wait long enough a lot of sharks will come along and eat
'em up," put in Jack.

"I am afraid sharks will not come to these frozen waters," said the
professor. "They like a warm climate."

"And you don't think it would be feasible to use dynamite," asked Mark.

"We can't get out to place it where it would blow up the fish and not
us," answered Mr. Henderson. "If we could it might serve."

A silence fell on the group. They were in sore straits and there seemed
no hope of rescue. The big disk-like bodies that covered the windows did
not move, but remained there, staring with horrible persistency into the
interior of the ship.

CHAPTER XXVI

LAND UNDER ICE

Suddenly the craft began to move. Slowly at first, then, with more speed
it forged ahead through the water.

"Are we free?" asked Andy, starting up.

"Who started the machinery?" demanded the professor.

"No one," replied Jack. "We are all here. There is no one in the engine
room."

"But we are moving," said Mark.

"It's dem sucker-fish!" exclaimed Washington. "Dey is takin' us off to
der dens an' dere we'll all be eat up!"

"I'm afraid part of it is true," said Mr. Henderson. "The creatures are
certainly making off with us. How powerful they must be!"

"Will dey take us to a cave?" faltered Washington. "Will dey eat us up?"

"I don't think they'll eat us up," spoke the inventor. "It would defy
even their powerful sucking apparatus to bore through the steel sides of
the _Porpoise_. What I am afraid of is that they may move us to some
hidden depth where we will be caught under the rocks or in the ice, and
so lose what little chance there is of getting free."

"And the worst of it is we can't do a thing to help ourselves!"
exclaimed Andy. "This is the worst game I was ever up against!"

The adventurers were indeed helpless. They could not get out of their
ship to attack the monsters, even had they dared to. Their engine,
powerful as it was, had proved no match for the creatures, and now they
were being carried away, ship and all, to some unknown place.

The ship did not go through the water fast. Though the suckers seemed to
be working in union their bodies were too unwieldly, and the ship so
large, that their pace was slow. Nevertheless they kept steadily on.

Several times, in their desperation, the adventurers tried the force of
the big screw against that of the suckers. It was of no avail. Neither
was the device of emptying the tanks, an