"Keep cool, there's no danger!"
"Perhaps we have struck the wreck!" exclaimed Mr. Hardley.
"We aren't near her," answered the young inventor. "But it may
be some other half-submerged derelict. I'll go to see, and--"
Tom's words were choked off by a sudden swirl of the craft. She
seemed about to turn completely over, and then, twisted to an
uncomfortable angle, so that those within her slid to the side
walls of the cabin, the M. N. 1 came to an abrupt stop. At the
same time she seemed to vibrate and tremble as if in terror of
some unknown fate.
"Something has gone wrong!" exclaimed Tom, and he hurried to
the engine room, walking, as best he could with the craft at that
grotesque angle. The others followed him.
"What's the matter, Earle?" asked Tom of his chief assistant.
"One of the rudders has broken, sir," was the answer. "It's
thrown us off our even keel. I'll start the gyroscope, and that
ought to stabilize us."
"The gyroscope!" cried Tom. "I didn't bring it. I didn't think
we'd need it!"
For a moment Earle looked at his commander.
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