as
a suspicion of a fin throwing up a little spray in the path of motion.

It was horrible--unbelievable!

The mere suspicion galvanized him into action.

Captain Jack's feet barely seemed to touch the deck as he leaped forward.

Eph was at the wheel, but there was no time to shout a frenzied order
that might be misunderstood.

Besides, in the instant that he was in the air, young Benson had no
sharply defined plan of what he was going to do.

But that fin over to port was the half-visible upper part of a moving
torpedo! It was headed so as to intercept the "Hastings" on her slow,
forward course.

If he rang for speed ahead, Captain Jack knew it might not come swiftly
enough to carry his boat and its human load ahead to safety.

In any case, it must be a job of seconds. If Hal responded slowly to
the signal--then destruction!

All this seemed to flash like lightning through the young commander's
head as he made that leap for the wheel.

Somers being in the way, young Benson flung him violently aside.

Captain Jack's left hand grasped a spoke of the steering wheel; his
right hand signaled violently for speed astern.

Would Hal respond in time to save them all?

CHAPTER XVIII

THE FINDINGS ON THE "THOR"

It was a breathless moment.

Captain Jack Benson, resting one hand on the wheel, gazed off at port
side with fascinated stare.

Almost instantly a grating could be heard that must have come from the
propeller shafts, though the young skipper, at that moment, was
incapable of thinking of anything save that tiny fin-line out on the
water.

Then the speed ahead of the submarine boat stopped. In another moment
the little steel craft was creeping backward.

On came that fin-line.

There was nothing more that Jack could do, save to hold the wheel rigid.

On for the bow of the "Hastings" came the fin-line. Would that moving
torpedo strike, hurling them all to destruction?

It must have been by a hair's breath, but that fin-line crossed the bow
of the submarine. It had gone on, beyond--harmlessly, now!

"What's that you're saying, Eph?" demanded Jack. "Oh, yes; you want to
know why I bowled you over in that fashion. Because there wasn't time
to speak. I was crazy to get the reverse gear at work, and take us out
of the path of that torpedo aimed for us."

"Torpedo?" demanded Eph Somers, thunderstruck.

"Torpedo?" repeated Jacob Farnum, in bewilderment.

"Yes," broke in Lieutenant D