a box on the switchboard. It had slipped down and thrown out
the switch bar at the time the boat made the last lurch."

"Thank you for the service," said the sub-lieutenant, to the surprise of
the captain and boys.

As the captain returned to their room he remarked: "The sub-lieutenant
was very polite; probably he would not be so likely to thank me for some
other things I have done."

"What! since you left us two minutes ago?" asked Ralph.

The captain nodded. "But I started to say a few minutes ago," he
continued, "that we ought to have our work planned out ahead and
thoroughly understand each other. There is one thing I must impress on
you, and that is, we must not again be locked up in this room. I have no
faith in the present commander, and would be very much mistaken if he
permits us to have our freedom after we once get free of the nets."

"What must be done if he again orders us locked up?" asked Alfred.

"That brings us to the point where we must make a canvass of the
situation as it confronts us. Let me see; there are three men in
addition to the commander, who need not be reckoned with in a contest.
Fortunately, one of the men is a machinist, and the only other man
except the sub-lieutenant, of any intelligence, is the doctor. I doubt
if he would be a strong factor against us," said the captain.

"The fellow who had charge of the men carrying the boxes is nothing but
a chump," said Ralph. "I wouldn't be afraid of him."

"I am considering more the character of the men who are able to handle
the boat, and who know the intricacies of the mechanism. I can see where
men of that sort will be able to make it very interesting for us if we
should attempt to capture the officers and crew," said the captain
thoughtfully.

It was evident that the vessel was slowly righting itself, for every
minute or two there would be a slight sinking movement, which was very
gratifying.

"Where are the revolvers?" asked the captain.

"I found a dandy place for them, and can get them in a minute, if
wanted," said Ralph.

"Captain, I wanted to ask you some time ago what you meant by saying
that the sub-lieutenant didn't know any more about submarining than he
ought to. What did you mean by that?" asked Alfred.

"One of the things I had in mind was, when he was trying to start the
propellers, that he could have found an easier way to learn whether they
were in the water or not," was the answer.

"How so?" asked Ralph.