s precaution, however, the air was thick, and the sailors
felt a tingling sensation in the ears.

Suddenly the boat's keel struck against something hard, and a grating
sound broke the stillness.

"Stop! Stop!" called out Andrey, dashing forth from the navigating
cabin.

The pinions cracked and the motors ceased to pulsate. Immediately the
air became hot, as in a Turkish bath. Andrey entered the water-tight
conning tower, which was flooded with diluted, greenish light from the
ports provided for the purpose of giving a view of the surrounding
waters. He peered through the glass pane. Vague, blurred forms and
shadows gradually became visible in the twilight of the deep. One of the
shadows wavered and glided along the window, and the round, tragic eyes
of a fish glanced at Andrey. The fish disappeared in the depths below
the boat. Evidently the _Kate_ had not run aground, nor were there any
submerged reefs in that quarter. Andrey gave an order to raise the boat
several feet. Then numerous shadows leaped aside and scattered, and the
captain plainly saw a jumbled heap of ropes and ladders. It was obvious
that the _Kate_ had blundered into the remains of a sunken ship.

The halt was unfortunate--indeed, might prove fatal. The uniform motion
of the boat had been disturbed, the [v]orientation lost; the inevitable
small error made at the point of submerging must have increased in the
course beneath the waves. The _Kate_ had lost her way, and something
must be done. Andrey drummed nervously on the window-pane as he
thought. It was impossible to stay under water any longer, and yet to
rise to the surface meant to be seen and attacked by enemy warships.
Only in this way, however, was it possible to determine the boat's
position.

Andrey, giving an order for the boat to rise slowly, returned to his
observation point. The water gradually grew clearer. Suddenly a dark
ball moved down to meet the craft. "A mine!" flashed across Andrey's
mind, and, overcoming the torpor which had begun to oppress his brain,
he ordered the submarine to be swerved from her course. The ball moved
away, but another appeared on the right. There was another change of
direction. And now everywhere in the midst of the greenish twilight
cast-iron shells lay in wait. The _Kate_ was in the toils of a mine net!

Sea water, when viewed from a great height, is so transparent that large
fishes can even be seen in it. Owing to this fact, the _Kate_ was
discovere