Not a sound came from the lips of the crew. Holding on to what came nearest to hand, they steadied themselves until the submerged craft ceased her violent motion. To add to the horror of the situation, the concussion had broken most of the electric lamps, and practically the whole of the interior of the submarine was plunged into darkness, save for the fitful sparking of the electric motors. Yet there was no irresistible inrush of the sea. Somewhere aft could be distinguished the hiss of water as a thin stream forced its way through a strained seam. "She's stood it, lads!" exclaimed the Lieutenant-Commander cheerily. Producing an electric torch from his pocket the skipper flashed it on the depth gauge. The indicator registered seventy feet, and the vessel was still descending. "Stop both engines!" he ordered. "Blow auxiliary tanks!" Slowly the downward movement ceased, and upon regaining a depth of sixty feet the order was given to "stand by". "Starboard horizontal rudder has jibbed, sir," announced one of the crew. "Bow diving-planes all right?" asked Huxtable. "I think so, sir." "Very good. Hello! There's the fun about to commence." The remark was caused by the muffled sounds of bursting shell. The Turks, alarmed by the explosion, had opened a frantic fire upon the spot where the column of water, hurled high in the air by the detonation, had subsided. "Let them waste their precious ammunition!" remarked the Lieutenant-Commander grimly. "We're as safe as houses here." "Except that we haven't a back door," thought Dick, whose views upon the subject of mine-dodging had undergone a sudden and complete change. Meanwhile one of the engine-room artificers had been busily engaged in fitting new lamps. Fortunately, none of the electric wiring had been damaged, and in a short space of time the interior of the submarine was once more flooded with light. Already the leak had been stopped, while examination showed that no serious damage had been done to the plating or framework. "Can't understand how a mine was submerged to that depth," remarked Devereux, the Acting Sub-lieutenant of the submarine, to Dick, "unless it had become partially water-logged. We must have hit it fair and square. The skipper's patent gadget saved us." "It won't do so again--at least, on the port side," said Dick. "I guess it's blown to blazes." "Well, we'll see presently," rejoined Devereux. "When the Turks have finished this rumpus and we're a little farther on our weary way, we're going to ascend for a breather. It may be the last chance for a couple of days or so." An hour later, having penetrated well into the Sea of Marmora, the skipper gave orders for the vessel to be brought awash. It wanted one hour and forty-five minutes to sunrise, so that in order to take advantage of the dark, the breathing-space had to be limited to three-quarters of an hour--unless suddenly curtailed by the approach of any hostile craft.