"Are we well protected against sharks, Mr. Swift?" demanded the
adventurer. "Are these sea monsters likely to break, the glass
and get in at us?"
"Indeed not!" laughed Tom. "There is absolutely no danger from
these fish--they aren't sharks, either."
"Not sharks?" cried Mr. Hardley. "What are they, then?"
"Horse mackerel," Tom answered. "At least that is the common
name for the big fish. But they are far from being sharks, and we
are in no danger from them."
"Oh!" exclaimed Mr. Hardley, and he seemed a little ashamed of
the exhibition of fear he had manifested. "Well, they certainly
seem determined to follow us," he added.
The big fish were, indeed, following the submarine, and it
required no exertion on their part to maintain their speed, since
below the surface the M. N. 1 could not move very fast, as indeed
no submarine can, due to the resistance of the water.
"They do look as though they'd like to take a bite or two out
of us," observed Ned. "Are they dangerous, Tom?"
"Not as a rule," was the answer. "I don't doubt, though, but if
a lone swimmer got in a school of horse mackerel he'd be badly
bitten.
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