"That brings us to the point where we must make a canvass of the situation as it confronts us. Let me see; there are three men in addition to the commander, who need not be reckoned with in a contest. Fortunately, one of the men is a machinist, and the only other man except the sub-lieutenant, of any intelligence, is the doctor. I doubt if he would be a strong factor against us," said the captain. "The fellow who had charge of the men carrying the boxes is nothing but a chump," said Ralph. "I wouldn't be afraid of him." "I am considering more the character of the men who are able to handle the boat, and who know the intricacies of the mechanism. I can see where men of that sort will be able to make it very interesting for us if we should attempt to capture the officers and crew," said the captain thoughtfully. It was evident that the vessel was slowly righting itself, for every minute or two there would be a slight sinking movement, which was very gratifying. "Where are the revolvers?" asked the captain. "I found a dandy place for them, and can get them in a minute, if wanted," said Ralph. "Captain, I wanted to ask you some time ago what you meant by saying that the sub-lieutenant didn't know any more about submarining than he ought to. What did you mean by that?" asked Alfred. "One of the things I had in mind was, when he was trying to start the propellers, that he could have found an easier way to learn whether they were in the water or not," was the answer. "How so?" asked Ralph. "The indicator board in the conning tower shows just how far the vessel is under water," replied the captain. "But," said Alfred, "would that tell it correctly if one end of the vessel should be up and the other down, as this is?" "Why not? It would indicate how far down in the water the hull would be amidship, and it would not require much involved calculating to figure out where the stern of the vessel would be if he knew the angle at which the hull was resting," answered the captain. "I would just like to know how far we are down," said Ralph, looking up the stairway into the conning tower. "Do you think you could spot the right dial face if you went up?" asked the captain. "I think I could," said Ralph, rather doubtingly, it must be admitted. "Then I'll give you a little hint, if you'd like to try to make an investigation," said the captain. "Directly forward of the table, which contains the chart, and below the three levers, you will see a glass column with red colored liquid in it,----" "I know what you mean now," said Ralph, interrupting. "Well, simply get the number on the card on the right side of the glass column. Do you understand?" remarked the captain. "Yes; but why not take the numbers on the left side also?" asked Ralph. "They merely indicate the pressure. Depth below the surface is all we want," rejoined the captain. "Well, here goes; and I hope they won't catch me at it," said Ralph, as he slowly moved out.