The Sleeping Army Awakes

Part 42 Fish-sub's virgin voyage

Once full of food and full of energy after their feast of goulash, the four of them, Greta and Stepa, Slepý Bobek and Bláznivý Marek, heaved and heaved but the sub refused to move, partly because of the heavy air cylinders aboard.

"We can use the same principle with the sub that we did with can." Stepa observed, suggesting that they could use leverage instead of brute force.

"What? Use tin opener on Fish-sub?" Bláznivý Marek asked because he hadn't quite grasped what Stepa was proposing. "We want to move her not open her up like can of goulash!"

Stepa gave him one of her looks and pulled at the ends of her short blonde hair, while she composed herself enough not to call him an idiot.

"No there are long strong oars hung upon wall!" She replied. "Simply we will use same scientific principle of leverage and use mooring posts as fulcrums."

"Ach takhle!" Bláznivý Marek exclaimed suddenly seeing the light. He resolved to reread the section in the book, about levers and mechanical advantage. "Perhaps you will be great scientist one day!"

It took all four of them, using all four oars, to lever the submarine down the from the dry end of the boat house, to the place where the lake intruded into the middle channel of the wooden building. The wooden board walk extended either side of the boathouse all the way to the end, allowing them to repeat the process several times, towards freedom and its watery destiny until Fish- sub started to bob up and down as it began to be supported by the water and not the mud. Once it was fully buoyant, all four of them had to tug hard on their nearest fin to stop it drifting any further onto the lake.

"She's floating!" Stepa said in amazement fully expecting the craft to fill with water almost immediately and sink to the bottom.

"She is indeed."Greta said. "Well done boys she is fine craft!"

"Well done Stepa and Greta. See we didn't need Semtex!" Slepý Bobek observed, "simply some teamwork and physics you bullock. We couldn't have launched her without you ladies."

"Semtex?" Greta mouthed to Stepa.

"Ladies?" Stepa mouthed back.

But his brother was not listening really listening. Bláznivý Marek was in reverie at their achievement.

"We built submarine and it floats!" Bláznivý Marek, "Please just humour me and say that Mama would be proud of us. Just say this for me for me you bullock."

"Your mama would be proud that her clever crazy sons have built even crazier submarine shaped like carp and will make her historic maiden voyage without Semtex." Greta said.

"Even if water is so shallow that I could almost wade to end without getting my chin wet." Stepa whispered to Greta. But then theatrically pointing skyward she said out loud. "Somewhere up there Mama is crazy proud of her little boys."

Bláznivý Marek said, "Today I hear big man, Sir lord and mighty Percy, will go fishing."

"And that's what all rich people do!" Stepa rejoined, not really seeing what the point was. "They steal very food from our mouths!"

"But today we can strike one back for proletariat!" Bláznivý Marek protested.

"How?"Greta asked suspiciously, "Jitka told us all not to go near him."

"WE won't go near him!" Bláznivý Marek said. "Granddaddy carp will go!"

"With only very little supply of air most of which we will use to blow the ballast." Slepý Bobek added dubiously.

"Sir Percy will get shock of life!" Bláznivý Marek said. "He will think that we are Granddaddy Carp!"

"Oh is like that? Practical joke you bullock!" Stepa laughed. Then she got deadly serious. "He will shoot you!"

"Probably!" Bláznivý Marek agreed.

"We are going to die for science!" Slepý Bobek said heroically.

"I hope not!" Greta said.

"Me too!" Stepa said. "Are you sure this is sensible plan to launch today, If Sir Percy doesn't shoot you what if Skidges shoot you instead?"

"We'd be OK, sub is made of metal!" Slepý Bobek. "Skidges only have silly ceramic projectiles!"

"Anyway Old Kelp will have to disable Skidges today because Sir Percy is out and about!" Bláznivý Marek protested. "What can possibly go wrong?"

"What you crazy to ask such thing?" Slepý Bobek cast his eyes to heaven and said. "Is only thin metal. That won't save us if his bodyguards shoot us. I must be mad!"

"Sometime I wonder if we are really brothers." Bláznivý Marek said spitefully, though it was clear to any casual observer that the boys were virtually identical. "You have no spirit of adventure you bullock."

"She's ready for boarding Kapitán!" Stepa announced, trying to divert them from their argument.

"OK! Hold her steady girls!" Bláznivý Marek commanded. "we're going aboard! I check to see if she take on water."

"Aye Aye Kapitán." The rest off them said.

Bláznivý Marek clambered onto the craft, nearly capsizing it in the process. This was despite Stepa Greta and Slepý Bobek trying to hold the craft steady. Marek made his way through the hatch and towards the stern to take his seat.

"Everything dry in here!" Bláznivý Marek announced triumphantly.

Slepý Bobek followed, but this time the sub was a little less unstable because of Marek's weight at the bottom. The boys settled themselves into their seats and started to pedal Fish-sub away from the boathouse with the girls blowing them kisses. The kisses were wasted on them because neither of them had enough visibility to be able to see what the girls were doing.

At first the boys kept to skimming the surface of the lake and taking in extra air with the pump but it was hard work having both mechanisms engaged. They did this for as long as possible, partly because they needed to conserve the air supply, and partly because the only windows were small ones in the eyes and mouth so only Slepý Bobek who was wearing an eye patch over one eye, and not his glasses, couldn't really see where they were going.

In any case a great deal of the lake was too shallow to completely submerge the craft without embedding it into the mud below. The craft could hardly be described as being in stealth mode. The wafting tail stirred up the mud at the bottom of the lake and regularly stuck up out into the air, leaving a clear trail from the boathouse with every downward stroke and the top fin was clearly visible above the surface of the water but for now the boys were just content that the muddy water was all staying outside and not entering her.

"Steady as she goes!" Bláznivý Marek commanded.

"What do you mean?" Slepý Bobek asked.

"Simply I think it means keep on going same way that you are going at same speed." Bláznivý Marek explained.

"Aye! Aye! Kapitán!" Slepý Bobek said and then after a short pause. "Marek have you ever wondered why it is two ayes. It's simply saying yes twice in ancient English?"

"Because you bullock!" Eliška explained. "You say Yes I have understood and Yes I will comply you bullock!"

"So I should say Aye Aye then you bullock?" Slepý Bobek asked.

"Aye!" Bláznivý Marek replied.

"How come I have to say twice when you only say once?" Slepý Bobek asked.

"I am Kapitán. I do not need to comply... I just need to agree that what you said is plausible. Bláznivý Marek replied. "Just pedal harder will you? You Bullock. We are not getting anywhere!"