?" asked the captain.

"Half past one o'clock," was the reply.

They had been in that cramped prison pen five hours.

"Did you torpedo another ship?" queried the captain.

"We tried to; but a torpedo boat destroyer came up too close," he
answered.

"How many shots did it fire?" asked Ralph.

"Two," was the laconic reply.

"How long have we been submerged?"

"Two hours," answered the man. "As I came down the report from the
periscope showed a clear sea, and we are now about to resume surface
travel and repair one of the periscopes."

The boys glanced at each other and at the captain.

"Yes," remarked the captain, "that was a pretty close call."

The attendant left them without closing the door, and as the prisoners
glanced about, nothing was to be seen of the stairway which led to the
conning tower. Men were noticed at work, each being stationed at some
particular machine or set of machinery. Then, with a bang, something
like a trap door swung aside and the stairway was revealed, and a
peculiar light streamed in through the hatch opening.

"It's the sun," said Ralph, in ecstacy.

"I never thought we'd see that again," said Alfred, almost overcome.

"May we walk around?" asked the captain, as he approached an under
officer.

"There isn't much chance for exercising here," was the reply, "but I
think you will be given top liberty after awhile," replied the man.

"Will they let us go?" asked Ralph eagerly.

"No; he didn't say that; he meant they would give us liberty to walk on
the top deck for a short time," replied the captain.

Shortly thereafter the lieutenant in command of the submarine appeared
at the foot of the hatchway and informed the captain that they were at
liberty to ascend. Never did the sun appear to be more beautiful or
inviting, although there was a perceptible chill in the atmosphere. The
submarine was moving along at a speed of twelve knots an hour. Four men
were engaged in taking down a bent and partially ruptured periscope
tube.

The captain glanced at it and drew the attention of the boys to its
structure. It was the tall periscope that received the shot, which
struck it about four feet from the top.

"It must have been hit on the water line," said the captain, addressing
the lieutenant.

The latter merely nodded, but made no remarks in response.

They were permitted to walk to and fro for an hour, when the order came
to descend, and they again entered their prison. As befor