luxury of a swim."

The main engines had, in the meantime, been stopped, and the force-pump
put slowly in motion, so that the submersion of the hull might be
sufficiently gradual to escape notice.

Five minutes later the professor and his three companions were
gambolling round the ship like so many porpoises--or dolphins, if they
would prefer the latter metaphor--enjoying to the full the invigorating
luxury of their bath in the cool, pure sea-water.

By the time that they were on board again and dressed, the intelligent
George had arranged for them on deck a nice little light breakfast of
chocolate, biscuits, and fruit, for which their swim had given them an
unbounded relish. The meal was partaken of at leisure, and followed by
a cigar, over which they dawdled so long that the _Flying Fish_ was
submerged to the deck before the last stump had been reluctantly thrown
away. The mist which the professor had prognosticated having,
meanwhile, gathered sufficiently to cloak their movements, a cast of the
lead was taken and the ship was found to be in ninety fathoms of water.
The professor, for reasons of his own, deemed this sufficiently near the
deepest point to justify an immediate descent. They accordingly entered
the pilot-house forthwith, closing the door securely after them--the
air-pump was stopped, the sea-cock communicating with the water-chambers
was opened, and the _Flying Fish_, with an easy imperceptible motion,
sank gently beneath the placid waters, to rest, a minute or two later,
on a bed of gravel at the bottom of the Channel.

"Now," said the professor, looking at his watch when the ship had fairly
settled into her strange berth, and had been securely anchored there,
"it is just eight o'clock. We are all somewhat fatigued, and our bath
and breakfast have prepared us nicely to enjoy a few hours' repose. I
therefore propose, gentlemen, that we retire to our sleeping apartments
until two o'clock p.m. George shall call us at that hour and have a bit
of luncheon ready for us, after which we shall have ample time to test
our diving apparatus before dinner."

This proposal met with a very cordial reception, and was duly carried
out, with the result that, half an hour later, the four adventurous
voyagers were sleeping as calmly in their novel resting-place as though
they had been accustomed from their earliest infancy to take their
repose at the bottom of the sea.

CHAPTER FIVE.

A SUBMARINE EXCURSI