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+Project Gutenberg's Boy Scouts in a Submarine, by G. Harvey Ralphson
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Boy Scouts in a Submarine
+
+Author: G. Harvey Ralphson
+
+Posting Date: October 14, 2012 [EBook #6108]
+Release Date: July, 2004
+First Posted: November 7, 2002
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOY SCOUTS IN A SUBMARINE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: But the Sea Lion was equal to the task set for her, and
+all the remainder of the night the chase went on.]
+
+
+BOY SCOUTS IN A SUBMARINE
+
+OR
+
+SEARCHING AN OCEAN FLOOR
+
+By G. HARVEY RALPHSON
+
+Author of
+BOY SCOUTS IN AN AIRSHIP
+BOY SCOUTS IN MEXICO
+BOY SCOUTS IN THE NORTHWEST
+BOY SCOUTS ON MOTOR CYCLES
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+
+I.     LOST ON AN OCEAN FLOOR
+II.    A CONFLICT OF AUTHORITY
+III.   "THE DANDY SUBMARINE"
+IV.    A WOLF ON THE TRAIL
+V.     TWO WOLVES IN A PEN
+VI.    NIGHT ON AN OCEAN FLOOR
+VII.   THE SECRET OF THE HOLD
+VIII.  ON GUARD UNDER THE SEA
+IX.    "JIMMIE'S FOOLISH--LIKE A FOX"
+X.     A CHASE ON THE OCEAN FLOOR
+XI.    JIMMIE GOES OUT HUNTING
+XII.   JACK MAKES A DISCOVERY
+XIII.  JIMMIE DEMANDS A MEDAL
+XIV.   A BOY SCOUT WITH A "PUNCH"
+XV.    A DESPERATE PRISONER
+XVI.   A BLUFF THAT DIDN'T WORK
+XVII.  BAD FOR THE SEA CREATURES
+XVIII. "MAKING A GOOD JOB OF IT"
+XIX.   ON THE EDGE OF DISASTER
+XX.    AN ENDING AND A BEGINNING
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+LOST ON AN OCEAN FLOOR
+
+
+
+The handsome clubroom of the Black Bear Patrol, Boy Scouts of America,
+in the City of New York, was ablaze with light, and as noisy as
+healthy, happy boys could well make it.
+
+"Over in the Chinese Sea!" shouted Jimmie McGraw from a table which
+stood by an open window overlooking the brilliantly illuminated city.
+"Do we go to the washee-washee land this time?"
+
+"Only to the tub!" Jack Bosworth put in.
+
+"What's the answer?" asked Frank Shaw, sitting down on the edge of the
+table and rumpling Jimmie's red hair with both hands.
+
+Jimmie broke away and, after bouncing a football off his tormentor's
+back, perched himself on the back of a great easy chair.
+
+"The answer?" Jack said, after peace had been in a measure restored,
+"I thought everybody knew that the Chinks wash their clothes in the
+Gulf of Tong King and hang them out to dry on the mountains of Kwang
+Tung! Are we going there, Ned?" he added, turning to Ned Nestor, who
+sat by a nearby window, looking out over the city. "Are we going to
+the gulf of Tong King?"
+
+Ned left his chair by the window and walked over to the table.
+
+"I hardly know," he said, taking a roll of maps and drawings from his
+breast pocket and spreading them out on the table. "When Captain Moore
+arrives we shall know more about it."
+
+"Who's Captain Moore?"
+
+This from Jimmie, still sitting on the back of the chair, elbows on
+knees, chin on palms.
+
+"Is he going to be the big noise?"
+
+This from Jack Bosworth, who was reaching out with his foot in a vain
+effort to tip Jimmie's chair and send him sprawling.
+
+"Is Captain Moore going with us?"
+
+This question was asked by Frank Shaw with a show of anxiety. When out
+on their trips the Boy Scouts did not relish having older men about to
+show authority.
+
+"One question at a time!" laughed Ned. "To answer the first query
+first, Captain Moore is the Secret Service officer who is to post us
+with regard to our mission to Chinese waters. Second he will, to use
+the slang adopted by Jack, be the 'Big Noise' as long as he is with
+us. Third, I don't know whether he is going on the journey with us or
+not."
+
+"Here's hopin' he don't!" cried Jimmie.
+
+"He'll want us to sit in baby chairs at tables and object to our
+takin' moonlight walks on the bottom of the sea! Is he covered all
+over with brass buttons, an' does he strut like this?"
+
+Jimmie bounded to the floor and walked up and down the room with a
+mock military stride which set his companions into roars of laughter.
+
+"I have never seen him," Ned replied. "He is coming here tonight, and
+you must judge for yourself what kind of a man he is."
+
+"Here?" asked Frank. "Here to this club-room? The boys won't do a
+thing to him if he puts on dog!"
+
+"Is he a submarine expert?" asked Frank.
+
+"Sure!" replied Jack. "He wouldn't be sent here to post us if he
+wasn't, would he?"
+
+"I don't believe he knows any more about a submarine, right now, than
+Ned does," Jimmie exclaimed. "Ned's been taking walks on the bottom of
+the Bay every mornin' for a week!"
+
+Jack and Frank turned to Ned with amazement showing on their faces.
+
+"Have you, Ned?" they asked, in chorus.
+
+"Have you been out training without letting us know about it?"
+
+"You bet he has!" Jimmie grinned. "I've been with him most of the time
+too. This Captain Moore, whoever he is, hain't got nothin' on Ned when
+it comes to makin' the wheels go round under the water."
+
+"Oh, you!" laughed Jack, pointing a finger at Jimmie. "You can't run a
+submarine, even if Ned can."
+
+"You wait an' see!" retorted the boy, indignantly. "You wait until we
+get into the Chinese sea, then you'll see what I know about boats that
+travel on ocean beds!"
+
+"Can he run a submarine, Ned?" asked Jack.
+
+"Well," was the laughing reply, "he did pretty well on the last trip.
+If some one hadn't interfered with his steering I reckon he would have
+tipped the Statue of Liberty into the Atlantic!"
+
+Jimmie winked when the others roared at him and then looked
+reproachfully at Ned.
+
+"You promised not to tell about that!" he said, accusingly.
+
+At that moment a knock came on the door of the clubroom, which was on
+the top of the palatial residence of Jack Bosworth's father, and a
+moment later a tall, military-looking man with a white, stern face,
+thin straight lips and cold blue eyes was shown in. He paused just
+outside the doorway, and the boy who did not catch the sneer on his
+chalky face as he looked superciliously over the group must have been
+very unobservant indeed.
+
+"Gee! He don't seem to like the looks of us!" Jimmie whispered to
+Frank Shaw, as Ned stepped forward to greet the newcomer.
+
+"Looks like a false alarm!" Frank replied, in an aside. "I hope we
+don't have to lug him along with us."
+
+"We won't need any cold storage arrangement on the submarine if he
+does go!" Jimmie went on. "That face of his would freeze hot steel."
+
+Captain Moore of the United States Secret Service remained standing
+near the door until Ned reached his side. Then he lifted a single
+glass, inserted it in his eye-orbit and stood gazing at the boy who
+had advanced to welcome him.
+
+Ned stepped back, coldly, and Jimmie nudged Jack delightedly when he
+saw the lad's face harden into bare civility.
+
+"Aw," began the visitor, "I'm looking for--ah!--Mr. Nestor!"
+
+"I'm Ned Nestor," said the boy, shortly.
+
+"Fawncy!"
+
+Ned pointed toward the table where the other boys were sitting and
+moved away.
+
+"Fawncy!" repeated the visitor.
+
+Ned made no reply. Instead, he marched to the table, drew a chair
+forward, and motioned Captain Moore to be seated.
+
+Before complying with this gracious invitation the Captain glanced
+around the apartment with the supercilious sneer he had shown on
+entering. The boys watched him with heavy frowns on their faces.
+
+"If we've got to take this along in the submarine," Jimmie whispered
+to Jack, "I hope the boat will drop down into a deep hole and stay
+there. Look at it!"
+
+"Hush!" whispered the other. "It has ears!"
+
+Those who have read the first and second volumes of this series will
+understand without being told here that it was a very fine clubroom
+upon which the frosty blue eyes of the Secret Service man looked.
+
+The walls were adorned with all manner of hunting and fishing
+paraphernalia, together with many trophies of the chase. Foils,
+gloves, ball bats, paddles and many other athletic aids were scattered
+about the large room.
+
+This clubroom, that of the Black Bear Patrol, as has been said, was
+the handsomest in New York, the members of the Patrol being sons of
+very wealthy men. The father of Frank Shaw was editor and owner of one
+of the important daily newspapers of the metropolis. Jack Bosworth's
+father was a prominent corporation lawyer, while Harry Stevens, a lad
+with a historical hobby, was a prominent automobile manufacturer.
+
+Ned Nestor, the boy just now trying to entertain the very formal
+Captain Moore, was a member of the Wolf Patrol, also of New York, as
+was also Jimmie McGraw, who had been a Bowery newsboy before joining
+fortunes with Ned.
+
+As is well known to most of our readers, Ned had, at one time and
+another, undertaken and successfully accomplished delicate and
+hazardous enterprises for the United States Government. Accompanied by
+Frank, Jack, Jimmie, Harry, and other members of the Boy Scout Patrols
+of the United States, he had visited Mexico, the Canal Zone, the
+Philippines, the Great Northwest, had navigated the Columbia river in
+a motor boat, and had covered the continent of South America in an
+aeroplane.
+
+He was now about to enter upon, perhaps, the most important mission
+ever assigned to him by the Secret Service department. The story of
+the quest upon which he was about to enter will best be told in the
+conversation which now took place in the clubroom of the Black Bear
+Patrol on this evening of the 11th of September.
+
+Presently Captain Moore transferred his gaze from the apartment to the
+boys gathered about the table and grouped about the place. As a matter
+of course all conversation in the room had ceased on the arrival of
+the Captain. While the boys who were not fortunate enough to be
+planning on the trip in the submarine were too courteous to openly
+stare at their guest of the moment, it may well be believed that his
+every look and word was closely noted.
+
+Concluding his rather rude observations, Captain Moore dropped his
+glass, shrugged his shoulders, which were heavily padded, and gave
+utterance to his feelings in the one word of comments which he had
+twice used before:
+
+"Fawncy!"
+
+Ned said not a word, but waited for the visitor to lead out in the
+talk. Captain Moore was in no haste to begin, but he finally broke the
+silence by asking:
+
+"You are Ned Nestor?"
+
+Ned bowed stiffly. He did not like the man he was supposed to do
+business with, and did not try to conceal the fact.
+
+"The Ned Nestor who undertook the Secret Service work in the Canal
+Zone and South America?"
+
+Ned nodded again.
+
+"Fawncy!"
+
+"You said that before?" broke in Jimmie, who was fuming under the idea
+that the Captain was not treating his chum with proper courtesy.
+
+The Captain brought his glass into use again and looked the boy over,
+much as he would have inspected a curio in a museum. Jimmie glared
+back, and the eyes of the two fenced for a moment before a twinkle of
+humor appeared in those of the Captain.
+
+"You are Jimmie, eh?" the latter demanded.
+
+Jimmie would have made some discourteous reply only for the tug Ned
+gave at his sleeve. As it was he only nodded.
+
+"Aw, I've heard of you!" the Captain said, then. "Quite remarkable--quite
+extraordinary!"
+
+"You came to deliver instructions regarding the submarine trip?" Ned
+asked, feeling revolt in the air of the room.
+
+Unless something was done, the boys, all resenting the manner of the
+Captain, would be beyond control, and then the Secret Service man
+would be likely to leave the place in anger.
+
+This, in turn, might endanger the adventure already planned and
+prepared for, for the chief of the department might see fit to adopt
+whatever recommendations Captain Moore made in the matter.
+
+The visitor might have sensed the hostility, for he hastened to take
+from a pocket a sheaf of papers and place them on the table. The next
+moment the boys all saw that they had not gained a correct estimate of
+the Secret Service man.
+
+The instant he began talking of the matter which had brought him to
+the clubroom his manner changed. He was no longer the drawling,
+supercilious naval officer in resplendent uniform. He was a
+keen-brained mechanical expert, questioning Ned regarding his knowledge
+of submarines.
+
+"You are fairly well up in the matter," the Captain said, going back
+to his old drawl, in a few moments. "I shall not object to your going
+on the Diver with me."
+
+The boys all gasped. So their worst fears were coming true! The
+Captain was indeed going with them! He would be the commander, and Ned
+would be obliged to work under his orders if he went at all!
+
+Would Ned do this? Would he submit to the authority of another while
+practically responsible for the results of the trip? Frank, Jack, and
+Jimmie saw their cherished plans go glimmering.
+
+Ned made no reply whatever. Instead he began asking questions
+concerning the Diver as the submarine the Captain had in view was
+named, and also about the object of the expedition.
+
+"A short time ago," the Captain said, "the Cutaria, a fast mail boat,
+went down in the Gulf of Tong King, carrying with her many passengers,
+the United States mails, and $10,000,000 in gold consigned to the
+Chinese Government. We are to search the ocean floor for the gold, and
+also for information sought by the Department of State."
+
+"Who got careless and dropped $10,000,000 on an ocean floor?" asked
+Jimmie.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+A CONFLICT OF AUTHORITY
+
+
+
+The Captain gazed at Jimmie for a moment without answering. Then he
+parted his thin lips and uttered the old, familiar word:
+
+"Fawncy!"
+
+"The Cutaria went down as the result of a collision?" Ned hastened to
+ask, observing that Jimmie was growing flushed and angry.
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "and it is asserted in the diplomatic circles of
+foreign governments that she was rammed by the orders of a power
+alleged to be friendly to our Government, and that our department of
+state does not dare remonstrate and ask for reparation for the reason
+that an investigation would reveal the fact that the $10,000,000 in
+gold which was lost was not really, as alleged, on its way from the
+sub-treasury in New York to the treasurer of the Chinese Empire."
+
+"But why should Uncle Sam be sending money over there?" asked Ned.
+
+"It is asserted that the money was sent at the command of men high in
+influence in Washington who understood that it was to be seized while
+in transit, after reaching Chinese soil, and used to assist the
+radical fomentation now going on in China."
+
+"An indirect way, a sly and underhand way, of assisting the
+revolutionary party in China to get control of the government, eh?"
+asked Ned.
+
+"Aw, that is what is claimed," was the reply.
+
+"And you are to have charge of the expedition?" asked Ned, quietly,
+his eyes fixed keenly on the face of the visitor.
+
+"Orders," was the slow reply.
+
+"And the Diver has been chosen as the boat?"
+
+"At my request, yes."
+
+"But," Ned then said, by way of protest, "I have made all my trial
+trips in the Sea Lion."
+
+"You will soon learn to help handle the Diver," was the lofty reply.
+
+"The Diver is no more like the Sea Lion than she is like the Ark," was
+Ned's reply. "It will take me another fortnight to learn to run her,
+I'm afraid."
+
+"You can take lessons from my son on the way over," was the
+unsatisfactory reply.
+
+"Why, the submarine is not going to sail across the Pacific," said the
+boy. "As I understand it, we are to take passage in a mail steamer at
+San Francisco and find the submarine in some harbor of the island of
+Hainan, after she arrives on the other side in a man-of-war which will
+be detailed to carry her over."
+
+"I have changed all that," said the Captain.
+
+Ned said no more on that phase of the matter at that time, but the
+boys knew that he had not given up his original intention of making
+the explorations in the Sea Lion, the submarine which the Secret
+Service chief at New York had placed at his disposal soon after his
+return from South America.
