Pluck and Luck #139: Jack Wright and His Deep Sea Monitor — page 30: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

PS 2 io ae 5 oy Het Se SS 7 Gee: _ victory over the Sea Serpent. «Jack laughed scornfully at their confidence, aS “We will descend and disappoint them!” he remarked. _. He turned the leyer, but the valves failed to respond! Instead of filling, the boat remained stationary on the sur- face. “Something is the matter with the spiracles!” exclaimed Jack, in alarm. ey “If we remain here five minutes longer,” said the professor, S “yonder fleet will reach us and blow the monitor to pieces!” * A CHAPTER XXY. THE WOLF-FISH. _ Jdaeck and his friends were alarmed when they found that - they could not make the Sea Serpent sink, for the fleet of _ pirates’ ships were now in easy gun range. oe “There is nothing for it but to engage them with the guns Ae ‘till we find out what the trouble is,” said the boy, hastily Joading the weapons again. : “Lord save us, lad!” gasped Tim. “D’ye want me ter go - below and find out what ther trouble are?” “Yes, and remedy it, too, if you can!” ; Just then several gunshots came from the oncoming ships, - and one*of them struck the monitor, giving her a shock that knocked her around on her beam ends. It glanced off again without doing her any harm, and Pak -yveturned the shot, while Tim hurried out, and Fritz worked - ¢he machinery controlling the turret. The projectile from the Sea Serpent tore away the leeward _ side,of the ship, and sent her foremast by the board. “Turn the turret!” exclaimed Jack, in hurried tones. Me Around it went and a second shot was discharged, which smashed another of the ships to pieces. The third shot completed the loss of the first ship Jack While the boy was reloading the gun several more shots “came from the pirates, battering the hull of the monitor with- i “ out doing her much damage, as her thick aluminum plates pro- _ tected her. | “Tim eame in just then, and exclaimed: : i) “Ther valves wuz all choked up with seaweed! ” “Have you got them clear?” queried Jack, anxiously. - tea 62 ER a: “Ay, lad. Ye kin send her down now.” Just then another cannon ball eame flying along, and, strik- |: Saiie the golden idol, knocked it into the sea from the deck. | aff Down it plunged beneath the waves with a loud splash, and Af sank to the bottom, disappearing from Jack’s view. ii ss | Att “Sink her here,” said the professor. “The idol is gone.” Jack lowered the monitor to the bottom, a yell of the most PES thse delight pealing from the lips of the pirates, who did ‘not know she was a submarine boat, and imagined that one of their shots had sunk her. eee a The electric lights at the ports were started, and she came a: sree: a pause among a mass of coral, in a halo of Silvery glory. Great ridges of yellow, white and red coral were strewn | i about the bottom, myriads of fishes of various kinds swim- At, a ning here and there among the grottos, and upon a slight |i ae Platean on one side they beheld the ton of gold. : Warts: Our friends put on their metallic suits, and, going out on ae de ck with the proper kind of tackle, they at once began to | +e k getting the idol back on the monitor’s deck. c aay veer and | knocking Fritz down, Jy} “ACK when AND ‘Is ‘DEEP. SEA MONITOR, | Peat of the fleet pressed steadily on, ‘igouted now of | an easy pe aeetacing the maial to the deck of the boat they set to tomatically closed, but the water in the REE ‘instant oy 3 sae f t iy Mrt© pei , awe : “ ae a ph Tox a . wea ee 3-37 ecenntnae peers 3p Sul ts Daylight arrived by the time this work was finished, great _ swarms of turtles constantly interfering with their labor, for. the island of Ruatan was densely infested with these crea- — tures. ae Jack was just about to follow Tim and Hopkins down through the trap-door, when there sounded a loud “swish” in the water in back of him; he glanced around, and some--_ thing bright and metallic flashed before his eyes. | The next instant it struck him on the back and knocked him | down upon the deck flat on his face, passed over him and dis- appeared beyond in the gloom. It was a fierce-looking wolf-fish, of a savage, voracious and ugly appearance, five feet in length, its slimy skin covered with tubercles, and its gaping, powerful jaws filled with sharp ~ teeth, which added to its hideous appearance. bat Jack shuddered when he observed what a terrible monster it was, and observed that its huge, bulging eyes were staring at him with a most malignant expression. | ‘ He tried to leap out of its way, and partly succeeded, but the _ tubercles on its rough body caught in the scales of aluminum — of which his armor was composed, and, while the onward — rush of the fish was checked, the impetus knocked Jack down ~ upon the deck. ‘eg The wolf-fish now became terrified at finding itself caeut e tast to the boy, and struggled with all its talghty alain . Fg tear itself free again. me A fearful strain was brought to bear on the suit, Sime the scales cf metal backward in the wrong direction, and Jack — was dragged along to the bulwarks in the bow. aa There he caught hold of the rope lacing and hung on. arts The straining of the fish to get free continued. Ae It was caught in a defective spot in Jack’s suit, and there — came a sudden ripping sound as the rubber cloth under the _ metallic plates was suddenly torn and gave way. } The woli-fish tore the caught tubercles from its body in the powerful tug it gave, and, badly lacerated, got free. te Bleeding from its wounds, it swam away, pursued by a say white shark, which, swimming by, scented its wounds. i The moment Jack heard the ominous rip his heart sank. He felt the water begin to gush into his suit. ay ee. By the time he reached the trap-door he was strangling. He could not hold his breath under such a pressure. ; The blood rushed to his head; he staggered like a drunken — ‘2 man; a gasping cry escaped him; he tried to recover him- self; then he blindly. fell. rea a He inhaled the water, and in a moment was ‘drowning. 8 ef / cae | . ot CHAPTER XXVI. THE LAST OF THE PIRATES. Down into the water chamber fell Jack with a ‘one's His body struck a hard substance, and the trap-door closed with a loud thud after him, A “I say, dear boy, do you want to kill me, falling down wwe Ma my head in that manner? Dear me, you have broken ae helmet lamp, and I declare——” ; E it was the professor Jack had fallen on. ETE). oe | “Help!” gurgled the drowning boy. | ay a His voice was half inaudible, yet Hopkins heard it and reale es zed in a twinkling that something had gone wrong. ire He did not waste a moment in idle speculation, but omen the door leading into the interior, without waiting to pump the water out of the compartment. f° No more water could come in, as the deck trap had been ¢ ; St ye | > : . , be | ee