1907 book cover: "Under the Ocean to the South Pole"

• Title: Under the Ocean to the South Pole
• Subtitle: The Strange Cruise of the Submarine Wonder
• Author: "Roy Rockwood" (pseudonym used by Howard Garis for the Stratemeyer Syndicate)
• Publisher: Cupples & Leon Co.
• Year: 1907
• Pages: 248
• Format: Hardcover
• First sentence: "Hand me that wrench, Mark," called Professor Amos Henderson to a boy who stood near some complicated machinery over which the old man was working.
• Last sentence: "We shall see," said Mr. Henderson with a twinkle in his eyes.
• Random sentence from the middle: For a while the struggle between the force of man represented by the engine, and the power of nature, embodied in the whirlpool, seemed equal.
• Previous book in this series by "Rockwood": Through the Air to the North Pole, or The Wonderful Cruise of the Electric Monarch
• Notes about the story: Professor Henderson is described as being 65 years old and possessing of a "fund of knowledge." He companions are Mark Sampson, Jack Darrow and — my great apologies — "the colored man, Washington White." ... The name of the submarine is the Porpoise, and it is described as being eighty feet long and, at the widest point, twenty feet in diameter. It was powered in this way: "The engine was a turbine, and steam was generated from heat furnished by the burning of a powerful gas, manufactured from sea water and chemicals. So there was no need to carry a supply of coal on the ship." ... During a shark battle, the sharks are described as having "horrible eyes, and big mouths with rows of cruel teeth, striking terror to the hearts of all." I think Quint would approve of that description. ... At the end of the book, there seems to be a setup for exploration of a "strange island with a big hole in the middle that seems to lead to the centre of the earth." Professor Henderson plans to explore it while traveling in a balloon. That Verne-esque adventure ended up being Book #3 in The Great Marvel Series, which also included trips to Mars and moon.