+
+"You will be permitted to take one of your--ah, Boy Scouts with you,"
+the Captain went on. "Baby bunch, the Boy Scouts, what?" he added,
+lifting his glass and surveying the boys grouped about in a manner
+which brought the hot blood to their cheeks.
+
+"I'm afraid you have never investigated the Boy--"
+
+Ned's conciliatory remark was cut short by Jimmie.
+
+"Will the Boy Scout who goes with him be allowed to breathe?" the boy
+asked.
+
+Captain Moore eyed the lad critically through his glass.
+
+"You needn't concern yourself about that, bub," he said, after an
+exasperating silence, "for you won't be the one to go, don't you know--not
+the Boy Scout to go."
+
+Jimmie was about to make some angry reply, but Frank seized him by the
+arm and marched him to a distant part of the large room.
+
+"You'll queer the whole thing!" Frank said.
+
+Jimmie shook himself free of the detaining hand and faced the Captain
+with flashing eyes.
+
+"I don't care if I do!" he said. "That thing is not going to make ugly
+remarks about the Boy Scouts without bein' called for it. He's an old
+false alarm, anyway. I'll bet he never heard a real gun go off!"
+
+Captain Moore heard the insulting words and arose.
+
+"If you'll, aw, come to my office tomorrow morning," he said, to Ned,
+"we'll discuss the, aw, mattah. I cawn't remain here and quarrel with
+boys who ought to be, aw, spanked and put, aw, to bed as soon as the
+sun goes down."
+
+Ned did not rise from his chair to escort the Captain to the door. His
+face was pale and there was a dangerous light in his eyes.
+
+"It won't be necessary for me to visit you in the morning," he said.
+
+The Captain fixed his glass.
+
+"Fawncy!" he exclaimed.
+
+"Anything you like!" Ned said.
+
+"Fawncy!" repeated the Captain.
+
+"As you please," Ned smiled. "Fawncy anything you like--anything
+agreeable, you know."
+
+"And why won't you come to my office in the morning?" asked the
+Captain, with a tightening of his thin lips.
+
+"I have decided to withdraw from the enterprise," was the quiet reply.
+"I'm out of it."
+
+The boys gathered about Ned with cheers and words of encouragement.
+
+"Go it, old boy!" cried one.
+
+"Don't let him bluff you!" cried another.
+
+"Dad will buy you a submarine!" Frank Shaw put in.
+
+The Captain stood in the middle of the group, gazing in perplexity
+from face to face.
+
+"My word!" he said, presently.
+
+"What about it?" asked Jimmie, edging closer.
+
+"Not going?" continued the Captain; "why?"
+
+"I've changed my mind," was the unsatisfactory reply.
+
+"But the submarine is waiting," urged the Captain.
+
+"I shall never go to the bottom in the Diver," Ned replied.
+
+"My word!"
+
+The Captain loitered, as if anxious to reopen the whole matter, but
+Ned turned his back and seemed inclined to consider the case closed.
+
+"And so we're not going?" asked Frank.
+
+"Rotten shame!" declared Jack.
+
+"So fades me happy, happy dream!" chanted Jimmie.
+
+The Captain stuck his glass in his eye and moved toward the door, an
+expression of satisfaction on his stern face.
+
+No one opened the door for him, and when he opened it for himself, he
+found a slender, middle-aged man with a pleasant face and brilliant
+eyes confronting him. His supercilious manner vanished instantly, and
+the military cap he had already donned came off with a jerk.
+
+"Admiral!" he exclaimed.
+
+The boys gathered about the doorway, all excitement. A real, live
+admiral in the Boy Scout clubroom! That was almost too much to expect.
+
+The admiral saluted and stepped inside the room.
+
+"Pardon me," he said, addressing Ned rather than the Captain, "but I
+must confess that I have been doing a discourteous thing. I have been
+listening at your door."
+
+"I sincerely hope you heard all that was said," the Captain ventured.
+"I have been shamefully insulted here."
+
+"Did you hear all that was said?" asked Nestor.
+
+The Admiral bowed.
+
+"I think so," he said.
+
+"I'm glad of that," Frank said, "for this Captain does not tell the
+truth."
+
+Captain Moore frowned in the direction of the speaker but said not a
+word.
+
+"When I reached the door," the Admiral said, "I heard Captain Moore
+saying that the trip was to be made in the Diver, and that he was to
+have charge."
+
+"That is the way I understand it," Captain Moore hastened to say.
+"And," continued the Admiral, "he said, further, that only one Boy
+Scout would be permitted to accompany Mr. Nestor."
+
+"That will be quite enough, judging from the samples we see here," the
+Captain observed, with a vicious glance toward Jimmie, whose face was
+now set in a broad grin.
+
+"Those are the statements made by Captain Moore," Ned said. "I refused
+to accept them."
+
+"Quite right!" said the Admiral.
+
+Captain Moore stuck his glass in his eye again and, saluting, turned
+toward the door.
+
+"Wait!" commanded the Admiral.
+
+The angry Captain turned back, a scowl on his face.
+
+"Mr. Nestor," the Admiral continued, "goes in charge of the
+expedition, and in the Sea Lion, the submarine he has been
+experimenting with. He will be permitted to take three of his
+companions with him. Any officer who goes in the Sea Lion will
+necessarily remain under Mr. Nestor's orders."
+
+"Then I ask for a transfer," scowled the Captain.
+
+"Granted," answered the Admiral. "You may go now."
+
+Captain Moore lost no time getting out of the door, and then the
+Admiral seated himself and motioned Ned to do likewise. The boys
+gathered about, but Ned asked them to proceed with their sports, and
+only the ex-newsboy remained at the table.
+
+"I'm sorry to say," the Admiral began, "that there are hints of the
+most despicable disloyalty and treachery in this matter. I don't like
+to cast suspicions on Captain Moore, who really is an expert submarine
+officer, but it appears to me that he went beyond his authority in
+changing the plans for the cruise."
+
+"He had no authority for changing from the Sea Lion to the Diver?"
+asked Ned.
+
+"Not the slightest."
+
+"Or for changing from a steamer ride to China to a long journey on the
+submarine?"
+
+"Not at all."
+
+"But he was sent here by the Secret Service department to instruct
+me," Ned said.
+
+"Exactly, and that is all he was expected to do in the case. I don't
+understand his conduct."
+
+Jimmie, who had been looking over an afternoon newspaper which lay on
+the table, now broke into the conversation.
+
+"Just look here," he said. "This tells why Captain Moore butted into
+the game wrong. Just read that."
+
+The Admiral took the newspaper into his hand and read, aloud:
+
+"The Diver, the famous submarine boat invented by Arthur Moore, the
+talented son of Captain Henry Moore, of the United States navy, is
+soon to be put in commission for a most extraordinary voyage. Under
+the command of Captain Moore, who will be accompanied by the inventor,
+his son, the Diver will make the trip from San Francisco to China,
+almost entirely under water. It is understood that the submarine goes
+on secret service for the Government."
+
+"There you are!" cried Jimmie.
+
+"I rather think that does explain a lot," laughed Ned.
+
+"The Diver," said the Admiral, thoughtfully, "has not yet been
+accepted by the Government, and I see trouble ahead for the Sea Lion."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+"THE DANDY SUBMARINE"
+
+
+
+The Sea Lion was a United States submarine, yet she was not
+constructed along the usual naval lines. It was said of her that she
+looked more like a pleasure yacht built for under-surface work than
+anything else.
+
+It is not the purpose of the writer to enter into a minute description
+of the craft. She was provided with a gasoline engine and an electric
+motor. She was not very roomy, but her appointments were very handsome
+and costly.
+
+There were machines for manufacturing pure air, as is common with all
+submarines of her class, and the apparatus for the production of
+electricity was modern and efficient. Every compartment could be
+closed against every other chamber in case of damage to the shell.
+
+The pumps designed to expel the water taken into the hold for the
+purpose of bringing the craft to the bottom were powerful, so that she
+seemed to sink and rise as easily as does a bird on the wing. At top
+speed she would make about twenty miles an hour.
+
+On a trial trip taken by Ned on the day before the visit of Captain
+Moore to the Black Bear clubroom, the double doors and closet which
+enabled one to leave or enter the boat while under water had been
+thoroughly tested and found to work perfectly.
+
+The diving suits--which had been manufactured to fit Ned and Frank,
+Jack and Jimmie--were also found to be in perfect condition.
+
+On the whole, the Sea Lion and her appurtenances were in as perfect
+condition as science and experience could make them on the day the
+four boys, accompanied by a naval officer, left the train at Oakland
+and proceeded to the navy yard up the bay.
+
+By the middle of the afternoon the boys were on board, receiving their
+final instructions from Lieutenant Scott, who had arranged for the
+transportation of the Sea Lion from New York and attended to all other
+details connected with the trip.
+
+After a long talk regarding the perils to be encountered, Lieutenant
+Scott drew forth a map of peculiar appearance and laid it on the table
+in the chamber which was to serve as a general living room.
+
+"I have retained possession of this map until the last moment," the
+officer said, "because it is most important that no eyes but those of
+the occupants of the Sea Lion should rest upon it. It shows where the
+lost vessel went down, shows the drift there, the depths, and various
+other details of great moment.
+
+"The Cutaria, as you doubtless know, went down off the Taya Islands, a
+small group to the east of the large island of Hainan, which, in turn,
+is off the coast of China, being separated, if that is a good word to
+use in this connection, from the eastern coast by the Gulf of Tong
+King.
+
+"Immediately following the sinking of the ship divers were sent down.
+They found the lost ship resting easily in about sixty feet of water.
+A few days later, however, when other divers went down, the wreck was
+not at the place described by the first operators.
+
+"There are drift currents there, but it is remarkable that so heavy a
+wreck should have been shifted so suddenly. There are no indications
+that the vessel has been buried in the sands of the bottom. Your duty
+is to search the ocean floor then and locate the wreck. Having done
+this you are to secure the treasure, if possible. In case you cannot
+do this, you are to steam to Hongkong and report what assistance you
+require.
+
+"And remember this: You are not to destroy or mislay any documents you
+may find in the gold room. You are not to reveal the purpose of your
+mission at any port you may touch on the way out, or at any port you
+may visit for the purpose of reporting progress.
+
+"If at any time you have reason to believe that another submarine is
+working or loitering about in the vicinity of the wreck, you are to
+report the fact without delay and a man-of-war will be sent to you."
+
+"And that means--"
+
+Ned did not complete the sentence, for the officer hastened to explain
+the meaning of the warning.
+
+"The Diver," he said, "is somewhere on this coast."
+
+Ned gave a quick start of surprise.
+
+"I knew it!" shouted Jimmie. "I just knew we were in for somethin' of
+the kind! There'll be doin's."
+
+"I reckon we can take care of the Diver," said Frank, "and Mr. Arthur
+Moore, son of Captain Henry Moore, with it."
+
+"Don't underestimate the Diver," warned Lieutenant Scott. "She is a
+peach of a submarine, and Mr. Arthur Moore knows how to operate her.
+She is almost the latest thing in submarines."
+
+"Why didn't the Government buy her, then?" demanded Jack.
+
+"Principally because she was withdrawn from the market," was the
+reply.
+
+"I begin to understand," Ned said.
+
+"Then that son of Captain Moore is after the gold?" asked Jack.
+
+"That is what we suspect."
+
+"Well," Frank said, then, "it wouldn't be any fun to go after the old
+wreck if all was clear sailing."
+
+"Right you are!" cried Jimmie.
+
+"But how did they get the Diver here so quickly?" asked Ned.
+
+"The same way I got the Sea Lion here," was the Lieutenant's reply.
+"They engaged a special train, took the boat to pieces as far as
+practicable and sent her over."
+
+"But she is something of a whale as compared with the little Sea
+Lion," urged Ned. "It was easy enough to get our boat across the
+continent."
+
+"Not quite so easy as you think," laughed the officer. "Still," he
+added, "here she is, all ready for the trip. There are plenty of
+provisions, and everything is in fine working order. You, Mr. Nestor,
+took a hand in taking the submarine to pieces, and you ought to know
+all about her."
+
+"I think I do," was the reply, "still, I should have liked the chance
+of putting her together again."
+
+"It is all right as it is," was the reply. "You doubtless had a good
+time in New York while the work was being done here. When I left for
+the big city to ride over with you she was nearly ready, and now, on
+our arrival, she is, as you see, right and fit."
+
+"But I thought we were to cross the Pacific in a steamer and pick up
+the Sea Lion over there," Ned observed.
+
+"Right you are," the Lieutenant answered, "but the Sea Lion is to be
+taken over by the big steamer, too."
+
+"Then they've got to take her to pieces again," wailed Jimmie, "and it
+will be weeks before we get started."
+
+"You are wrong there," the officer replied. "The Sea Lion will be
+picked up by something like a floating dock and towed over. How does
+that strike you?"
+
+"Out of water?" asked Frank.
+
+"Of course. Novel way of carrying a submarine, eh?"
+
+"I should say so."
+
+"Over there," the Lieutenant went on, "there would be no facilities
+for assembling the parts. That is why the work was done here."
+
+"Of course," laughed Frank.
+
+"And this floating dry dock," continued the officer, "will be roofed
+over and its contents kept secret. A short distance from the Taya
+Islands, she will be shucked of her shell and take to the water. No
+one will know what her mission is."
+
+"It seems to me that everything is pretty cleverly planned," Ned
+remarked. "I hope all my plans will come together as nicely as the
+plans of the Government have."
+
+"That will be a big tow for a steamer," Jimmie suggested.
+
+"Yes, it is awkward, but there seemed to be no other way. The Diver
+will be far in the rear and you take water off the Taya Islands."
+
+"And on the way over," Ned said, "I can live in the Sea Lion and
+continue my studies of the machinery."
+
+"That is the idea," said the Lieutenant.
+
+"When are we to be picked up?" asked Jack.
+
+The Lieutenant lifted a hand for silence.
+
+From outside, seemingly from underneath the keel of the Sea Lion, came
+a grating sound, which was followed by a slight, though steady,
+lifting of the vessel.
+
+"Gee!" cried Jimmie, springing to his feet. "I guess we're up against
+an earthquake!"
+
+The boys were all moving about now, but Lieutenant Scott remained in
+his chair, a smile on his face.
+
+The Sea Lion rose steadily, and there was a slight tip to port. Ned
+sat down with a shamed look on his face.
+
+"I should have known," he said.
+
+"Say," Jack exclaimed, "was the submarine put together on the float
+that is going to carry her across?"
+
+"Of course she was," laughed the Lieutenant. "The pieces brought on
+from New York were assembled on the float. Some of the larger pieces,
+the ones most difficult to handle, were made here from patterns sent
+on from the east. Then, when all was ready, the float was dropped out
+of sight so the submarine would lie on the surface, as we found her."
+
+"And now they're lifting the float?" asked Jimmie.
+
+"Exactly," was the reply. "Suppose you go outside, on the conning
+tower, and look about."
+
+"You bet," cried Jack, and then there was a rush for the stairway, or
+half-ladder, rather, leading to the tower.
+
+The Sea Lion was still lifting, though where the power came from no
+one could determine. While Ned studied over the problem Lieutenant
+Scott laid a hand on his shoulder.
+
+"You want to know what makes the wheels go round?" laughed the
+officer. "Well, I'll tell you. The bottom of the float forms a tank.
+Now do you see?"
+
+"And there's a large hose laid from the tank to the shore, and the
+water is being pumped out! I see."
+
+"That's it," replied the Lieutenant. "Now that we are getting up high
+and dry, you boys can step down on the floor of the float and look
+about. I don't think there was ever a contrivance exactly like this.
