"There's a lot of rocks right ahead ob us!" he exclaimed. "I see 'em through th' little window jest above th' screw. There's land under this here water!" "Land under this ice do you mean?" asked the professor. "That's what I mean, an' we's bein' rammed agin th' rocks!" "There it goes again!" cried Jack, as the ship shivered from stem to stern against the impact of the blow. "This can not last long," said Mr. Henderson. "If they strike us many more times some of the places will start, the water will come in, and we will drown!" "But what can we do?" asked Jack. "Let's go out now and see if we can't kill some of the beasts with the guns," suggested Andy. "I cannot permit it," answered the inventor. "Our position is bad enough as it is, but to go out would be to lose our lives for a certainty. The suckers would swallow us up in a moment. I must find some other way." There was a period of silence, while all waited anxiously for what was to happen next. It was not long in coming. The next impact of the ship against the rocks was the hardest yet, and it seemed that more of the suckers must have gripped the craft. "She's leakin' a little!" exclaimed Washington coming back from an inspection forward. "De water am tricklin' in!" "We must fight them!" exclaimed Andy. He ran to get a gun and his diving suit. "Don't try to go out!" warned the professor. "You will surely be killed." "I'd rather be killed out there than die shut up in the ship!" cried the old hunter. "I'm going out!" "Wait!" exclaimed Jack suddenly. "I have a plan that may save us!" "What is it? Speak quickly!" said Mr. Henderson. "We are in desperate straits!" As he spoke there came another crash against the rocks. "We must electrocute the suckers!" cried the boy. "Electrocute them? What do you mean?" "Take the wires from the electric light circuit, attach one to each end of the ship, and start the dynamo at full speed!" answered Jack. "What good will that do?" "The ship is steel," went on the boy. "It will become charged with a powerful current. We can insulate ourselves by putting on rubber boots, but the shock of the electricity will kill the creatures!" "Good for you!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson. "Quick boys, everybody lend a hand! Washington, detach the wires and run one to the bow and the other to the stern of the ship. Then get out the boots." In a few minutes the dynamo was ready to send a death-dealing current through the entire ship. The professor and all the others put on the boots, that were a part of the diving equipment. The dynamo was started at full speed and the purring hum told that electricity of great power was being developed. The professor stood with his hand on a switch, ready to close the circuit as soon as sufficient power had accumulated. Once more the suckers backed the ship in order to give it impetus for another impact on the stones.