Through the manhole opening of, the tower the shipbuilder soon thrust
his uncovered head.
Was the torpedo, so carefully aimed, going to strike and do its work?
CHAPTER XVII
THE MESSAGE OF TERROR
"Is it a hit, do you think?" gasped Jack.
"I think--" began the naval officer.
Boom! It came suddenly, sullenly. A column of spray shot up between
the two mast-stumps of the derelict. The rising water reached a height
of eighty or ninety feet, then came down again like a heavy rain.
But the wreck itself?
One of the mast-stumps tottered, then the other. In an instant more
nothing of the derelict was to be seen, saving some floating wreckage
made up of less water-logged wood.
"A fair hit, I'll wager my commission!" cried Danvers, eagerly.
"Yes," nodded Jacob Farnum. "That's the last of the derelict. She's
removed from the paths of navigation."
There could be no doubt of the completeness of the work done by the
torpedo from the "Hastings." A broad grin now appeared on the
shipbuilder's lately white face.
"Mr.
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