+Go and look it over."
+
+Night was falling, and a chill October wind was blowing in from the
+Pacific. There were banks of clouds, too, and all signs portended
+rain. It would be a dismal night.
+
+Leaving Lieutenant Scott in the conning tower, the boys all clambered
+down to the floor of the float to examine the blockings which kept the
+submarine on a level keel. They were gone only a short time, but when
+they climbed up the rope ladder to the conning tower again the light
+was dim, and a slow, cold rain was falling. The Lieutenant was not on
+the conning tower, and Ned at once descended to the general living
+room of the submarine. Before he reached the middle of the stairs the
+lights, which had been burning brightly a moment before, suddenly went
+out, and the interior of the submarine yawned under his feet like a
+deep, impenetrable pit.
+
+Fearful that something was amiss, Ned dropped down and reached for his
+electric searchlight, which he had left on a shelf not far from the
+stairs. Something passed him in the darkness and he called out to the
+Lieutenant, but there was no answer. Then, out of the darkness above,
+came a mingled chorus of anger and alarm.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+A WOLF ON THE TRAIL
+
+
+
+"That isn't Ned!" cried Jack's voice, in a moment.
+
+"Don't let him get away! He's been up to some mischief!"
+
+That was Frank Shaw's voice.
+
+"Soak him!"
+
+That could be no one but Jimmie!
+
+Ned, groping about in the darkness, heard the voices faintly. He
+seemed to be submerged in a sweep of pounding waves, the steady
+beating of which shut out all individual sounds.
+
+He knew that he staggered and stumbled as he walked. Moving across the
+floor his feet came in contact with some soft obstruction lying on the
+rug and he fell down.
+
+There was a strange, choking odor in the place, and he groped on his
+hands and knees in the direction of the shelf where his searchlight
+had been left. His senses reeled, and for an instant he lay flat on
+the floor.
+
+Then he heard the boys clambering down the stairs from the conning
+tower and called out, feebly, yet with sufficient strength to make
+himself heard above the sound of shuffling feet.
+
+"Go back!" he cried. "Don't come in here! Leave the hatch open, and
+let in air. Go back!"
+
+Jimmie recognized a note of alarm, of suffering, in the voice of his
+chum and dropped headlong into the black pit of the submarine. Ned
+heard him snap the catch of a searchlight, and then, dimly, heard his
+voice:
+
+"Gee!" the voice said. "What's comin' off here?"
+
+The round face of the electric searchlight showed at the end of a
+cylindrical shaft of light which rested on Ned's face, but the boy did
+not realize what was going on until he felt a gust of wind and a
+drizzle of rain on his forehead.
+
+Then he opened his eyes to find himself on the conning tower of the
+submarine, with the boys gathered about him, anxiety showing in their
+speech and manner. It was too dark for him to see their faces.
+
+"You're all right now," Jimmie said. "What got you down there?"
+
+Then Ned remembered the sudden extinction of the lights as he moved
+down the stairs, the stifling, choking odor below, and the deadly grip
+of suffocation which had brought him to the floor.
+
+"Go back into the boat," he said, gaining strength every moment. "I am
+anxious about Lieutenant Scott."
+
+"We've just come from there," Frank said. "We've done all that can be
+done for him."
+
+"What do you mean by that?" demanded Ned, moving toward the hatch
+which sealed the submarine.
+
+"The poison which keeled you over got him!" Jack said.
+
+"Do you mean that he's dead?" asked Ned, a shiver running through his
+body as he spoke.
+
+"I'm afraid so," was the reply. "We got you out just in time. You
+would have perished in a moment more."
+
+"Dead!" said Ned. "Lieutenant Scott dead! And he was so gay and so
+full of life a few moments ago!"
+
+Jack, who had left the little group a moment before, now returned.
+
+"The poison seems to have evaporated from the interior," he said, "so
+we may as well go below. I'll go ahead and turn on the lights." The
+body of the naval officer lay in a huddle at the foot of the stairs
+leading to the conning tower, just far enough to the rear so that the
+free passage was not obstructed. With all the lights turned on and
+every aperture which might transmit a ray to the world outside closed,
+the boys, after placing the body on a couch, began a close examination
+of the boat.
+
+There were no wounds on the body, so it seemed that he had died from
+suffocation. There was still a sickening odor in the boat, but the
+constant manufacture of fresh air was gradually doing away with this.
+
+The door to the room where the dynamos and the gasoline engine were
+situated was found wide open, and Ned instructed the boys to leave it
+so and leave everything untouched.
+
+"The first thing to do," he said, "is to discover any clues the
+assassin may have left here. It is an old theory that no person,
+however careful he or she may be, can enter and leave a room without
+leaving behind some evidence of his or her presence there. We'll soon
+know if this is true in this case."
+
+"There was some one in here, all right," Jimmie said. "He passed us on
+the conning tower, skipping like to break the speed limit for the
+city. I tried to trip him as he passed me, an' got this."
+
+The lad turned a bruised face toward his companions. In the confusion
+no one had observed the cut on his cheek.
+
+"You did get something!" Jack exclaimed. "Why didn't you say something
+about it?"
+
+"Nothin' doin'!" answered the boy. "Only a scratch!"
+
+Notwithstanding the boy's claim that the wound was of small
+importance, Ned insisted on its being dressed at once.
+
+"Now," Ned said, after the cut had been properly cared for, "what sort
+of a man was it that passed you boys on the conning tower? The
+circular platform is so small that he must have crowded you pretty
+closely when he stepped out."
+
+"He did," Jimmie answered. "I thought it was you, and stepped aside to
+make room for him."
+
+"And then?"
+
+"I had a feeling that it wasn't you. Then, he was makin' for the wharf
+so fast that I thought it would do no harm to have a look at him, and
+so called out."
+
+"Then's when you got the slash across the cheek?"
+
+"Yes; he cut me then."
+
+"What about the size of the fellow?" asked Ned.
+
+"Oh, I should think he was slender and light, the way he bounded off
+the platform and made for the wharf."
+
+"Do you think he went there to kill Lieutenant Scott?" asked Jack, a
+moment later.
+
+"It is more probable that he came here to put the Sea Lion out of
+commission," Frank replied.
+
+"I'll bet well find somethin' all busted up!" Jimmie predicted.
+
+"Ned can soon determine that," Jack remarked.
+
+"Yes," Ned went on, "but the first thing to do is to see if this
+murderer left any visiting cards here. After that, we must notify the
+Coroner and have the body removed."
+
+Ned went into the dynamo room and looked about.
+
+"Here is where any enemy would have to do his work," he said, "so we
+must look for clues here. Keep your hands off the machinery, for he
+may have left finger marks somewhere."
+
+Ned searched long and carefully without reward. Finally he turned to
+the waiting boys.
+
+"There's quite a lot of waste lying around," he said. "Secure every
+fiber of it and examine it under the microscope. You would better
+attend to that, Frank, as you are familiar with the instrument. If you
+discover anything foreign to a place like this, let me know."
+
+While Ned continued his search about the interior of the submarine,
+Frank busied himself inspecting the bits of waste the other boys
+brought to him. At last an exclamation of astonishment brought Ned to
+his side.
+
+"There's something funny about this," Frank said, as Ned bent over his
+shoulder. "That stuff is not oil, and I'd like to know how it got in
+here."
+
+"What does it look like?" asked Ned.
+
+"I can't say," was the hesitating reply.
+
+Ned took the microscope and looked at the object to which his
+attention had been called.
+
+"Rubber!" he said, in a moment.
+
+"Rubber!" repeated Frank. "How could rubber be in the waste in that
+shape?"
+
+"All the same," Ned replied, "this is some rubber composition, and it
+has been wiped into the waste. Now, what could any person want with
+rubber here?"
+
+"It is used quite a lot around electric apparatus," suggested Frank
+Shaw.
+
+"But not in this form," Ned replied.
+
+Then, remembering certain smooth blurs on the polished machinery he
+had recently examined, he took the microscope and made another
+examination of the spots. Presently he called Frank to his side.
+
+"Look through the glass," he said, handing the instrument to Frank,
+"and tell me what you see."
+
+"Rubber!" cried the boy, after a short examination. "There are a few
+traces here of the same rubber composition I found on the waste. Can
+you tell me what it means?"
+
+"Quite simple," Ned replied, as the boys gathered about him. "The use
+of rubber composition by men engaged in nefarious undertakings dates
+back to the time of the utilization of the whorls and lines of the
+human fingers as aids in the detection of crime."
+
+"I guess I know what you are going to say," cried Frank.
+
+"When the thumb- and finger-print experts got busy with their
+photographs and their enlarged reproductions, the criminals began
+studying on methods to offset this dangerous aid to detective work."
+
+"I knew it," cried Frank.
+
+"And so," Ned went on, "they conceived the idea of filling the lines
+on the fingers and hands and making them perfectly smooth. This is
+rubber paint," he went on. "The man who was hidden in here when we
+came in did not care to leave any finger marks behind him."
+
+"But he did leave smooth blurs on the machines where his fingers
+touched them!" said Jack.
+
+"Certainly, and so pointed out the location of his efforts. Still, I
+do not think he meditated disabling the Sea Lion. It is more probable
+that he believed Lieutenant Scott to be the expert in charge of the
+boat and sought to kill or disable him."
+
+"See where the chump wiped his hands on waste," Jimmie cried.
+
+Ned now made a still closer inspection of the room and was rewarded
+for his thoroughness by discovering a tiny pool of the rubber
+composition on the floor, close to the giant iron frame of the big
+dynamo. Looking at the pool through his glass he discovered bits of
+wool mixed with it. He put up his glass with a smile.
+
+"We ought to be able to find this fellow now," he said, "if we get
+busy before he has time to change his clothes."
+
+"Got him, have you?" asked Jack.
+
+"I think I could pick him out of a thousand provided he is captured in
+the clothes he wore while here. His hand trembled while he was putting
+the rubber composition on his fingers and some of it dropped on his
+clothing and dripped off to the floor.
+
+"There are shreds of blue wool in this composition on the floor--so
+you see he wore a blue woolen garment--probably a coat or pair of
+trousers. And, see here, the fellow lost all caution when he bounded
+out of the submarine, after extinguishing the lights, on my entrance.
+
+"He had already wiped the rubber off his hands on the waste, and so
+his finger marks showed on the steel railing of the staircase. I'll
+just take a photo of them."
+
+When this was accomplished, Ned and Jimmie drew the Sea Lion's boat to
+the edge of the float and launched it. Then, leaving Frank and Jack in
+charge of the submarine, with instructions to keep a close watch for
+suspicious characters, they turned the prow of the rowboat toward
+South Vallejo. The distance to the wharf was not great. In fact, the
+intruder seemed to have cleared it in a minute, either in a boat,
+which was improbable, or by swimming.
+
+The Sea Lion lay off the United States Navy Yard, on the west of Mare
+Island, in the straits of the same name. The nearest landing place on
+the mainland, therefore, was South Vallejo.
+
+It was after 8 o'clock when the boys reached the main street of the
+town and encountered a policeman in uniform. Ned at once asked for the
+office of the Coroner of Salano County.
+
+"What's doing?" asked the policeman.
+
+"I have business with him," Ned replied, not caring to create a
+sensation by reciting there in the street the details of what had
+taken place.
+
+"Well," replied the policeman, "if you're so mighty close-mouthed
+regarding your business with the Coroner, you may find him yourself."
+
+"All right," Ned replied. "I'll go to police headquarters. Perhaps the
+night desk man won't be so fresh."
+
+"Say," growled the policeman, "you needn't get gay. I know my duty.
+So, if you don't mind, I'll take you to headquarters, saving you the
+trouble of asking for the place."
+
+"I refuse to go with you," Ned replied.
+
+"Oh, well," announced the other, "I'll take you along, just the same.
+I'm used to kids of your stamp. You're both under arrest, so you'd
+better come along without making any trouble."
+
+As he spoke the policeman seized both boys roughly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+TWO WOLVES IN A PEN
+
+
+
+"Take it quietly," Ned advised Jimmie, as the little fellow began
+struggling with the arm of the law. "We'll come out on top in the end,
+I take it."
+
+"I'd like to knock the head off this fool cop!" Jimmie cried. "What
+right has he to go an' arrest us?"
+
+"If it will take any load off your mind," the policeman replied, as
+the three waited on a corner for a patrol wagon, "I'll tell you what
+right I had to arrest you. There's a report at the office that a man
+who went into that submarine of yours never came out again."
+
+"When was this report sent in?" asked Ned.
+
+"Just a few moments ago," was the reply. "All the officers in the city
+are either watching for you or heading toward the boat. What have you
+done with Lieutenant Scott?"
+
+"Who sent in the report?" asked Ned.
+
+"I don't know his name, but the chief does. He says he went to the
+water front, on the island side, with the Lieutenant, that the
+Lieutenant went on board the Sea Lion with you and the others, and
+that he has not been seen since. What about it? Better confess and get
+an easy sentence."
+
+"The officers who are on their way to the submarine will find out why
+the Lieutenant never came out," Ned said. "But about this man who made
+the report. Why was he waiting for Scott to leave the boat?"
+
+"Said he had an understanding with him that he was to watch outside,
+as Scott did not exactly trust you New York kids. A little while ago
+he heard a commotion and calls for help on board, so he came up to
+report."
+
+"Thank you for the information," Ned said. "Now, you can't get us to
+headquarters any too quickly."
+
+"Where is Scott?" asked the officer.
+
+"Dead," was the reply.
+
+"Holy smoke!" cried the policeman. "Then I've arrested a couple of
+murderers!"
+
+"If you'll hurry us to headquarters," Ned replied, "and the man who
+made this report is still there, I'll help you to arrest a real
+murderer. Here comes the wagon."
+
+"Drive fast," ordered the policeman as the three entered the patrol
+wagon and the driver turned to inspect the boys. "I've got the fellows
+we're after," he added.
+
+"Great luck!" the driver replied. "There'll be a big reward."
+
+"Oh, I guess I know my business!" said the policeman, with a boastful
+chuckle.
+
+The station was soon reached, and, without the least ceremony, the
+boys were pushed along to the cell block and locked up. Ned's demand
+that they be taken before the chief was not heeded.
+
+"This is fine!" Jimmie said, from the next cell to the one occupied by
+Ned. "I like this."
+
+Before Ned could reply, the chief of police made his appearance in the
+corridor outside, a great ring of keys in one hand. He unlocked the
+cell doors without speaking a word and motioned the boys out into the
+corridor.
+
+Then, still without speaking, he pointed the way to his private
+office, ushered the lads in, closed and locked the door.
+
+"Well?" he said, then.
+
+"Will you send for the Coroner?" asked Ned.
+
+"So Scott is dead?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Why did you kill him?"
+
+Before opening his mouth to reply, Ned caught sight of a dark stain on
+the arm of the chair in which he was seated.
+
+"Have you a microscope handy?" he asked.
+
+The chief opened his eyes in amazement.
+
+The question, coming at that time, seemed almost the raving of a mad
+man. This is the view the chief took of it, and he decided to
+conciliate the maniac.
+
+"What do you want of a microscope?" he asked.
+
+"I want to see if this spot is caused by the application of a certain
+rubber composition, and if there are shreds of blue wool mixed with
+it."
+
+"I guess," the chief said, "that your proper place is the foolish
+house."
+
+"While your men are bringing the microscope," Ned went on, coolly, "I
+want to ask you a few questions."
+
+"Go ahead," laughed the chief, wondering what sort of insanity this
+was.
