The lights on the Jane Pitt grew dim in the distance. The jetmarine was out of sight. Still Dansitt did not submerge. Tom wondered why.
Suddenly he knew. As the submarine made a wide sweep and headed back in the direction from which it had come, the Sea Dart loomed up in the distance.
The Devilfish steered straight toward the smaller submarine. It could ram the jetmarine with little damage to itself!
“Bud! Bud! Look out!” Tom cried, knowing full well his partner could not hear the anguished plea.
But the Sea Dart did not move off its course. Tom kept his eyes glued on the hull of his prized invention as Dansitt sped closer and closer to it. Would it be a grave for his best friend at the bottom of the sea?
Tom could not bear to look as the distance closed between the two craft. But just as there should have been a crash, he heard a swishing noise. The jetmarine had passed them! It had swerved and cleared the enemy craft by only a few feet!
Now Tom realized Bud’s strategy. He had waited until the last split second to maneuver the two-man submarine out of the way! A moment later Tom was nearly thrown into the water by an abrupt turn 168 TOM SWIFT AND HIS JETMAR1NE
of the pirate craft, indicating the anger of Dansitt. But by the time the Devilfish was poised for another strike, the jetmarine had submerged. Even its periscope was not visible.
Tom’s elation was short-lived as Dansitt also began to submerge. The waves tore at Tom’s ankles, then his knees.
“I must take a chance and jump!” Tom decided.