hen recorded thus in a few brief lines. It was
not, however, such a simple matter. Those three days were full of
hectic activity. Mercer and I did not sleep more than four hours any
of those three nights.

We were too busy to talk. Mercer worked frantically in his laboratory,
slaving feverishly beside the big hood. I overlooked the tests of the
submarine and the loading of the necessary supplies.

The girl we had taken back to her parents, giving her to understand
that she was to wait. They went away, but every few hours returned, as
though to urge us to greater haste. And at last we were ready, and the
girl and her two companions seated themselves on the tiny deck of the
_Santa Maria_, just forward of the conning tower, holding themselves
in place by the chains. We had already instructed the girl in her
duties: we would move slowly, and she should guide us, by pointing
either to the right or the left.

* * * * *

I will confess I gave a last long, lingering look at the shore before
the hatch of the conning tower was clamped down. I was not exactly
afraid, but I wondered if I would ever step foot on solid land again.

Standing in the conning tower beside Mercer, I watched the sea rise at
an angle to meet us, and I dodged instinctively as the first green
wave pelted against the thick porthole through which I was looking. An
instant later the water closed over the top of the conning tower, and
at a gentle angle we nosed towards the bottom of the sea.

An account of the trip itself, perhaps, does not belong in this
record. It was not a pleasant adventure in itself, for the _Santa
Maria_, like every undersea craft, I suppose, was close, smelly, and
cramped. We proceeded very slowly, for only by so doing could our
guide keep her bearings, and how she found the way was a mystery to
all of us. We could see but very little, despite the clearness of the
water.

It was by no means a sight-seeing trip. For various reasons, Mercer
had cut our crew to the minimum. We had two navigating officers,
experienced submarine men both, and five sailors, also experienced in
undersea work. With such a short crew, Mercer and I were both kept
busy.

* * * * *

Bonnett, the captain, was a tall, dark chap, stooped from years in the
low, cramped quarters of submarines. Duke, our second-officer, was a
youngster hardly out of his 'teens, and as clever as they come. And
although