+
+"Who sat in this chair last?" asked Ned.
+
+"Why, the last visitor, of course."
+
+"Can you now recall his name?"
+
+"Curtis."
+
+"How was he dressed?"
+
+"In a blue suit."
+
+"Where is he now?"
+
+"I don't know. He said he would return as soon as the officers came
+back from the submarine."
+
+"Yes he will!" Jimmie broke in.
+
+"Does he belong here?" asked Ned.
+
+The chief pointed to the west.
+
+"Over in the navy yard," he said.
+
+"So the blue suit he wore was a naval uniform?"
+
+"Exactly."
+
+The chief touched a bell on his desk and a policeman opened the door
+at the back of the room, connecting with the sergeant's room, and
+looked in.
+
+"Get a microscope," the chief ordered, "and keep quiet about what is
+going on in here."
+
+The sergeant nodded and went out.
+
+"What did you say about that smear on the arm of the chair?" asked the
+chief, then.
+
+He was beginning to understand that there was something besides mental
+trouble at the bottom of Ned's inquiries.
+
+"I think," was the reply, "that an inspection of the spot will reveal
+a rubber composition used principally by the thieves of Paris as a
+paint to prevent palm and finger lines and whorls showing on things
+they take hold of."
+
+The chief looked at the spot critically.
+
+"Also, shreds from a blue uniform," Ned continued.
+
+"We shall see," replied the chief.
+
+The microscope was soon brought in, and then a close examination of
+the spot on the arm of the chair was made by the chief.
+
+"What do you find?" asked Ned.
+
+"I really can't say what it is," was the reply.
+
+Ned took from a pocket a bit of the waste he had brought from the
+dynamo room of the submarine.
+
+"Look at this," he said, "and see if the material in it appears to be
+the same as that on the chair. I mean, of course, the smudge on it."
+
+The chief turned his instrument on the waste.
+
+"It is the same," he declared, in a moment, "and I'd like to know
+where you got it."
+
+"Do you find blue threads--well, not threads, exactly, but bits of
+fuzz--in the waste, too?"
+
+"Yes, but the trace is faint."
+
+"Well," Ned said, "the man who killed Lieutenant Scott is the man who
+gave you the information you speak of. He sat in this chair not long
+ago. I would advise a search for him."
+
+"But he agreed to come back." "Of course he never will," Ned said.
+"Now, here is another point. You are going to have the Sea Lion
+searched?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, your men will find the body of Lieutenant Scott lying on a
+couch there. In that case, they will doubtless arrest the two boys I
+left on watch there?"
+
+"Certainly."
+
+"And that will give the man who left this blur on the arm of this
+chair not long ago a chance to make off with the boat. I reckon you'll
+do well to look after that part of the case, for the submarine belongs
+to the Secret Service department of the Government, and Uncle Sam has
+use for it just at this time."
+
+"The Secret Service department?" repeated the chief. "He said she was
+a scout boat Lieutenant Scott was going to coast south with."
+
+"Did he say why he suspected that Lieutenant Scott was in danger?"
+asked Ned.
+
+"He said you boys were suspicious characters who claimed to be able to
+operate a submarine, and that Scott was inclined to try you out."
+
+Ned took a long envelope from a pocket of his coat and passed it,
+unopened, to the chief.
+
+"Read the letter inside," he said, "and then get me to the Sea Lion as
+quickly as possible."
+
+The chief opened the envelope and read the single sheet of typewritten
+paper it held.
+
+"From the Secretary of the Navy!" he exclaimed.
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"I don't need to ask if you are the Ned Nestor mentioned in the
+letter, then. I saw a picture of you in a San Francisco newspaper, not
+long ago, and now recognize you as the boy referred to."
+
+"Then take us to the submarine," urged Ned.
+
+"It won't do no good to take us there after that cheap skate has
+geezled the boat," Jimmie cut in.
+
+"And you are Jimmie," the chief went on. "I saw your picture, too.
+Well, this is quite a surprise for me," the chief added.
+
+"You'll get a greater surprise if you let that murderer get off with
+the Sea Lion," Jimmie remarked.
+
+The chief called the sergeant again and in a moment all was confusion
+in the police station. A wagon was called, and the chief and his
+ex-prisoners were soon on their way to the wharf, followed by the eyes
+of the policemen left behind.
+
+"That's Ned Nestor, of New York," the boys heard one of the men on the
+iron steps in front saying as they passed, "and the little fellow is
+Jimmie McGraw. Great hit Preston made arresting them!"
+
+But the minds of the boys were too full of anxiety regarding the fate
+of Scott and the Sea Lion to pay much attention to the words of
+flattery they overheard. If the unknown murderer succeeded in securing
+the arrest of Jack and Frank and getting away in the submarine, the
+whole trip would have to be abandoned, at least for the present.
+
+Besides, Ned had no idea of going back to New York and reporting that
+he had been robbed of his boat under the very guns of the Mare Island
+Navy Yard. He urged the driver to make greater speed, and in a short
+time the wharf was in sight.
+
+Half a dozen policemen were gathered about the end nearest the float
+which upheld the Sea Lion, and the figure of another showed at the top
+of the conning tower. As the police wagon dashed up to the wharf
+another rig came up on a run and halted close at the side of it.
+
+"Hello," called the chief, recognizing a man on the seat, "how did you
+manage to get here so soon?"
+
+"Some one 'phoned for me," was the hurried reply. "Where is the dead
+man?"
+
+"In the submarine," answered an officer who had drawn closer to the
+official's buggy.
+
+Without another word the newcomer leaped out and was conveyed to the
+Sea Lion in the rowboat Ned had left tied to the wharf.
+
+"That's the Coroner," the chief said, in explanation. "He'll soon get
+at the bottom of this."
+
+"Suppose we get aboard the Sea Lion," suggested Ned.
+
+"Of course," said the chief, "you'll remain here a few days and assist
+in the capture of this fellow?"
+
+"I shall have to ask for instructions from Washington," was the reply.
+"I really ought to get away on the steamer which sails in the
+morning."
+
+When the three, using a boat an officer found nearby, reached the main
+cabin of the Sea Lion they found Jack and Frank sitting by the table,
+handcuffed, repeating over and over again their individual and
+collective opinion of the police of Vallejo. Jimmie seemed to take
+great delight in taunting them.
+
+"Black Bears in chains!" he roared.
+
+"Huh, where have you Wolves been?" demanded Jack. "These cops said
+they had you in a pen!"
+
+While the Coroner was making his examination the chief ordered the
+irons removed from the wrists of the boys. For a time the Coroner
+appeared to be puzzled. He lifted the hands of the apparently dead man
+and dropped them again. Then he held a pocket mirror before his lips.
+
+"Look here," he said, presently, "I don't believe this man is dead."
+
+"I hope you are right," Ned said, hopefully. "Still, the poison I got
+near killed me, while he must have gotten much more."
+
+There was a short silence, during which the Coroner held his watch.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+NIGHT ON AN OCEAN FLOOR
+
+
+
+"Over there, straight to the west," Ned said, pointing from the
+conning tower of the submarine, "is the coast of China, not far from
+seventy-five miles away."
+
+"And there, to the north," Frank said, "lie the Taya Islands. The big
+fellow beyond is Hainan."
+
+The sun was going down into the Gulf of Tong King like a ball of red
+fire, and the night was far from cool.
+
+Jimmie declared he could hear the water hiss as the sun dipped its red
+rim under the waves. The boy now stood by Ned's side, looking over the
+wonderful scene.
+
+"We've been somewhere near here before," he said. "You remember the
+time we came over to this side of the world and found a key to a
+treaty box? Well, we wasn't far from this spot at one time."
+
+"Right you are," Frank replied. "Only we hope to find something more
+important than a key now. I hope they've had use for a cell key in
+connection with that mix-up at Mare Island Navy Yard."
+
+"It was rotten to let that fellow get away!" Jimmie declared. "I just
+knew they would."
+
+"We were all so astonished at the recovery of Lieutenant Scott," Ned
+observed, "that we overlooked a few things we ought to have kept in
+mind. Wasn't it glorious! Think of Scott coming out of it all right at
+last!"
+
+"Well, he said he was a fixture on the coast until he found the man
+who came so near killing him," Frank said, in a moment, "and I hope
+he'll make good."
+
+"Huh," Jimmie interrupted, "if you think that fellow is on the Pacific
+coast yet, you've got another think comin'. You remember the Diver
+left San Francisco just about the time we did."
+
+"What has that to do with it?"
+
+"Most nothin' at all, only he sailed in her."
+
+"You're a wise little man!"
+
+"And, what's more, we'll see the Diver come pluggin' along here before
+we get this job done," Jimmie went on. "That Captain Moore and his son
+are out for blood."
+
+"But the Diver will require at least a couple of months to get here,"
+urged Frank. "We can get away before that time."
+
+"You don't know what the Moores will do," Ned said. "I rather agree
+with Jimmie, that we shall see something of the Diver before we leave
+this part of the world."
+
+"I hope so," Frank said.
+
+"Well, who's for the bottom of the sea?" demanded Jimmie. "I want to
+see what's down there before the Bogy Man gets me."
+
+"I don't mind going down," Ned said. "Come on, we'll close the top
+hatch and drop to the bottom, then, if conditions are right, we'll
+enter the water closet, put on the diving suits, and take a walk on
+the floor of the big water."
+
+"Suppose we all go," suggested Frank.
+
+"Perhaps it may be well for two to remain aboard in order to help the
+others out, if necessary," Ned observed.
+
+"All right," Frank said. "Catch a fish by the tail and bring him in
+for supper."
+
+"To-morrow," Jimmie said, "you can take a run on the riparian rights
+an' chase whales."
+
+"I'll wait and see whether you boys come out alive," laughed Frank.
+"I'm a little leary about mixing with the funny little fishes. Some of
+'em may bite!"
+
+After a thoroughly interesting voyage, the boys had at last reached
+the scene of their labors. It was now the 20th of October. The Sea
+Lion had rode securely on the float, and Ned and his companions had
+spent most of the time during the journey under the great hood which
+covered the submarine, studying the mechanism and making themselves
+thoroughly familiar with the big machine.
+
+Arriving off the Taya Islands, the float had been submerged by opening
+the sluiceways and filling the tanks with water. The Sea Lion behaved
+admirably when she came to the surface after cutting away from the
+companion of her voyage.
+
+As there were no appliances for lifting the big float, she was now at
+the bottom of the sea for all time, unless broken away from the
+water-filled tanks by divers, in which case the upper works would come to
+the surface. It was with feelings of keen regret that the boys saw the
+great barge, as it might well be called, lying, deserted, on the ocean
+floor.
+
+As has been shown by the conversation between the boys in the conning
+tower, Lieutenant Scott had fully recovered from the effects of the
+poisonous fumes he had inhaled in the submarine on the night of Ned's
+arrest at South Vallejo. Physicians stated at the time that his
+recovery was due to the fact that the conning tower hatch was open
+when the deadly gas was released. Ned, it was also stated, would have
+been dead in a few moments if the hatch had been closed.
+
+Search had been made, both by the police and the naval detectives, for
+the author of the mischief, but he had not been found. It was believed
+that his purpose in reporting the result of his own deviltry to the
+chief of police was to secure the arrest of the boys on the Sea Lion
+and make off with her.
+
+Ned did not say so, when discussing the matter with the officers, but
+he was satisfied that the Moores were at the bottom of the trouble.
+The Captain had resigned, and had been observed lounging about the
+wharf in New York where the Sea Lion lay, and had, it was afterwards
+learned, been seen in San Francisco on the day before the arrival of
+Lieutenant Scott and the Boy Scouts.
+
+In reaching this conclusion Ned assigned envy as the prime motive on
+the part of the Captain and his son. They had expected to be assigned
+the duty of searching the ocean floor for the wreck of the mail
+steamer. In their great disappointment nothing was more probable than
+that they had resolved to hamper the efforts of their successful
+rivals in every way.
+
+But there was still another view of the case which might be
+considered. The gold in the hull of the wrecked steamer would become
+the spoil of the first submarine to reach her.
+
+With the double incentive, greed joined to a thirst for revenge, it
+would not be at all strange if the Moores had risked everything in
+their efforts to prevent the Sea Lion leaving the Navy Yard on her
+long trip. It was Ned's private opinion, too, that the son had been
+the one to sneak into the submarine and attack the Lieutenant with the
+poisonous gas.
+
+Leaving Frank and Jack in the machine room, Ned and Jimmie entered the
+water chamber and closed the door, which, however, was provided with a
+plate glass panel of great thickness, so that light from the other
+room supplied plenty of illumination.
+
+It was not designed to submerge the Sea Lion until the boys were all
+ready to step out. Four deep-sea suits hung on hooks in the water
+chamber, one for each of the boys.
+
+These suits were not much different from those usually worn by deep-sea
+divers. They were of seamless rubber composition, braced across
+the breast with bars of steel in order to offset the great pressure of
+the lower levels and give the lungs plenty of room for expansion.
+
+The helmets, which fitted on the neck of the suits, were lighter than
+those in ordinary use, but fully as strong. The cords attached to the
+helmets were very long, and the air-hose admitted of a range of at
+least three hundred feet.
+
+By the side of each suit lay an electric searchlight of special
+construction and a long steel pole, shaped something like a crowbar,
+but very slender and strong. This latter for defense in case attack
+should be made by some monster of the deep.
+
+"Say," Jimmie grinned, slipping on his suit, "these spring suits look
+to me like someone to button us up in the back."
+
+"I don't see where you find buttons," replied Ned.
+
+"Look here, then!"
+
+The boy pointed to the screws designed to secure the helmets.
+
+"You button me up, and I'll button you up," Ned laughed. "We've got to
+learn to do such things."
+
+"I'll catch a shark an' get him to learn how," cried Jimmie. "I wonder
+how I would look in this suit walkin' down the Bowery. Gee! I bet the
+boys would jump out of their skins if they saw me comin'. They'd think
+their master had come to claim 'em!"
+
+The boys worked industriously for a time, settling themselves in the
+rather clumsy suits, and then all was ready save putting on the heavy
+helmets. Jimmie pointed to a belt about the waist of his suit.
+
+"What's that for?" he asked, pulling at a hook which was suspended
+from the steel circlet.
+
+"That's to hang your searchlight on," was the reply. "There may come a
+time when you'll want both hands to operate that spike thing you've
+got to carry."
+
+At last the helmets were adjusted, the cords and air-hose attached,
+and then Ned motioned to the boys, watching with grinning eyes through
+the plate glass panel, to turn on the air. The first sensation on
+receiving the air was one of exhilaration, but this soon passed off.
+
+Ned saw, by looking through the immense goggles which Jimmie wore,
+that the lad was almost bursting with laughter, but he knew that this
+effect would soon pass away. He pushed a button, and signaled to Frank
+to fill the water tanks.
+
+As the water chamber filled the boys felt a cold circle rise from
+their toes to their heads. They felt a sinking motion, and soon the
+mysterious life of the ocean became visible through the outer glass
+door of the water chamber.
+
+The Sea Lion dropped evenly to the bottom. The supply of air was as
+perfect as it could well be. When the faint jar told Ned that the
+submarine was at last resting on the bed of the tropical sea he
+released a heavy bar which held the door, pushed it back against
+considerable pressure, and stepped out.
+
+Jimmie followed, and Ned stopped long enough to point to the lines as
+a warning that they should not be allowed to become tangled, and
+struck off. It was early in the evening, and there was a moon, almost
+at the full.
+
+The depth at that point was not great, scarcely more than sixty feet.
