The motion picture comrades aboard a submarine

In Short

Elmer Tracey Barnes’s 1917 juvenile novel follows three resourceful youths aboard the submarine Argonaut as they embark on a high-seas expedition to hunt for sunken treasure and film the hidden wonders of the ocean floor. Commissioned to record underwater life, the boys navigate tropical waters, dodge sharp-toothed marine predators, outmaneuver a shadowy rival vessel named the Dauntless, and descent into century-old shipwrecks. It survives as an intriguing historical snapshot of early cinema enthusiasm intersecting with the era's emerging technological marvels, echoing the underwater romanticism popularized by Jules Verne's naval adventures.

The Story

The expedition launches from Baltimore aboard the Argonaut, a unique submersible captained by the veteran mariner Barnaby Shooks. Accompanying him are three young companions: Jack, an industrious motion-picture cameraman eager to capture novel undersea footage; Oscar, a thoughtful leader; and Ballyhoo, a buoyant and impulsive youth. Right from port, the crew notices the Dauntless, a sleek black steam yacht commanded by the notorious world adventurer Captain Badger, who appears intent on shadowing their movements to snatch whatever salvage they uncover.

Sailing southward into tropical waters, the boys experience their first brush with mortality. Ballyhoo takes a casual swim, ignoring warnings about the perils of southern seas, only to be ambushed by two thirteen-foot sharks. A native Indian shark-killer dives in to save him, slaying the predators and leaving Ballyhoo with a pair of massive shark teeth as a sobering keepsake.

Determined to shake off the pursuing Dauntless, Captain Shooks submerges the vessel and slips away quietly toward Coco Key. Armed with electric searchlights, the Argonaut navigates a seabed rich in aquatic plant life and delicate coquina rock. While exploring, the submarine stumbles directly onto the decaying hulk of an ancient Spanish galleon, resting on its side. The crew establishes a surface float to pump air to their divers, who descend to chop through the rotting timber. Their labor pays off when they haul up heavy, greenish-slime-covered ingots of pure gold.

Security remains precarious. Captain Badger’s operatives spy on the salvage operation using a small launch, forcing Captain Shooks to ram the enemy boat, rescue the stranded crew, and round up a fleeing informant who attempts to swim to the nearby island. After stripping the galleon of its valuable bullion, the crew resets their course, putting distance between themselves and their rivals.

Their journey continues toward a second target, taking them through the engineering marvel of the newly constructed Panama Canal. Resting in the locks alongside their rival ship, the Dauntless, the boys observe the machinery and brace for potential conflict, though formal hostilities are avoided inside the Canal Zone.

Upon reaching their final destination in the Pacific Ocean, the crew encounters harsh weather and difficult underwater currents. The old pirate wreck they sought has been largely broken apart and scattered across the sea floor over time. Despite sending a diver down straight from the low deck of the submarine to examine an ancient anchor and scattered metal debris, the enterprise yields little additional treasure. Content with their earlier success at Coco Key and a trove of pioneering motion-picture film, the boys prepare to conclude their eventful cruise.

How It Unfolds

Outward bound from Baltimore The boys examine the secret defensive gun hidden aboard the Argonaut while keeping a cautious eye on the Dauntless, a suspicious black yacht lurking nearby. Captain Shooks prepares the clearance papers as the submersible slips out to sea.

Peril in tropical waters Ballyhoo leaps into the warm ocean for a swim, only to find himself hunted by a pair of massive sharks. A native diver intervenes just in time, plunging into the water with a knife to eliminate the beasts.

Discovery at Coco Key Submerged beneath the surface to evade their pursuers, the submarine crashes through a dense field of giant aquatic ferns and collides with the submerged hull of an old Spanish galleon.

Gold from the galleon The team constructs a floating wooden raft to run air pumps while divers chop into the wreck, successfully bringing up heavy, corroded ingots of pure gold.

Clearing out the spies When Captain Badger's men attempt to observe the salvage operation from a launch, Captain Shooks rams the vessel and retrieves the wet sailors from the water.

Transit through the locks The Argonaut navigates the Panama Canal, rising through the illuminated concrete locks while sharing the narrow waterway side-by-side with their bitter rivals aboard the Dauntless.

The Pacific search Arriving in the Pacific, the crew encounters rough seas and scattered wreckage, finding only an ancient anchor left from a long-dissolved pirate ship before turning homeward.

The People

Jack The crew’s dedicated cameraman, Jack is driven by a passion to capture novel underwater sights on film. He stays focused on cranking his camera even during moments of extreme danger, such as shark attacks or naval collisions, determined to document their enterprise for theater audiences back home.

Ballyhoo Jones A bold, impulsive youth who acts before he thinks. Ballyhoo's enthusiasm for aquatic sports almost costs him his life during an ill-advised swim in shark-infested waters, but his stubborn nature and high spirits keep the crew entertained throughout the long voyage.

Oscar The practical, analytical voice among the three boys. Oscar frequently analyzes their situation, anticipates the moves of their rivals, and understands the history behind the ancient shipwrecks they explore. He even dons a heavy diving suit himself to inspect the ocean floor.

Captain Barnaby Shooks A grizzled, pragmatic sea dog chosen to lead the expedition. Shooks manages the submarine with modern mechanical expertise rather than traditional nautical bluster, maintaining a firm hand when outmaneuvering spies or running risk-filled salvage operations.

Captain Badger A notorious global adventurer, blockade-runner, and pirate who commands the rival steam yacht Dauntless. He stalks the Argonaut across the Caribbean, eager to steal their underwater coordinates and claim the sunken treasure for himself.

In Its Own Voice

"How little we dreamed when we first read that wonderful book of Jules Verne," the former was saying, "that the time would come when all of us might experience many of the very sensations he described so well."

Jack reflects on their technological adventure while sitting on the upper deck of the submarine as it cruises toward tropical waters.

Jack, like the investigating fellow that he had always proved in the past quickly snatched out his knife, opened the big blade, and commenced scratching the back of the dull-looking brick.

The boys inspect the first heavy object recovered by their diver from the seabed near Coco Key.

"To think that we’d have to run across that duffer right here in the canal locks," Ballyhoo went on to say gloomily.

Ballyhoo reacts with dismay upon realizing their rival ship, the Dauntless, is floating right beside them inside the Panama Canal.

What It's Really About

Beneath its sequence of ocean perils and hidden chests, the story explores how modern industrial technology was transforming traditional maritime adventure at the turn of the twentieth century. The book contrasts old-world sea tales—represented by Spanish galleons, pirate wrecks, and colorful sailors—with modern innovations like submersibles, electric searchlights, wireless communication, and motion-picture cameras.

It highlights the changing nature of discovery, where mechanical precision and systematic planning replace wild luck. The narrative also touches on youth comradeship, showing how discipline, cool-headedness, and technical curiosity allow young people to participate directly in commercial salvage enterprises that were once the sole domain of veteran sailors.

Why Read It Today

This book will appeal to fans of classic juvenile adventure fiction, naval history enthusiasts, and readers interested in early twentieth-century pop culture. It offers an entertaining look at how pop fiction of the era processed groundbreaking innovations like submarines and cinema, wrapping them in a traditional treasure-hunt formula.

The prose is straightforward, paced for quick reading, and filled with period details—from early motion-picture equipment to the newly opened Panama Canal. Readers should be prepared for typical period tropes, including casual depictions of local native divers as exotic helpers and melodrama surrounding maritime rivalries. The story moves rapidly from one encounter to the next without lingering on complex character development. It remains an enjoyable artifact of American series fiction, capturing a historical moment when the ocean floor was first opening up to human eyes and camera lenses.