I was not long in ascertaining a possible explanation of my
depression, for, though we were plainly visible from the
bridge of the aero-submarine and to the hundreds of men who
swarmed her deck, the ship passed directly above us, not
five hundred feet from the water, and sped directly
westward.

We all shouted, and I fired my pistol to attract their
attention, though I knew full well that all who cared to had
observed us, but the ship moved steadily away, growing
smaller and smaller to our view until at last she passed
completely out of sight.



2


What could it mean? I had left Alvarez in command. He was
my most loyal subordinate. It was absolutely beyond the
pale of possibility that Alvarez should desert me. No,
there was some other explanation. Something occurred to
place my second officer, Porfirio Johnson, in command. I
was sure of it but why speculate? The futility of
conjecture was only too palpable. The Coldwater had
abandoned us in midocean. Doubtless none of us would
survive to know why.

The young man at the wheel of the power boat had turned her
nose about as it became evident that the ship intended