+The pressure of the water overhead made walking rather difficult, and
+the boys were strange to the lines they were drawing after them, but
+they made good progress until they came to the end of the air-hose.
+
+It was not as dark under the waves as might have been expected. The
+light of the sun penetrates, ordinarily, to a depth of not far from
+forty feet, and the moon's rays on this night were very strong. It was
+not light enough for the boys to see objects around them, but there
+was a soft illumination above their heads not dissimilar to the faint
+haze of light which lies over a country landscape situated at no great
+distance from a city bright with electricity.
+
+By using the searchlights, however, the boys were able to distinguish
+objects directly about them. They were on a level plain of pure white
+sand. Ages and ages ago this pavement laid so smoothly on the ocean
+floor had existed in the form of rocks.
+
+Through countless years it had faced the assaults of the waves, until
+at last, in utter defeat, it had succumbed to the mighty force and
+dropped in fine grains to the lower levels of the world. It seemed to
+Ned that it had lain there for centuries, with never a storm to pile
+it into ridges or break its level surface into pits.
+
+The scene about the boys was indescribably beautiful. The inhabitants
+of the sea rivaled the rainbow in brilliancy of coloring. There were
+more forms of life in sight than either of the boys had ever imagined
+in existence.
+
+Queer-shaped sea creatures with long tails darted about the rubber-clad
+figures, and now and then an inquisitive fish with curious eyes
+poked its nose against the eye plates, as if intent on discovering
+what sort of creature it was that carried a sunrise in its head.
+
+There were monster creatures in sight, too, and Jimmie jabbed at one
+of them and brought blood. This brought others, and in a short time
+the boys found themselves surrounded by a school of sharks.
+
+Ned threw himself down on the sandy bottom and motioned to Jimmie to
+do likewise. This seemed to surprise the sharks, for they nosed around
+for only a moment longer. Seeing no opportunity of getting under their
+prospective dinners, they switched their tails angrily, like a cat in
+a temper, and swam off about their business, if they had any.
+
+But Ned had little interest in the sea life about him. At another
+time, and under other conditions, he would have enjoyed the novelty of
+the scene to the fullest, but now he was anxiously watching for some
+indication of the presence of the wreck of the Cutaria.
+
+He was as certain as it was possible to be that the Sea Lion had
+descended almost at the exact spot where the ill-fated vessel went
+down. The hull should be out there in the sand somewhere, and he lost
+no time in making his investigations.
+
+But there was nothing on the smooth surface to show that any vessel
+had ever rested there. Away to the north, however, the boy finally saw
+what looked like an elevation.
+
+His flashlight, however, would not throw its beams to the point of
+interest, and he decided to return to the Sea Lion, rest for the
+remainder of the night, and shift the submarine in the morning.
+
+Motioning to his companion, therefore, he turned toward the door to
+the water chamber. They had proceeded only a few steps when something
+seemed to pass over their heads.
+
+It was as if a heavy cloud had drifted over a summer sky, outlining
+its shape on the fields below for an instant and then passing on.
+Jimmie caught Ned's arm and pointed upward.
+
+It was plain that the little fellow had caught sight of something his
+companion had missed, but of course he could not explain then and
+there what it was. Ned hastened his steps, and soon stood at the door
+of the water chamber, which had been left open.
+
+As Jimmie pushed into the water-filled apartment by his side and Ned
+was about to close the door and expel the water from the chamber, as
+well as from the tanks of the submarine, something which flashed like
+polished steel hurtled through the water and struck the bottom just
+outside the doorway.
+
+Ned stepped out and picked it up. It was a keen-edge knife, such as
+sailors carry. On the handle was a single initial--"D."
+
+Ned knew what that meant. Through some strange agency, by means of
+some unaccountable assistance, the Diver had reached the scene of the
+proposed operations of the Sea Lion.
+
+From this time on, it would be a battle of wits--perhaps worse!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE SECRET OF THE HOLD
+
+
+
+In response to Ned's hand on the lever, the water door closed and the
+pumps in the next compartment soon cleared not only the sea vestibule
+but the tanks of the submarine of seawater.
+
+In a moment the Sea Lion lifted to the surface, and Ned lost no time
+in relieving himself of his helmet. Then, still attired in the rubber
+suit, he hastened to the conning tower, where he found Jack, glass in
+hand, sweeping the moonlit sea eagerly. There was a faint haze off to
+the west, but nothing more. Whatever had passed above the submerged
+boat, on the surface, had wholly disappeared, though the time had been
+very short.
+
+"What did you see?"
+
+Ned asked the question because Jack's manner indicated excitement, if
+not anxiety.
+
+"Just a shadow," was the reply.
+
+"It might have been a shadow, passing over the moon, the shadow of a
+cloud, or a cloud itself," suggested Frank, sticking his head out of
+the hatchway.
+
+Ned pointed to the sky. There was not a cloud in sight.
+
+"It must have been something of the kind," Jack mused, "for no boat
+could get out of sight so soon."
+
+"Not even a submarine?" asked Ned.
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"Did you see a submarine?"
+
+Both questions were asked in a breath.
+
+"No," replied Ned, "I did not see a submarine, but I don't believe any
+cloud passing over the sky would drop anything like this."
+
+He passed the knife to Jack and took the glass. Jack opened his eyes
+wide as he examined the weapon and noted the initial on the handle. He
+turned impulsively to Ned.
+
+"Where did you get it?" he asked.
+
+"At the bottom."
+
+"Did you find it lying there?"
+
+"It fell just as I reached the water chamber."
+
+"Then how the dickens did the Diver get away so soon?" demanded the
+boy.
+
+"It sure did fall from the Diver," agreed Frank, taking the knife and
+examining it.
+
+"It would seem so," Ned replied, "but, of course, the initial may be
+merely a coincidence."
+
+"I guess we're in for it."
+
+"But how did the Diver get here so soon after our arrival?" asked one
+of the boys.
+
+Ned looked grave for a moment, and then replied, his manner showing
+how fully he appreciated the importance of his words:
+
+"What I fear is that she got here first."
+
+"And found the wreck?"
+
+"She might have done so."
+
+"Did you see anything of the Cutaria down there?" asked Frank.
+
+"Not a bloomin' thing," answered Jimmie, making his appearance on the
+conning tower.
+
+"The Diver might have towed it away," suggested Jack.
+
+"Impossible!" cried the others, in chorus.
+
+"Anyway," Jack continued, "we're up against the real goods now. If the
+Diver is here we'll have a scrap."
+
+"But suppose it should be some other outfit?" asked Frank. "Some
+pirate outfit after the gold?"
+
+"Still there would be a scrap."
+
+"That's one advantage of goin' with Ned," Jimmie edged in. "You most
+always get into a scrap!"
+
+"Well," Ned said, presently, "we may as well drop down and keep our
+lights low. If the Diver is here, the Moores are aware of our
+presence, and we must be prepared for anything."
+
+In ten minutes the submarine lay at the bottom of the sea, with no
+lights showing, every plate glass window having been shuttered on the
+outside by a system of protection which was one of the best features
+of the craft. Then Ned explained that he had seen, at some distance,
+an apparent elevation rising from the sand.
+
+"That may be the wreck," he said.
+
+"I move we go and see," shouted Jimmie.
+
+"In the darkness?" asked Frank.
+
+"It is as light out there now," Jack declared, "as it will ever be,
+unless some subterranean volcano lights up and makes fireworks on the
+bottom, so we may as well be off."
+
+"All right," Ned said, in a moment. "I was meditating a little rest
+to-night, but it may be advisable to get to work at once. For all we
+know the Moores may be stripping the wreck, even now."
+
+"What I can't understand," Jack said, sticking to the first
+proposition, "is how the Diver got here in such good time."
+
+"As has been said, it may be some other craft," Frank consoled.
+
+"Don't believe it," insisted Jimmie. "The boat that dropped that knife
+is a submarine, else how could she disappear so suddenly? She may be
+watching us now."
+
+"Or her divers may be prowling around the Sea Lion!" Jack created a
+little sensation by saying.
+
+"What would be the use of prowling around outside the boat?" asked
+Jimmie. "They couldn't hear anything, or see anything."
+
+"But a torpedo will act under water," suggested Frank. "Those chaps
+are equal to anything."
+
+"Shall we go out and look around?" asked Jack.
+
+Ned hesitated. He really was alarmed at the situation. He knew how
+desperate the Moores must be, and he had no doubt that in some strange
+way the Diver had been brought to the scene of the wreck.
+
+"If you and Frank are partial to a moonlight stroll under sixty feet
+of water," he finally said, "you may as well put on your water suits
+and look around."
+
+"Leave Jimmie here to watch the boat and come with us," urged Jack.
+
+"Go on," Jimmie advised. "I can run this shebang, all right. Go on and
+see what you can see."
+
+"If we are going out to-night," Ned said, after reflection, "we may as
+well shift the Sea Lion and inspect the bottom over where we saw the
+apparent elevation."
+
+"Yes; that may be the wreck," Jack admitted.
+
+So the submarine was moved a short distance to the north, about the
+space which had seemed to separate the boys from the elevation, and
+preparations were made for going out. Jimmie was rather pleased at the
+idea of being left in charge of the submarine.
+
+"Of course you'll not touch the machinery," Ned warned. "All you can
+do is to see that the air pumps are kept going. Any motion of the
+boat, you understand, might break or disarrange the hose carrying the
+air to us, so be careful."
+
+"Oh, I guess I don't want to murder any of you," laughed the little
+fellow. "Go ahead and I'll run things all right on board the boat. I
+could operate her anywhere."
+
+The Sea Lion was lifted only a trifle in order to make the change to
+the new location. As she moved along she was not much more than a
+fathom from the level sand below.
+
+This was done by regulating the water in the tanks to the pressure at
+the depth it was desired to navigate. The delicate mechanisms designed
+to show depth, pressure, air value, and all the important details of a
+submarine were absolutely perfect.
+
+So the three boys entered the water chamber, leaving Jimmie grinning
+through the glass panel. When the boat was brought to the bottom they
+opened the outer door and stepped out.
+
+The Sea Lion had traversed only a short distance, yet the surface upon
+which the lads walked seemed very different from the smooth sand level
+Ned had seen before. There were now little ridges of sand, and now and
+then a pit opened up almost under their feet.
+
+A dozen yards from where they emerged from the submarine they came
+upon the elevation which Ned had observed on his first trip out. It
+was not, however, a submerged rock or a bit of harder soil in the
+desert of sand. It was the hull of a wrecked vessel.
+
+Ned moved along one side of the wreck, as far as his air-hose would
+permit him to go, and was satisfied that he had found the lost mail
+ship. The sand was already drifting against her sides, but she was
+still far from buried.
+
+On the port side, about a third of the way to the stern from the bow,
+the boy discovered the wound which had brought the stately vessel to
+her present position. She lay, tilted about a quarter, in eighty feet
+of water.
+
+Ned wondered why passing vessels had not discovered her. The tall
+stacks had been beaten down, probably snapped off at the collision,
+but the superstructure was high, and not far below the surface, Ned
+thought.
+
+After motioning Jack and Frank to remain at the break in the side of
+the ship, Ned clambered up and, being careful to protect his air-hose
+and line from the jagged edges of the wound, crept inside. His
+electric flashlight revealed the interior only a short distance ahead
+of him, but at the very outset he saw that some of the air-tight
+compartments remained intact.
+
+There was a lifting, swaying motion occasionally which told him that
+there was still air imprisoned in the broken ship. At that distance
+from the surface there would be no wave motion to produce the
+oscillations he observed.
+
+"It is very strange," he mused, as he clambered over bales, chests and
+boxes in the hold, "that the ship should have gone down so quickly.
+Telegraphic reports at the time of the accident--if it was an
+accident--stated that she sank slowly. It would require only a little
+assistance to bring her to the surface."
+
+The boy made his way as far into the interior as he could with his
+comparatively short air-hose, and then turned back to where he had
+left Jack and Frank. He had found it impossible, on account of the
+shifting to the prow of the hold cargo, to reach the cabin and the
+captain's offices without entering from the top deck.
+
+As he turned around he stopped an instant, his attention attracted by
+a sound which seemed to come from beyond the bulkhead back of him. It
+sounded almost like the hiss of escaping steam. The lad knew that it
+must be a strong vibration which could thus make itself felt at that
+distance below the surface and through the heavy helmet he wore.
+
+The more he considered the matter the clearer became the fact that it
+was actually uniform sound he heard. That is, sound brought to his
+ears by the water.
+
+Some force might be moving the water, and the motion might be
+conveying to his ears, through the thin sides of the air-hose, the
+story of the action of the waves, if waves could be created at that
+depth.
+
+As he listened to the steady beating he became convinced that some
+unknown power was at work in the wreck. What it was he could not even
+guess.
+
+Then he heard sharper sounds which seemed to be created by steel
+striking steel. The jar brought the sound waves to his ears quite
+distinctly.
+
+"Either I'm going daffy," the boy mused, "or there is some one at work
+on the wreck."
+
+He left the hold and, without giving the others to understand that he
+had discovered anything of importance, began an examination of the
+sand along the line of the bottom. His air-hose was not long enough to
+admit of passing entirely around the vessel, so he motioned to the
+boys to accompany him and turned back to the submarine.
+
+"Did you hear anything down there?" asked he as soon as the helmets
+had been removed.
+
+"What are you talking about?" asked Frank, with a laugh. "Water would
+not convey sound to the ear."
+
+"But the jar of water would," observed Jack. "I heard a jar while I
+was down there."
+
+"I don't believe it!" Jimmie cut in.
+
+"When in swimming," said Frank, "did you ever sit on the bottom of the
+swimming hole and pound two stones together?"
+
+"Of course," laughed the little fellow.
+
+"And you heard a noise?"
+
+"I believe I did, but it was not such a noise as one would hear from
+the same cause in the air."
+
+"Well," Ned went on, "I heard noises down there, too, and I'll tell
+you right here that I'm alarmed."
+
+"Scared!" roared Jimmie.
+
+"Alarmed at what?" demanded Frank. "I didn't see anything to be
+alarmed at."
+
+"I have no theory as to what it was I heard," Ned went on, "but I'm
+going to get a longer air-hose, shift the Sea Lion so she will hang
+over the wreck, and go down again right away."
+
+"I'm ready!" laughed Jack. "I want to hear that noise again."
+
+"Do you think there are men down there removing the gold?" asked Jack.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+ON GUARD UNDER THE SEA
+
+
+
+"If there is anybody at work on the wreck," Ned replied, "they may be
+removing the gold or they may be searching the vessel for
+incriminating documents."
+
+"I guess any documents found down there will be pretty wet," laughed
+Jack.
+
+"They may be in sealed boxes," Ned replied. "Anyway, if there are
+important documents on board they might be rendered legible by proper
+and judicious handling." "Here we go, then," Jack exclaimed. "I'll
+expel the water in the tanks until the Sea Lion rests at the right
+altitude, over the wreck, and we can enter by way of the decks."
+
+"But what will the other fellows be doing while we are getting into
+position?" asked Frank.
+
+"Gettin' ready to cut our lines, probably," interposed Jimmie.
+
+"That's a fact," Jack said. "If there are men working in the ship they
+must be supplied with air by a submarine. How could that be done, I'd
+like to know."
+
+"They might anchor the submarine some distance away," replied Ned,
+"and lay an air-hose along the bottom. If attached to the hose leading
+into the helmets before being placed, two or three might work from
+such a supply, and such a system, too, would obviate a good deal of
+the danger to be feared from crossed lines."
+
+"You've got it all figured out!" cried Jimmie.
