mong lovely
gardens.

Obviously the "Terror" could no longer turn back. The destroyers shut
her in completely. It is true their commanders did not know, as I
did, that an accident to her machinery had forced her to the surface,
and that it was impossible for her to escape them by another plunge.
Nevertheless, they continued to follow, and would assuredly maintain
their pursuit to the very last.

I marveled at the intrepidity of their chase through these dangerous
waters. I marveled still more at the conduct of our captain. Within a
half hour now, his course would be barred by the cataract. No matter
how perfect his machine, it could not escape the power of the great
falls. If the current once mastered our engines, we should inevitably
disappear in the gulf nearly two hundred feet deep which the waters
have dug at the base of the falls! Perhaps, however, our captain had
still power to turn to one of the shores and flee by the automobile
routes.

In the midst of this excitement, what action should I take
personally? Should I attempt to gain the shores of Navy Island, if we
indeed advanced that far? If I did not seize this chance, never after
what I had learned of his secrets, never would the Master of the
World restore me to liberty.

I suspected, however, that my flight was no longer possible. If I was
not confined within my cabin, I no longer remained unwatched. While
the captain retained his place at the helm, his assistant by my side
never removed his eyes from me. At the first movement, I should be
seized and locked within my room. For the present, my fate was
evidently bound up with that of the "Terror."

The distance which separated us from the two destroyers was now
growing rapidly less. Soon they were but a few cable-lengths away.
Could the motor of the "Terror," since the accident, no longer hold
its speeds? Yet the captain showed not the least anxiety, and made no
effort to reach land!

We could hear the hissing of the steam which escaped from the valves
of the destroyers, to mingle with the streamers of black smoke. But
we heard, even more plainly, the roar of the cataract, now less than
three miles away.

The "Terror" took the left branch of the river in passing Navy
Island. At this point, she was within easy reach of the shore, yet
she shot ahead. Five minutes later, we could see the first trees of
Goat Island. The current became more and more irresistible. If the
"Terror" did not stop, the destro