ling in the opposite direction, only to be brought back
again with the same springy collision, as when it had gone forward and
first struck the strange obstacle.

The captain's face paled, and the boys plied him with questions as they
saw his perturbed countenance.

"What do you think it is?" asked Ralph, as he saw the anxious seamen,
and the second officer rushing about shouting orders, while one of them
seized the main valve wheel and turned it.

"We are caught in one of the steel nets," said the captain quietly.

The boys' faces grew deadly pale. They knew what such a calamity meant.
Few, if any of the submarines caught in the nets, ever escaped. The
boys, while they did not know this, were, in a measure, aware of the
great danger to submarines from this source. They were alarmed
particularly on account of the serious manner in which the captain acted
the moment the first impact took place.

The captain now arose, followed by the boys, and marched through the
narrow passageway toward the lieutenant who was leaning over one of the
air compressors.

"Is there anything we can do to help you?" asked the captain.

The lieutenant looked up and replied: "We can do nothing but change the
trim of the ship. Everything portable in the stern must be moved
forward. Your assistance will be appreciated," was the reply, an answer
that was in marked contrast with his former demeanor.

The lieutenant then quickly detailed four men, who, together with the
captain and the two boys, were directed what articles to carry forward.
In this exercise they found many unexpected nooks and turns. The
articles removed were mostly ship's supplies, stores, boxes of canned
goods, drugs in cases, and a lot of tubing. Some of the boxes must have
contained machinery, or mechanical parts, for they were very heavy.

They were engaged at this work for fully an hour, and the task proved a
difficult one, for the passageways were narrow and tortuous, and
sometimes it was necessary to move through narrow alleys which ran
almost directly across the ship. Every available bit of space is
utilized in these vessels for the operating machinery.

The entire length of the submarine was 126 feet, and the material had to
be carried a distance of about eighty feet. The lieutenant was in the
stern portion, pointing out the articles which should be taken, while
the sub-lieutenant directed the placing of them in the bow.

The captain and Ralph were just depositi