+
+"Well," Frank intervened, "I'll bet that he has it right. Those Moore
+persons were not born yesterday."
+
+"That's right," Jack admitted. "We saw enough of the Captain in the
+Black Bear club-room in New York to know that he is an expert in the
+submarine business. He may be an imitation fop and a bounder, as he
+would say, but he certainly is next to his job."
+
+"Why wouldn't it be a good idea to sneak around in our water suits
+until we find the lines an' cut them?" asked Jimmie.
+
+"That would be plain murder," Ned replied.
+
+"I guess they wouldn't hesitate long if the conditions were reversed,"
+Frank suggested, "still, I wouldn't like to be in with anything as
+brutal as that."
+
+"Come to think of it," Jimmie admitted, "I wouldn't, either."
+
+"I don't get the idea of these incriminating documents," Jack said, in
+a moment. "That is one thing I did not pay attention to in the talk
+with Captain Moore at the clubroom."
+
+"What he said was this," Ned explained. "The Government is accused, in
+certain hostile foreign circles, of conspiring with the leaders of the
+revolution now brewing in China. He declared that the Washington
+officials were even charged with sending the gold to the rebels by the
+roundabout way of the present Chinese Government."
+
+"You'll have to come again!" laughed Frank. "I'm dense as to that part
+of it. It is too subtle for me."
+
+"Me, too," Jimmie asserted.
+
+"All I know about it," Ned answered, "is that Captain Moore declared
+that the rebel leaders were purposely posted as to the shipment of the
+gold, and that they were to seize it as soon as it left the protection
+of the American flag, if they could. At least they were to be given a
+chance to do so."
+
+"Even in that case," Frank reasoned, "the Washington people wouldn't
+be foolish enough to place incriminating papers with the shipment. The
+whole scheme might fail, you know."
+
+"It does look pretty fishy," Ned remarked, "but the ways of diplomacy
+are often crooked ways. Anyway, it is claimed by some that the mail
+boat was rammed, that it was no accident that sent her to keep company
+with McGinty at the bottom of the sea."
+
+Jack expelled the water from the tanks of the Sea Lion until the
+instruments in the machine room showed her to be near the surface,
+and, as Ned estimated, directly above the wreck. Then an anchor was
+sent out, to prevent any possible drifting, and Ned, Frank and Jack
+put on their helmets again.
+
+The lines used for signaling and the air-hose had both been spliced,
+and it was figured that any part of the wreck could now be visited.
+The drop lines were also longer, and the machinery for hauling the
+divers up on signal was made ready for use.
+
+"We can't walk out and in the Sea Lion now," Ned said, "and a good
+deal depends on the vigilance of the boy left in the boat. Watch for
+the slightest signal, Jimmie," he warned.
+
+The touching of a lever unwound the lifting and lowering lines when
+all was ready, and in a minute the three boys found themselves on the
+upper deck of the wreck. It was tilted at an angle of about twenty
+degrees, so great care was exercised in traversing it.
+
+As Jimmie swung the lever which lowered the three boys he peered out
+of a darkened window. He saw only the dim surface light.
+
+"They've got sense enough not to show any light," he mused, "so the
+thieves won't know what is going on unless they see the shadow
+overhead, or run into one of the fellows."
+
+Leaving Frank, as the most cautious of the boys, to guard the lines
+and air-hose when they touched sharp angles, Ned, accompanied by Jack,
+advanced down the main companionway and was soon in the large and
+handsomely furnished cabin.
+
+Then the electric searchlights were put to use, and the great
+apartment lay partly exposed to view. Their entrance into the room
+seemed to create something like a current in the water, and articles
+of light weight came driving at them.
+
+Ned turned sick and faint as a dead body lifted from the floor and a
+ghastly face was turned toward his own. A few unfortunate ones had
+gone down with the ship, and most of the bodies lay in this cabin.
+
+Those who had remained on deck until the final plunge had, of course,
+drifted away. However, the boy soon recovered his equilibrium, and
+went about his work courageously, notwithstanding the fact that many
+terrifying forms of marine life swam and squirmed around him.
+
+Clinging to heavy tables and chairs to prevent slipping, the boys made
+their way to that part of the ship where, according to their drawings,
+the captain's cabin had been. Their first duty was to make search for
+any sealed papers which might be there.
+
+The room was located at last, and then Ned motioned to Jack to
+extinguish his light. The boy obeyed orders with a feeling of dread.
+
+It was dark as the bottomless pit in the cabin now, and fishes and
+squirming things brushed against his legs and rubbed against the line
+which was supplying him with air.
+
+In all the experiences of the Boy Scouts nothing like this had ever
+been encountered before. In Mexico, in the Philippines, in the Great
+Northwest, in the Canal Zone, in the cold air far above the roof of
+the world, they had usually been in touch with all the great facts of
+Nature, but now they seemed separated from all mankind--buried in a
+fathomless pit filled with unclean things.
+
+The door of the captain's cabin was closed. Ned put his ear against
+it, then reached out and took Jack by the arm. The latter understood
+the order and crowded close.
+
+From the other side came sharp blows, and through the keyhole came the
+glow of illuminated water. Ned's worst fears were realized. Some one
+had reached the wreck in advance of his party.
+
+He knew that he could not justly be censured for the activity of his
+enemies, and yet the thought that he was in danger of failing in his
+mission brought the hot blood surging to his head. He did not stop at
+that time to deliberate as to how the hostile forces had gained this
+advantage in time.
+
+He did not even try to solve the problem as to the personality of the
+hostile element. The men working on the other side of the door to the
+captain's cabin might have crossed the Pacific in the Diver, or they
+might have been recruited from foreign seaports.
+
+The question did not particularly interest him. The point with him was
+that they were there.
+
+And, now, what course ought he to pursue? For a time, as he stood
+against the door, he could reach no conclusion.
+
+Directly, however, the important question presented by the unusual
+situation came to the boy's mind. It was this:
+
+Where was the boat into which the workers on the other side of the
+door proposed to remove the plunder?
+
+The Diver, or some other efficient submarine must be close at hand.
+The men who were searching the captain's room were being supplied with
+air from some source.
+
+And here was another question:
+
+Had the gold already been removed?
+
+It seemed to Ned that the first thing for him to do was to locate the
+submarine. For all he knew, prowlers from her might be nosing around
+the Sea Lion.
+
+He had left the door to the water chamber open, of course, and so it
+must remain until he returned. Jimmie, owing to a defect afterwards
+corrected, could not expel the water while the door was open, nor
+could he close the door from the interior.
+
+Fearful that some mischief was on foot, he grasped Jack by the arm and
+hastened back to where Frank had been left. His first care should be
+to find the exact location of the hostile submarine and then see that
+no air-hose reached from her to the Sea Lion.
+
+The three boys passed out of the wreck and came to the stern of the
+once fine ship. She had gone down prow first, and the stern was a
+little above the level sand floor of the sea.
+
+Instead of passing around the stern and coming out on the other side,
+the boys halted and crouched down, so as to see under the keel. As the
+outer shell of the ship was here at least a yard above the bottom, it
+was plain that the cargo had swept forward when she went down, thus
+holding her by the nose.
+
+There was no longer any doubt as to what was going on. There, only a
+few yards away, lay the dark bulk of a submarine. Only for a light
+glimmering through the closed door of the water chamber it could not
+have been seen at all.
+
+The men who were working in the wreck had taken no chances in leaving
+the boat. Their lines and air-hose passed through the outer door in
+well-guarded openings, and the interior was as safe from intrusion as
+a walled-in fortress.
+
+Ned regretted that he had not observed the same precaution in leaving
+the Sea Lion, still he did not believe that his boat had been
+attacked. After a few moments devoted to observation, Ned crept around
+the keel and looked down the side of the ship which lay toward the
+submarine. Men with electric lamps in their helmets were working
+there.
+
+They appeared to be forcing an entrance into the lower hold of the
+ship through a small break in the shell. This led him to the
+conclusion that the way to the very bottom was blocked from the
+inside, and that the gold--if it had been stored there--had not yet
+been removed.
+
+He returned to his chums and all three started back to the Sea Lion.
+The men about the wreck were all so busy that it did not seem to Ned
+that they knew of the presence there of his submarine.
+
+Still, he searched the bottom, as he passed along, with both hands and
+feet for any line which, leaving the stranger, might be leading to her
+rival. Finally he discovered, much to his annoyance, a hauling line
+and an air-hose leading in the direction he was going.
+
+"I'm afraid," he thought, "that Jimmie is in trouble."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+"JIMMIE'S FOOLISH--LIKE A FOX"
+
+
+
+Left alone in the Sea Lion, Jimmie spent most of his time watching
+from a darkened window. He could distinguish little in the faint
+sifting of moonlight which dropped down from the sparkling surface of
+the sea, but there was companionship even in that.
+
+He had been instructed by Ned to keep the interior dark, and so he
+watched the ocean floor for the lights which his chums might be
+obliged to turn on. As the reader knows, however, the exploring party
+showed no lights at all until the interior of the wreck had been
+gained.
+
+Listening and waiting, half inclined to admit that he was just a
+little bit lonesome, the boy stood at his post for about a quarter of
+an hour. Then he saw an opaque object moving toward the submarine.
+
+It was not a shark or other monster of the sea, for it walked upright
+and seemed to move up and down as it came to the little undulations in
+the ocean floor. When it came nearer Jimmie moved toward the door of
+the water chamber.
+
+"That must be Ned," he thought, "comin' back alone. Now, I wonder if
+anythin' has happened to Frank an' Jack?"
+
+For a moment the heart of the lad throbbed wildly, then he calmed
+himself with the thought that in case of accident he would have been
+notified by the lifting lines. The air machine was working perfectly,
+too, and this indicated that all was well below.
+
+Finally the moving object came to a position about ten yards distant
+from the submarine and stopped. He was now about fifty feet below the
+window out of which Jimmie looked, for the Sea Lion, as has been said,
+lay well up from the bottom, not exactly over the wreck but not far
+from it.
+
+In a moment the boy saw the glimmer of a lamp down where the man was,
+and saw that it was moving about on the bottom. Lights, of course, do
+not show in water as they do in air, and so it was only a faint
+illumination that Jimmie observed.
+
+Still, he could see that whoever was carrying the light was fumbling
+about on the bottom. He watched intently for a moment and then saw the
+man coming toward him, swimming straight up.
+
+"I guess it's one of the boys," Jimmie mused. "He must have lost his
+line, and when I saw him fumbling he must have been removing the
+weights designed to hold him down in spite of the air in the helmet."
+
+This appeared to be a good explanation, and the boy stood with his
+face pressed against the glass panel of the water chamber door,
+waiting for whoever it was to enter, close the apartment, and push the
+lever that controlled the exhaust which emptied the chamber.
+
+At last the swimmer clambered into the chamber, and the waiting boy
+was about to switch on a light when a suspicious action on the part of
+the other caused him to hesitate. He could observe the actions of the
+man in the water on the other side of the glass panel quite clearly
+now, and was alarmed at what he saw him doing.
+
+Instead of drawing his air-hose in with him and coiling it carefully
+so as to clear the doorway and still leave free passage for the air
+which was being pumped into it, he laid the hose carefully in a
+slide-covered groove in the edge of the door. The hose did not seem to
+be quite large enough to fill the groove, and the fellow took something
+soft and pliable from a pocket and wrapped around it.
+
+Then he closed the door and pushed the lever which released the power
+that forced the water out of the chamber. Only one inference was to be
+drawn from the scene which Jimmie had witnessed.
+
+The man in the water chamber was a stranger. This was merely an
+attempt to get possession of the Sea Lion.
+
+The fellow was breathing air pumped into his hose by some other boat
+than the Sea Lion. He had cast off his weights in order to gain the
+chamber, which neither one of the boys would have found necessary, as
+they would have been carried up by the machinery which worked the
+lifting and descending lines.
+
+Another thing the boy realized, as he waited with anxiety for the next
+move. The man, whoever he was, was thoroughly familiar with the plan
+of the Sea Lion.
+
+The grooves in the edge of the door had been planned so as to give
+entrance to visitors who were not receiving their air from the Sea
+Lion. No one was believed to know anything about this arrangement--no
+one save the builders and the Secret Service men.
+
+While Jimmie watched, the intruder moved the lever and the water in
+the chamber began to lower. When the water was forced out fresh air
+was automatically forced in.
+
+Before long the intruder disconnected his hose with his helmet and
+threw the end over a hook provided for that purpose. When the water
+was all out he knocked heavily on the door leading to the room where
+Jimmie stood.
+
+"There'll be doings here directly," the boy thought.
+
+Again and again the visitor beat upon the door, but Jimmie gave no
+sign. He could not well observe the man now, for, with the water out
+of the chamber, the light carried by the man inside shone brightly
+against the glass panel, and the boy would have been observed had he
+stood close to it.
+
+Jimmie grew more anxious as the seconds passed. He was trying to put
+away the thought that the intruder had cut the air-hose attached to
+the helmets of his friends.
+
+For all he knew all three boys might be lying drowned, on the floor of
+the ocean. The thought was unbearable, and he resolved to banish it in
+action.
+
+His first impulse was to disconnect the exhaust and fill the chamber
+with water. The man in there had disconnected his air-hose and would
+soon drown.
+
+But the brutality of such a course soon presented itself, and Jimmie
+cast about for some other method of meeting the dangerous situation.
+He could hear the visitor fumbling at the door, and wondered if he
+knew the secret of opening it.
+
+After a time it seemed to the listening boy that the fellow was
+feeling in the right locality for the hidden spring which would open
+the door from the other side, and sprang for the bar which secured it
+against such entrance. Then he dropped the bar and stood wiping the
+sweat from his forehead.
+
+"If I bar the door," he mused, "that robber will cut the air-hose
+protecting the boys outside, if he has not already done so. I've just
+got to let him in here an' take chances."
+
+He hastened to the back of the room and brought a long coil of rope.
+Making a running noose in one end, he released several loops from the
+big coil and held them loosely in his hand.
+
+"I wonder if I can assist him into our princely apartments?" thought
+the boy, whimsically. "If I can get this rope around his body and over
+his arms, I'll be the boss of the precinct! I expect he'll tumble
+around a good deal, but I guess I can quell him!"
+
+The boy waited in the darkness until a faint click told him that the
+intruder had discovered the spring. This was followed by a slam as the
+sliding door fell back.
+
+Then all was still. Jimmie, hidden in the shadows, prepared to throw
+his lasso as soon as the visitor left the doorway.
+
+"Hello!"
+
+The voice carried a hoarse challenge.
+
+"Any one here?"
+
+The man was still in the doorway, and was swinging his light about so
+as to give him a better view of the room.
+
+"If he would only drop his arms!" Jimmie mused. "I'd like to hit him
+with a ballclub!"
+
+Directly the fellow did drop his arms, and at the same moment stepped
+out of the shelter of the doorway. This was what Jimmie had been
+waiting for, and he lost no time in acting.
+
+The rope cut the air and descended over the intruder's head and arms.
+The lad's hours of practice while playing cowboy now proved to be of
+great worth.
+
+Jimmie gave a quick jerk as the rope landed and he ran to the back of
+the room. He heard the other fall, and knew by the weight that he was
+dragging him.
+
+When he gained the wall he switched on the light and reached to a
+shelf for a weapon. When he faced his captive he held an automatic
+revolver in his hand.
+
+By this time a torrent of expletives was coming through the helmet
+opening where the air-hose had entered. The prisoner rolled about on
+the floor, trying to get to his feet.
+
+"Whoo-pee!" shouted the boy. "Look what one can catch out of the
+ocean!"
