Page:Cruise of the Dry Dock.djvu/314

 masts popped up, on the opposite side of the great weed field, four or five miles distant.

A spontaneous cheering broke out on the Vulcan's decks.

“Double crossed! Double crossed!” bellowed Hogan.

“Back track! We put one over! Hurrah for Cap'n Smith!” they shouted above the pounding of the engines.

Everyone but Caradoc wore the fixed exultant grin of the man who outwits his rival. The submarine had been thoroughly outgeneraled. North and west of the Vulcan lay the whole Sargasso for an endless chase. The diving boat had lost the great advantage of having the steamer cornered.

As the crew whistled and sang the Vulcan kicked a frothy course down the long westward lane. To every one's surprise, the submarine did not dive immediately, but straightened herself on the other side of the seaweed field on a course parallel with her quarry.

Madden climbed up on the bridge and found a pair of binoculars in the chart room. He took these outside and trained them on the little