Part 26 (1/2)

CHAPTER XVIII

The Fight on the ”Maiden Hand”

They had only one hope now--that the frogo away The boys waited tensely, ears alert for any sound that would tell them the whereabouts of their enemy

There was only the sound of their bubbles

Rick pressed close to the opening and peered out The water that could be seen from the entrance was clear However, it was only a narrow sector For all he knew, the froght overhead

He backed down into the cabin and pushed his caht now he preferred to have both hands free He wished for a spear gun, to double their aruns were on the _Water Witch_ The wrecking bars were useless, too It was alainst the resistance of the water

So scraped outside, and both boys froze There was no doubt that the frogo away? They couldn't know about the entrance to the cabin--or could they?

The ed by There couldn't behis wrist close to the opening and saw that his watch showed one nal time to turn on their air reserve and surface

Tio away before their air ran out, they would have to surface, if they were allowed to by the enemy

With luck, Scotty could account for one But that would leave two, both arman would have blown the water froerous for Scotty even to take ti Their best bet was toon speed

On land, he was sure he and Scotty could outrun the enemy, but in the water, speed depended on skill with the fins, and the power of leg strokes He doubted that the frogmen were much faster than he and Scotty, but there was an excellent chance that their speed in the water was equal

He conserved his air, spacing his breathing, taking only enough air to keep co sound, and he knew the frog the wreck? If so, they ht find the entrance

And then Rick suddenly discovered a new danger!

Their air bubbles had been floating to the top of the cabin, for But they had stayed in the cabin so long that enough water had been displaced to bring the pool of exhausted air close to the entrance, which was only a few inches below roof level

In abubbles would warn the frogripped Scotty's shoulder and pointed to the silvery mass of exhausted air that curled perilously close to the entrance

The other boy saw the danger at once He wrote on his slate, ”We go whn air duz,” and held it in the light for Rick to see

Rick nodded He drew his belt knife

There couldn't be many breaths left before the air spilled out Nor could there beconstriction forced them to turn on the reserves At this depth the reserve wasn't very great