wing. At top
speed she would make about twenty miles an hour.
On a trial trip taken by Ned on the day before the visit of Captain
Moore to the Black Bear clubroom, the double doors and closet which
enabled one to leave or enter the boat while under water had been
thoroughly tested and found to work perfectly.
The diving suits--which had been manufactured to fit Ned and Frank,
Jack and Jimmie--were also found to be in perfect condition.
On the whole, the Sea Lion and her appurtenances were in as perfect
condition as science and experience could make them on the day the
four boys, accompanied by a naval officer, left the train at Oakland and
proceeded to the navy yard up the bay.
By the middle of the afternoon the boys were on board, receiving their
final instructions from Lieutenant Scott, who had arranged for the
transportation of the Sea Lion from New York and attended to all other
details connected with the trip.
After a long talk regarding the perils to be encountered, Lieutenant
Scott drew forth a map of peculiar appearance and laid it on the table in
the chamber which was to serve as a general living room.
"I have retained possession of this map until the last moment," the
officer said, "because it is most important that no eyes but those of the
occupants of the Sea Lion should rest upon it. It shows where the lost

vessel went down, shows the drift there, the depths, and various other
details of great moment.
"The Cutaria, as you doubtless know, went down off the Taya Islands,
a small group to the east of the large island of Hainan, which, in turn, is
off the coast of China, being separated, if that is a good word to use in
this connection, from the eastern coast by the Gulf of Tong King.
"Immediately following the sinking of the ship divers were sent down.
They found the lost ship resting easily in about sixty feet of water. A
few days later, however, when other divers went down, the wreck was
not at the place described by the first operators.
"There are drift currents there, but it is remarkable that so heavy a
wreck should have been shifted so suddenly. There are no indications
that the vessel has been buried in the sands of the bottom. Your duty is
to search the ocean floor then and locate the wreck. Having done this
you are to secure the treasure, if possible. In case you cannot do this,
you are to steam to Hongkong and report what