Doctor Who_ The Sea-Devils - Malcolm Hulke [38]
The submarine had been submerged for over forty minutes now, and was nearing the base of the oil-rig. Two sonar ratings were listening attentively to their huge earphones, expecting an echo at any moment from the legs of the giant construction. Sonar, a form of underwater radar, sends out regular signals, and these can be heard as ‘pings’ over the operator’s earphones. If the beam of electronic signals hits anything metal, the signals echo back and the operator hears a ‘ping-ping’. The time span between the first and the second ‘ping’ gives the operator an idea of the distance to the metal object. By prodding with the beam in slightly different directions, the operator may be able to sketch out the outline of a sunken ship or the hull of another submarine.
Ridgway left his periscope and went over to the sonar men. ‘Anything yet?’
‘No, sir,’ one of them said.
But the other operator raised a hand. ‘I think I’ve got something, sir.’
Everyone was quiet. Even through the man’s earphones they could all hear a faintly echoing ‘ping’. Ridgway turned to the crew in charge of the submarine’s special television eye and searchlights. He had held back the order to switch on the searchlights because of the enormous amount of electricity they consumed from the submarine’s batteries.
‘Television eye on,’ he snapped, ‘and searchlights.’
The ratings threw the switches. A monitor screen next to the periscope came to life.
‘It’s getting faster,’ said the sonar operator. His companion was now also picking up the echo.
Sub-Lieutenant Mitchell asked, ‘Is it one of the legs of the oil-rig?’
‘Don’t think so, sir,’ said the sonar operator. ‘I was scanning in the other direction. It’s getting really close now!’
There was a sudden shriek of high-pitched ‘pings’ from the earphones of both sonar operators. They took off their earphones and held them a little way away from their ears. ‘I think something’s gone wrong, sir,’ one of them told Ridgway.
Ridgway rapped out an order: ‘Send for sonar maintenance.’ A rating hurried off down the single main corridor of the submarine. All at once the earphones went silent.
Then the engines stopped.
For a moment there was complete, eerie silence. Without the throb of engines in the background, there is no sound at all in a submarine. No wind, no waves—utter silence.
‘What the—’ Ridgway went to an internal ‘phone, pressed the button marked ‘Engine Room’ and said: ‘Captain here. What’s happening?’
The voice of the Chief in charge of the engine-room sounded bewildered and confused. ‘I’ve no idea, sir. We’re making a complete check. Everything stopped.’
Sub-Lieutenant Mitchell beckoned to Ridgway. He pointed to the dial that measured their depth under the surface. ‘We’re going down, fast.’
‘That’s impossible,’ said an astonished Ridgway. He looked at the dial: it was not only possible—it was indeed happening! He turned back to the ’phone. ‘Chief, get those engines working right away!’
‘Aye, aye, sir,’ said the Chief over the ‘phone, with no hint of conviction that he could do it. ‘We’ll do our best.’
Mitchell was still staring at the depth dial. ‘We’re dropping like a stone. Look!’ He pointed to the monitor screen.
‘Look at what?’ asked Ridgway. All he could see on the screen was murky water.
Mitchell was wide-eyed. ‘It’s gone now. Some sort of giant tadpole. It had legs and arms and it swam.’
One or two of the lower-deck ratings looked un-easily at Sub-Lieutenant Mitchell. In an emergency a Naval officer is not supposed to start seeing imaginary ‘giant tadpoles’. He is expected to issue orders and do things.
Then the vista of water on the monitor screen went black because the searchlights had cut out. Ridgway swung round to the petty officer in charge of the electricity circuits. ‘Get those lights working again!’
The petty officer hurried away to check the fuses. ‘We’ve steadied,’ said Mitchell, still watching the depth dial. ‘We aren’t going down any more.’
‘I should think not,’ said Ridgway. He took it as a personal affront that so many things had gone wrong at the same time. He