Free River Odyssey by Philip Roy Page B

the cable, okay?”
    She nodded her head and went back to combing Hollie’s fur with her fingers. I suddenly regretted having a passenger. It hadn’t struck me before just how much responsibility it was. It was a lot! This was my vessel and I was the captain. Marie’s safety, her life actually, was completely in my hands. I didn’t like that feeling. I didn’t feel old enough for that kind of responsibility yet.
    Most likely what happened was that a cable had been pulled into the whirl of the propeller and twisted around it, stopping its spin. That’s why the motor started whining; the driveshaft was blocked. The motor was not designed to push against dead resistance. That was almost certainly what had happened, though I couldn’t know for certain without looking. Since the cable likely twisted up in one direction, it was possible that it would release if I put the motor in reverse. That might work. The only thing I didn’t like about that was that every time the propeller pushed against the dead resistance of the cable, it risked getting damaged or even snapping off. Then, we’d have no propulsion at all. The sub would surface, but it would free-float down the river. Oh boy, what a disaster that would be!
    I had an idea. Instead of engaging the batteries to turn the driveshaft, I could simply pedal the bike. If I spun the pedal very slowly, I could turn the propeller just a little. I climbed onto the bike and tried pedalling in reverse. Nope. Nothing. Then I tried forward. Nope. The propeller wouldn’t budge. Shoot!
    “Is it working?” said Marie.
    I could tell she was trying hard to stay calm.
    “Ummm … just a minute.”
    Man, I wished she wasn’t here! I realized it wouldn’t bother me as much if Hollie and I drowned as much as if she did, strange as that was to think. We were sailors. It was a risk we lived with every day and it was a choice we had made. Even though Hollie was just a dog, I knew he felt the same way, I just knew it. Marie was our passenger. She was our responsibility. Gosh, I wished she wasn’t here now.
    I tried raising the sub just a little. I pumped air into the tanks and we rose about five feet. The cable didn’t let go. I pumped air out of the tanks and we fell and bumped the wreck, and that made a loud noise.
    “Oh! What was that?”
    “Nothing. We just bumped the wreck a little. No big deal.”
    Without being able to turn the propeller I couldn’t even turn the sub around to look at the cable. It was so frustrating!
    “Is there anyone we can call?” said Marie. She sounded alarmed.
    “Yes. I can float a cable to the surface and call for help if we need to. But I don’t want to do that just yet, okay? Please don’t worry. I’ll get us out of here.”
    “But you will call if you have to, right? Promise?”
    “Yes, I promise. I will call for sure if we need to.”
    “I think it’s cursed, Alfred.”
    “What?”
    “The wreck. I think it’s cursed, just like they say. Really, I do.”
    Marie was shivering with fear now. That was understandable. I just hoped she wouldn’t panic. I wouldn’t know how to deal with her panic.
    “I don’t think it’s cursed, Marie. We just got stuck on a cable. It was our own fault. We went too close to the wreck.”
    “But so many people died here! This place is a graveyard … ”
    She was biting her lip, holding onto Hollie and starting to cry. At least she was trying not to panic. I had to figure out something fast. If I did call for help, it would take hours before anyone could come. They’d have to put boats in the water and send divers down. All they’d have to do is release the cable. But they would surely seize the sub. And everything would be photographed and filmed for the news. My exploring days would be over.
    “Will you call, Alfred?”
    “Yes… just give me a chance … ”
    If it were just Hollie and me, I could open the hatch and go out. I felt confident I could open and shut the hatch. The sub would fill half,