tch on and off at will, to enable them to see what
they were about. They had made all their arrangements during the
previous day, and had exchanged a few brief last words just before
screwing in the front glasses of their helmets. Each therefore knew
exactly what he and his companion had to do, and they now accordingly
proceeded straight aft, found the Jacob's ladder hanging over the
yacht's stern, and by it descended to the submarine, Milsom going first
and stationing himself on the boat's deck just abaft the conning tower,
while Jack took the corresponding place on the fore side.

The weight of the two men was sufficient to just submerge the boat and
bury them to their chins when sitting down, while they could disappear
altogether by lying flat on the deck. The degree of submersion,
therefore, was just right for the beginning of the adventure, and Jack
accordingly signalled Macintyre, by means of an electric button, first
to back away from the yacht, and then to go ahead dead slow, guiding him
at the same time how to steer by means of another button.

The torpedo boat, being the most formidable of the three craft, was
selected as the first to be operated upon, and the submarine was
accordingly headed for her. The water of Havana harbour is unspeakably
foul, the sewers of the town discharging into it, and it is almost
opaque with the quantity of matter of various kinds that it holds in
suspension; it was therefore necessary for the submarine to approach the
torpedo boat pretty closely ere sinking any deeper, or it would have
been difficult for the adventurers to find their prey in the muddy
water, but they managed excellently, approaching within ten yards
without being detected. Then Jack, unwilling to court failure by
running any unnecessary risks, gave the order to sink slowly, at the
same time turning on his electric lamp. Another moment, and he saw the
torpedo boat's stern and propeller before him, and the submarine,
magnificently managed by Macintyre, who had worked her in all her
previous trials, drew gently up until she stopped motionless in such a
position that Jack could do just what he wanted. He had decided not to
attempt to remove the propeller in this case, lest the violent exertion
required to start the nut should cause him to overbalance and fall to
the bottom of the harbour, in which case he would inevitably be lost in
the deep layer of foul mud which formed the harbour bottom. He
therefore too