+
+A roar of rage was the only answer.
+
+"Take off that helmet!" commanded the boy.
+
+A muffled challenge came from the interior.
+
+"All right," said the boy, "then I'll take it off for you. But I'll
+have this gun handy, and if you try any foolishness you won't hold
+water when I get done shootin'."
+
+Before long the helmet was off, and Jimmie was looking into as evil a
+face as he had ever seen. It was the face of a stranger, and yet there
+seemed something familiar about it.
+
+"What sort of a game is this?" demanded the captive. "If you know
+what's good for you, you'll quit this cowboy business."
+
+"Who are you?" asked Jimmie.
+
+A snarl was the only reply. The enraged man was tugging fiercely at
+the rope.
+
+"Quit it!" warned Jimmie. "I'll have to put you to sleep if you try
+that."
+
+"You don't dare!"
+
+"Don't four-flush!" the boy advised.
+
+"Release me!"
+
+Jimmie sat down and leveled the weapon at the struggling man.
+
+"I guess I'd better shoot," he said, calmly. "I suppose you've cut the
+boys' air-hose, and I'll have to get back to New York the best way I
+can--alone. So, you see, I can't be bothered with you."
+
+The captive ceased his struggles and managed to rise to a sitting
+position. His eyes were not so threatening as before.
+
+"No," he declared, "I didn't cut the hose."
+
+"Why? You're equal to such a trick."
+
+"I was told not to."
+
+Jimmie hesitated a moment. He wished devoutly that he could believe
+what the fellow said.
+
+"Who told you not to?" he then asked.
+
+The captive shook his head.
+
+"I don't know his name," he said.
+
+"And you are sailing with him?"
+
+"All I know is that he is called the Captain."
+
+"I see," said the boy. "Now, how comes it that you know so much of the
+plans of the Sea Lion?"
+
+"What makes you think I do?"
+
+"You found the groove in the door, and also the spring that opens the
+door to the water chamber."
+
+"Oh, that!"
+
+"Well?" the boy flourished his weapon, though nothing could have
+induced him to fire on the unarmed man.
+
+"I was told what to do when I got here," was the reply.
+
+"Did you see my chums on the way here?" The captive nodded.
+
+"Where?"
+
+"At the wreck."
+
+"Where is your boat?" was the next question.
+
+"On the other side of the wreck."
+
+"And you are after the gold?"
+
+"Of course."
+
+"And important papers?"
+
+"I know nothing about that."
+
+"What is the name of your boat?"
+
+"The Shark."
+
+"Appropriate name that!" laughed Jimmie. "Used to be the Diver, didn't
+she?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"What did you come here for?"
+
+"To get the boat."
+
+"And remove it?"
+
+"Of course."
+
+"That would have meant death to the boys who are out in the water at
+this time?"
+
+"I suppose so. Say, there's something wrong with your air machine. I
+know something about such contrivances, and this one acts as if a hose
+out in the sea had been cut!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+A CHASE ON THE OCEAN FLOOR
+
+
+
+Jimmie listened for an instant. There certainly was something the
+matter with the air machine.
+
+"Get a move on!" shouted the captive, "or we'll all be food for the
+sharks directly."
+
+"Remain quietly where you are, then," Jimmie said, with a significant
+flourish at the gun which he had no intention of using, except in a
+case of the direst necessity.
+
+"Go!" shouted the other.
+
+Jimmie did not know what to do. While he had learned a good deal about
+the submarine, he was by no means an expert in the handling of her.
+His experience with the air machines had been very slight, as the boys
+had made little use of them.
+
+"It's getting close in here already!" cried the captive in alarm. "Why
+don't you do something?"
+
+"What is there for me to do?" asked the boy.
+
+"Release me and I'll fix it," suggested the other.
+
+Before Jimmie could explain the foolishness of this proposition, he
+heard a pounding at the outer door of the water chamber. He bounded
+through the open doorway and looked out.
+
+There was a helmeted face against the pane. The boy was motioning for
+the door to be opened.
+
+"Now," mused Jimmie, "I wonder how he got up there? The lifting lines
+haven't moved. Why didn't he let me know he was coming up?"
+
+"Hurry!" called the captive.
+
+Jimmie knew, from the flounderings on the floor, that the fellow was
+again trying to get rid of the rope. He stepped to the door and lifted
+a hand in warning, then slid the bolts and guards so the water chamber
+door would open from the outside, then stepped back into the larger
+apartment and closed the door.
+
+He heard a rush of water and knew that some one was entering. Then,
+satisfied that all was well, he turned to his prisoner.
+
+The fellow was half out of the rope, and one hand was sneaking toward
+a heavy ax which lay not far off.
+
+"Cut that!" cried the boy.
+
+He stood guarding the man while the water chamber filled and emptied.
+Then the door opened and Ned came in, helmet in hand. First, he turned
+a screw and the trouble at the air machine ceased.
+
+"What the dickens!"
+
+Ned stopped short in the middle of the room as he turned and gazed in
+amazement at the prisoner.
+
+"I've been fishin'," Jimmie explained, with a chuckle.
+
+"What is it you caught?" asked Ned.
+
+"This," said Jimmie, "is the original sea serpent!"
+
+"Looks to me like Moore, Jr.," Ned said.
+
+"No?" exclaimed the boy.
+
+"Are you the son of Captain Moore?" asked Ned.
+
+The other nodded.
+
+"I thought you'd recognize me," he grunted. "I was a fool to come
+here."
+
+"That's about the only true word you've said since you came on board,
+I take it," Ned went on.
+
+Young Moore scowled and bent his eyes to the floor.
+
+Ned now turned to Jimmie and asked:
+
+"Why didn't you draw us up?"
+
+"Why," replied the little fellow, "I never got the signal."
+
+"Guess you were too busy getting your sea serpent," smiled Ned.
+
+"Did you pull?" asked Jimmie.
+
+"Sure. Jack and Frank are out there now, ready to beat you up for
+keeping them out so long."
+
+The prisoner turned his face away from the two and sulked.
+
+"There's the boys now," Jimmie said. "Let them in."
+
+In ten minutes Jack and Frank were in the large room, busily engaged
+in taking off their deep-sea clothes.
+
+As Frank threw his helmet into a corner he held up the end of a line.
+
+"You see," he said, glancing angrily at the prisoner, who had moved as
+far away as possible. "The line was cut."
+
+"Aw, it would have come away in your hand when you pulled, then," said
+Jimmie. "You'd have found that out quick enough."
+
+"I tell you it was cut," Frank insisted. "It was cut and tied to a
+rock that lies at the bottom. When we pulled we pulled at the big old
+boulder we saw lying there on the sand. Now, what do you think of
+that?"
+
+"Why did you do it?" asked Ned, turning to Moore.
+
+"I didn't," was the reply.
+
+"Who did?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"I don't believe you."
+
+"There were others besides me," insisted Moore.
+
+Ned made an examination of the end of the three cords. All had been
+cut. All had been tied to something, for the ends were frayed as if by
+being twisted about in the hands.
+
+"I presume you thought you were cutting the air-hose?" asked Ned,
+tentatively.
+
+"I reckon I know a line from a hose," was the reply.
+
+"So you did cut them?"
+
+Frank sprang toward the prisoner with flashing eyes. "I'll show you
+what such sneaks get here."
+
+Ned drew the enraged boy away.
+
+"He'll get what's coming to him at some other time," he said. "Let him
+alone for the present."
+
+"But he did attempt to cut the hose!" Jack exclaimed. "We ought to
+throw him out to the sharks."
+
+"Not now," said Ned, coolly.
+
+"Anyway," Frank said, a smile showing on his face, "he made us swim to
+the boat."
+
+"He did that himself," laughed Jimmie, "and lost his weights."
+
+"That's the worst of it," Jack remarked, "we've lost our weights, and
+there's no knowing how we are to get more."
+
+Jimmie now pointed to the air machine.
+
+"Was there something wrong with it?" he asked.
+
+Ned shook his head.
+
+"Working perfectly," he said. "There wasn't a screw loose."
+
+"Well, he," pointing to the prisoner, "said there was something wrong,
+and I began to think he was right."
+
+"Imagination!" laughed Jack.
+
+Ned now faced Moore and asked:
+
+"Have you taken the gold out of the wreck?"
+
+A shake of the head was the answer.
+
+"Have you discovered any important papers? You know what I mean by
+'important.'"
+
+"We have not."
+
+"You came in the Diver?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Run her across?"
+
+"No; came on a tow-line."
+
+"I thought so. What steamer towed you over?"
+
+"I can't answer that."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"I'm not permitted to."
+
+"It was a Japanese boat?"
+
+"Well, yes, it was."
+
+"And she kept you out of sight all the way over and dropped you here
+to do this dirty work?"
+
+"She didn't put a brass band on board of us," replied the captive,
+sullenly. "What is the meaning of this third degree business? Who do
+you think you are?"
+
+"Your people know that we are here, of course?"
+
+"Oh, yes, we're not fools. We saw you from the first."
+
+"And they know where you started for?"
+
+"Sure."
+
+"Is your father in the Diver?"
+
+"I refuse to answer any more questions," Moore stormed. "You've got
+the upper hand now, but the time will come when things will be
+reversed. Release me!"
+
+"Of course," replied Ned, "we'll release you and give you the run of
+the boat! You came here to murder us, and so are entitled to the most
+courteous treatment!"
+
+"Well, quit asking impertinent questions, then," snarled the other.
+"You can at least do that."
+
+Ned hunted up two pairs of handcuffs, ironed the prisoner, and then
+conveyed him to a little room used for storage purposes. Moore did not
+appear to like this program.
+
+"If anything should happen," he declared, "I'd be left here to die
+like a dog."
+
+"And serve you good an' right!" Jimmie consoled.
+
+"What do you expect is going to happen?" asked Jack.
+
+"Oh, I don't know," was the hesitating reply. "Something might, you
+know."
+
+The boys went out and shut the door, leaving young Moore protesting
+against the treatment he was receiving.
+
+"Now," Ned said, when the boys were assembled in the large room, "it
+is plain that the rascals on board the Diver are preparing to attack
+us, or do something to imperil our lives. You saw how frightened Moore
+was when he was locked in that room."
+
+"Yes, he seems to fear that he will be brought to death by his own
+friends," Frank said.
+
+"What do you suggest?" asked Ned.
+
+"Stay an' fight!" urged Jimmie.
+
+"Hide away from them!" Frank proposed.
+
+"Wait here until we see what they propose doing," Jack ventured.
+
+"I think," laughed Ned, "that we'll bunch your advice and utilize it
+all. We'll hide in some deep spot until we see what they're up to, and
+then we'll fight."
+
+"I reckon they are about five to one."
+
+This from Frank, who preferred meeting the enemy on dry land.
+
+"Oh, we can't come to a hand-to-hand battle," Ned replied. "We've got
+to fight submarine fashion."
+
+Without attempting any explanation of this observation Ned proceeded
+to make a careful inspection of the boat. There was a torpedo tube at
+the prow, and this he studied over for a long time.
+
+"Goin' to blow 'em up?" asked Jimmie.
+
+"I was thinking," was the reply, "that we might use this as a bluff if
+we come to a tight place."
+
+"Aw, what's the use?" demanded Jimmie. "You don't make bluffs! You get
+the winning hand before you call! If I had my way, I'd blow 'em out of
+the water!"
+
+"Yes, you would!" Frank said. "You'd be the first one to kick if we
+should attempt to put that thief in there out of the boat. You're the
+tender-hearted little child of the bunch!"
+
+All the boys laughed, including Jimmie, for they knew that what Frank
+said was the truth. Jimmie liked to talk of merciless measures, but he
+was not inclined to put them into practice.
+
+"Well," Ned said, presently, "the Diver people will soon understand
+that something has happened to Moore, and will be after us. We may as
+well take a moonlight stroll."
+
+The water tanks were filled, the power turned on, and the Sea Lion,
+with no lights in sight, save the one at the prow from which Frank
+watched the level ahead, began feeling her way to the south.
+
+"The charts show a deep pit not far off," Ned said, "and we'll hide
+there for a time and see if they give up the job of looting the wreck.
+The loss of young Moore may scare them out."
+
+"Why not go to the surface and air out the boat?" asked Jack. "Our air
+apparatus is all right, of course, but I like the real thing better.
+We can drop down again in a few minutes."
+
+"That's a good idea," Ned replied, and in a moment the Sea Lion was
+lifting to the surface.
+
+In half an hour she was down again, dark and silent, in the pit of
+which Ned had spoken. Occasionally the submarine was lifted a few
+fathoms in order that anything unusual in the vicinity of the wreck
+might be observed.
+
+Sometime near morning the Diver was seen making her way to the north
+as if setting out for a long voyage. The lights of the craft showed
+plainly--that is, as plainly as lights ever show at that depth--and
+the Sea Lion had no difficulty in following her.
+
+"She's steamin' up!" Jimmie cried, presently. "I believe she knows
+we're after her."
+
+But the Sea Lion was equal to the task set for her, and all the
+remainder of the night the chase went on.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+JIMMIE GOES OUT HUNTING
+
+
+
+"I hope she'll make for some port where there is an American man-of-war,"
+Ned said, as the sea grew shallower.
+
+"You bet she won't," Jack replied. "She'll make for some out-of-the-way
+place where she can get rid of her plunder."
+
+"Why don't we go back an' see if she took all the plunder out of the
+wreck?" asked Jimmie.
+
+"If we lose sight of her now," Ned answered, "we may have hard work
+picking her up again. If there is anything left in the wreck it will
+keep. The thing to do now is to catch her and recover what she took
+away, then have her held to await the action of the Washington
+authorities."
+
+"But we ain't catchin' her!" urged the little fellow.
+
+"Well, we are not losing her," Jack replied, "and that is the
+principal thing."
+
+"She may give us a long chase," Ned went on, "for she undoubtedly
+knows that we are in pursuit, so we must get ready to travel over a
+good deal of ocean floor before we get our hands on the thieves."
+
+The chase went on all day and all the ensuing night. At dawn of the
+second day the Diver ran up into what seemed to be a little bay
+protected by two long points of land. The Sea Lion halted outside and
+waited. Once she came to the surface in order to purify the boat, and
+Ned took observations.
+
+"Where are we?" Jimmie asked.
+
+"We're here!" laughed Jack.
+
+"This is all new land to me," Ned replied.
+
+Frank clattered down the staircase into the bowels of the submarine
+and brought out a map, which he spread out on the floor of the conning
+tower. It was pretty crowded there, with the three boys grouped about
+it, for the hatch was still open.
+
+"We've been going north all the time?" he asked.
+
+"Just a trifle east of north," Ned answered.
+
+"And we've been running at the rate of about twenty miles an hour for
+24 hours," continued Frank. "Figure that out."
+
+"Not far from 480 miles," cried Jimmie.
+
+"Then measure," Frank continued. "This map shows about 400 miles to
+the inch. Now, where would a run of 480 miles bring us?"
+
+"To the coast of Kwang Tung," suggested the little fellow.
+
+"But this is an island," Ned explained, looking through his glass. "I
+can see water where the main land ought to be."
+
+"Figure it out, then," persisted Frank. "We've come to an island in
+the China Sea by running 480 miles a little east of north. Where would
+that bring us?"
+
+"Hailing island," suggested Jimmie.
+
+"Wise little chap!" laughed Frank. "You've hit it!"
+
+Ned was silent for a moment. He was wondering why the Diver, or the
+Shark as she was now appropriately called, had put in there. Could it
+be that she was expecting to be met there by some vessel commissioned
+to remove the plunder she had taken from the wreck?
