noon
From sixty to a hundred feet is our average plunge . '' Even at that moment the boys noticed that the _ Dewey _ was `` sweating '' a little bit , the vaulted steel above them , coated with a composition that contained cork , being dotted here and there with drops of water . Jack craned his neck to look at the depth dial and noted the indicator hand was pointing at seventy-two feet . Mess was served at noon while the _ Dewey _ kept on her run . Coffee and biscuits made up the frugal meal this time , the officers and crew being anxious to prove the submersible ready for any emergency call that Uncle Sam might make , and not desiring to spare the men from their posts longer than possible . All afternoon the _ Dewey _ ploughed the waves , sometimes running submerged , other times on the surface . About five o'clock the boys perceived the lighthouse at the bay entrance , and soon they were back in the navy yard .