+
+Or was it true that the plot had included a hiding of the plunder on
+the shore and the delivery of the documents--if any had been found--to
+some official of the accusing power?
+
+These thoughts were disquieting. The boy had already missed the
+opportunity of searching the wreck in advance of all others, though
+the fault was not his own. The best he could do now was to secure the
+plunder from the pirates who had removed it.
+
+In case assistance came to the people of the rival boat at that
+distant point, he would not be able to do this. The conspirators might
+hide the gold in the country near the port and deliver the papers and
+he would be powerless to prevent.
+
+"I wonder," he mused, "if anything can be gotten out of young Moore?
+It is possible that he has been in solitary confinement long enough to
+comb down that sneering attitude."
+
+Leaving the boys on the conning tower, therefore, he hastened to the
+room where Moore was incarcerated, although the irons had been removed
+from his hands and feet.
+
+"Well," snarled the young man, "you've come to the jumping off place,
+have you?"
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"You've chased the Shark to her lair, eh?" Moore added, with a leer.
+
+"How do you know that we've been chasing the Shark?" demanded Ned.
+
+"Oh, you wouldn't be running full speed unless you were after her."
+
+"How do you know that we're not in Hong-kong harbor, ready to
+communicate with Washington and an American man-of-war?"
+
+Ned thought the fellow's face turned a shade whiter as the suggestive
+words were spoken. However, he said nothing.
+
+"Do you know where we are, if, as you seem to think, we have followed
+the Shark?" asked Ned.
+
+"How should I know?"
+
+Moore had evidently reached the conclusion that he had said too much
+at the opening of the conversation.
+
+"You know where the Shark was headed for?" asked Ned.
+
+"She's headed for a place where you can't butt in on her," answered
+the young man with a snarl. "When are you going to turn me loose? Aw,
+what's the matter with you?" he continued, assuming an air of
+good-fellowship. "I never did anything to you. Why can't you let me
+go, and say nothing about it?'
+
+"Because," Ned answered, "you are a dangerous person to be at large.
+The next time you attempt to murder the crew of a submarine you may
+have better luck."
+
+"Well, you keep right on," Moore scowled, "and you'll come to a place
+where there'll be no such word as luck in your dictionary. You might
+save yourself now by letting me go."
+
+"You're a snake," cried Ned. "I wouldn't trust you with the life of a
+rat I cared for. Such people as you ought to be smothered at birth."
+
+"Pile it on, now that you have the inning," said Moore. "Pretty soon
+you'll be playing second fiddle."
+
+Ned went out of the temporary prison and locked the door without
+further talk. He had gained the point he sought.
+
+Nothing could be clearer, now, than that the Shark was to meet fellow
+conspirators there. The boy was up against a tough proposition.
+
+He believed that the Shark had secured the important papers. She would
+hardly have left the wreck without them.
+
+The gold did not matter so much, yet he did not like the idea of his
+rival taking it out from under his very nose. He did not believe that
+all the gold had been secured, and figured that the Shark would go
+back after the remainder--but not until the important papers had been
+delivered to the conspirators.
+
+In order to clear her skirts of the false accusations being whispered
+through foreign court circles, the Government must get possession of
+those documents. Ned had no idea where they were, where they had been
+stored, but he believed that, somewhere in the shipment of gold, full
+instructions for its use had been given.
+
+The papers might have been tucked away in a keg or package of gold
+coins. At least they would have been placed where the revolutionary
+leaders could find them, and where the Chinese federal officers could
+not--or would not be apt to--find them in case the plans of the
+conspirators failed in any way.
+
+It struck Ned as a crude arrangement from start to finish. The idea of
+shipping gold to the Chinese government in such a way that the
+revolutionary leaders were sure to seize it looked too childish for
+diplomats to entertain. The fact that it had miscarried was proof that
+it was not well conceived.
+
+A certain foreign nation, put wise to the conspiracy, had sent a ship
+out to ram the gold bearing craft, and there she lay at the bottom of
+the China Sea, with all sorts of rumors concerning her cargo and
+mission circulating through Europe--greatly to the loss of Uncle Sam's
+reputation as a square-dealing old chap.
+
+Ned had no doubt that the foreign government which was kicking up the
+most noise over the affair had sent the Shark to the China Sea to
+search for the papers in the hope that they would bear out the
+accusations that had been made. In case they did not the papers would
+doubtless be destroyed--and the charges would continue to be made--the
+charges that the subtreasury in New York had shipped the gold to aid
+the revolutionary junta in making a republic of China.
+
+So it will be seen that Ned was in no position to give further
+attention to the wreck, or the gold it might or might not contain
+until he had done everything in his power to secure the papers, if any
+had been found, before they could be destroyed or delivered.
+
+And now the question was this:
+
+"How can I get to the Shark and have a look through the plunder taken
+from the wreck?"
+
+The decision was that he could not accomplish such a mission. It would
+be impossible for him to board the Shark, or make a search even if he
+should succeed in getting into the rival submarine.
+
+What next? The men on board the Shark would undoubtedly go ashore if
+the boat remained long in the bay. Why not land and watch about the
+island for the arrival of the foreign conspirators?
+
+The island was not a large one, and there were few inhabitants, so a
+meeting such as Ned believed was set for the place could not fail to
+attract some attention. Well, the first thing to do, he reasoned, was
+to discover if the Shark was sending her men on shore.
+
+"Jimmie," he said, as he returned to the conning tower, "how would you
+like to go hunting in the bottom of the sea?"
+
+"Fine!" shouted the lad.
+
+"Bring in a catfish with a bunch of kittens," Frank laughed. "I'm
+afraid we have mice in the provision room."
+
+"I'll find a dogfish with a couple of puppies," replied Jimmie, "so we
+can have plenty of bark to build fires with."
+
+"A bad joke," Frank replied. "If you'd quit studying up slang and read
+the best authors you wouldn't inflict such pain-giving jolts."
+
+"Who's going with the kid?" asked Jack, sticking his nose up through
+the open hatchway.
+
+"I am," replied Frank, calmly. "It is not safe to trust him on the
+island alone."
+
+"What do you want me to hunt?" asked Jimmie, turning his back on the
+two boys.
+
+"Information."
+
+"I can get that in a book," said Jimmie, with a wink at Frank.
+
+"Get into your promenade suit," Ned continued, "and I'll let you out
+on the bottom. Then I'll warp the Sea Lion around that point of land,
+so you can see where the Shark lies and what is going on, if
+anything."
+
+"Carry me around the point of land before you drop me," suggested the
+little fellow.
+
+"No," Ned answered. "I want you to search the ocean floor on the way
+around the point. The rascals may have laid mines there, or the people
+on board may be making trips to the point, just to see what we are up
+to. Understand?"
+
+"Oh, yes, I see the point, all right," was the reply. "And you want me
+to go out in the wet and inspect another point?"
+
+"Cut it out!" cried Jack.
+
+Jimmie ran off, laughing, to put on his deep-sea suit, and in a moment
+was back asking Ned to set his helmet in place.
+
+"When you get down to the bottom," Ned said, before attaching the
+heavy headpiece, "keep hold of your lifting line and signal stop or
+forward, just as you find it easy or difficult to make your way along
+the level. One jerk for stop and two to go ahead. You won't forget
+that. Think of the signals on the surface cars in little Old New
+York."
+
+"And keep your eyes out for signs of air-hose and lines on the
+bottom," Frank put in.
+
+"All right," the boy cried, cheerfully.
+
+"You have a long air-hose and a very long line," Ned went on, "so you
+can go up the bay where the Shark lies quite a distance after we stop
+the Sea Lion at the point."
+
+The helmet was now put on, the lad passed through the water chamber,
+and directly there came a signal on the line--two quick jerks.
+
+The submarine moved slowly ahead, and Jimmie almost crawled on the bed
+of the ocean. The water was not very deep, not more than ten fathoms,
+and the bright sunlight enabled the boy to see quite well.
+
+Fishes, large and small, sea reptiles, hideous in aspect and
+attractive as to coloring, swam around him, and terrifying forms rose
+from the bottom and rubbed against his helmet windows. He felt safer
+on the bottom, for then the creatures could come at him in only one
+way.
+
+Presently the sand in front of him showed commotion. It stirred and
+clouded the water. Jimmie stopped and looked, drawing his weapon--the
+razor-pointed steel bar--to the front as he did so. Then he felt
+something close about an ankle and draw him down. A serpent's head
+showed on a level with his shoulder.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+JACK MAKES A DISCOVERY
+
+
+
+"Now," Ned said, when the Sea Lion stopped in response to a quick pull
+from below, "who is going to shore with me?"
+
+"Me for the shore!"
+
+Both boys spoke at once.
+
+"But one must remain on board," declared Ned.
+
+"Then let Frank stay," laughed Jack. "Somehow, I always get into
+trouble when I am left on guard."
+
+Frank looked disappointed, but said nothing, and Ned and Jack prepared
+to go ashore. When they were ready the submarine was carefully raised
+so that the conning tower was out of water.
+
+The boys did not know, while they were doing this, that the signal to
+stop was an involuntary one on the part of the boy who was exploring
+the ocean floor. They did know, however, that Jimmie had a very long
+air-and signal-system, and that under ordinary circumstances it could
+do no harm to lift the Sea Lion to the surface. The exact effect of
+this action on the little fellow will be seen in a short time.
+
+When the conning tower was out of water, the point showed still ahead
+of the submarine, and Ned wondered why Jimmie had ordered a halt
+there. In one way this was an advantage, as the people at the head of
+the bay, if any were there, would not be able to see what was going on
+at the spot where the Sea Lion lay.
+
+As soon as the hatch was opened Ned and Jack brought up a small boat
+and launched it. It was a narrow boat and seemed almost too small to
+carry two husky boys, but she was capable of harder service than that.
+
+"Keep a sharp watch for the line," Ned warned, as they left Frank
+looking sadly over the rim of the tower. "Jimmie would be in a bad box
+down there if you should forget him."
+
+"All right!" Frank answered, cheerfully. "I'll take care of the little
+scamp, but I don't believe there is water enough in the ocean to drown
+him!"
+
+The boys, paddling the boat softly, proceeded to the west of the point
+of land near which the Sea lion had stationed herself. Ahead of them
+they saw a sloping shore, running white and smooth as to surface for
+some distance from the water. Then, at the back, rose a line of wooded
+hills. There were no natives in sight.
+
+"I'd like to know what kind of people live on this island," Jack said
+as they landed and drew the boat up on the beach. "Whoever they are,
+they don't appear to have houses."
+
+They crossed the white rim of beach, keeping their eyes on the boat as
+they advanced, and came to an elevation in the wild country beyond.
+From this elevation a small clearing showed to the east, and in the
+clearing were a number of buildings, some residences of a poor type
+and some evidently erected for business purposes.
+
+"There," Ned said, pointing, "if we could get down into the cluster of
+buildings, with an interpreter, we might find out whether the Shark
+fellows have landed yet, and whether there are strangers loitering
+about the island."
+
+"Yes," Jack answered, "the place is so small that any strange faces
+would be instantly noted. Suppose I skip down there and see what I can
+learn?"
+
+"I think that a good idea," replied Ned, "only you're such a reckless
+chap that you're likely to get into trouble."
+
+"I'll be the good little lad," laughed Jack. "You remain here and see
+that no one steals the boat while I size up that burg."
+
+Jack was off, creeping through the undergrowth, before Ned could utter
+a warning, and the latter sat down to wait for his return. The cluster
+of buildings was not very far away, and Jack could not be gone very
+long.
+
+Ned was pretty well satisfied with the arrangements made to corner the
+men who had plundered the wreck. With Jimmie watching operations from
+the bottom and Jack investigating from the land, it seemed to him that
+the robbers could not well make any important move without being
+observed.
+
+In the meantime Jack was making his way toward the little town, if
+such it may be called, at the head of the bay. He could see people
+moving about in the one lane-like street, but there was no one nearer
+him than that--as he at first believed.
+
+Presently, however, he heard a low whistle, coming, apparently, from a
+thicket just ahead. It seemed to be an amazed whistle, at that, and
+Jack paused in wonder.
+
+Who could it be? If any of the people on the Shark had come onto the
+island they certainly wouldn't be whistling to attract his attention.
+
+More likely, he thought, they would be lying in wait for him with a
+gun. What he hoped was that some American, familiar with the island
+and friendly with the natives, had strayed into the thicket.
+
+Jack whistled in reply and then stepped back out of sight. He had an
+idea that he wanted to see the other fellow first.
+
+Before long a voice came out of the thicket, a voice which might have
+come from a tenement on Thompkins Square, in the city of New York.
+
+"Vot iss?" were the words Jack heard.
+
+"Show yourself!" commanded Jack.
+
+"Py schimminy," came the answer, "you gif me in the pack one, two,
+dree pain. What?"
+
+"You're Dutch!" said Jack.
+
+"Chermany!" corrected the other. "Come a liddle oudt."
+
+Jack stepped out of the shelter and soon saw a boy of about seventeen
+do likewise. The boy was short, round, fat, muscular, and big and red
+of face. He was dressed in a checkered suit of ready-mades which did
+not fit him, and his blond head was covered with a cap such as German
+comedians use on the stage.
+
+"Hello, Dutch!" Jack called out.
+
+"Irish!" exclaimed the other.
+
+Jack threw out his right hand in full salute, wondering if the German
+boy was a member of the Boy Scout army, and was pleased to see him
+make an awkward attempt to respond.
+
+"I got it my headt in," the German said, "but I can't get it oudt. It
+shticks. Vot is? I'm the Owl Padrol, Philadelphia."
+
+"No one from Philadelphia ever does remember," laughed Jack. "What are
+you doing here?"
+
+The boy took himself by the back of the trousers with his right hand
+and by the back of his neck with the other, then bounced himself
+forward, as if being thrown out of a vessel or a building.
+
+"You mean that you got fired off a ship here?" asked Jack, almost
+choking with laughter.
+
+"You bet me I didt!" exclaimed the other. "I hidt in a lifeboad to get
+me pack to Gott's goundry, an' they foundt me. Shoo! Kick! Den I
+schwim! Gott un himmel! Vot a goundry!"
+
+"Where did you get aboard the ship?" asked Jack.
+
+"Hongkong."
+
+"What's your name?"
+
+"Hans Christensohnstopf--"
+
+"Never mind the rest of it," laughed Jack. "I'll call you Hans. How
+long have you been here?"
+
+Hans ran his hands around his waist as if counting time by the number
+of meals he had missed.
+
+"Month," he finally said.
+
+"Where are you stopping?"
+
+Hans explained that there was one English trader in the place, and
+that he was giving him about half what he needed to eat and a place to
+sleep in return for about ten hours work each day.
+
+"Do you want to get away?" asked Jack.
+
+"Aindt it?" cried Hans. "I think I'm foolish to stay here. You schwim
+here?"
+
+Jack knew that it would take a long time to make Hans understand the
+means of transportation he had used in reaching that part of the
+world, so he merely shook his head and went on:
+
+"If you'll do something for me, Hans, I'll take you off the island."
+
+"Me--sure!" was the quick reply.
+
+Jack then explained that he wished to know if there were any strangers
+in the town, and if anything had been seen of the submarine people.
+Hans listened attentively.
+
+"I'll remain here until you come back," Jack said, after concluding
+his instructions. "Get the information and I'll take you off the
+island and land you in Philadelphia."
+
+"Sure!" cried Hans, and disappeared from view in the thicket.
+
+Jack lay a long time watching the sky and listening to the singing
+leaves about him. He wished that he had instructed Hans to return to
+the place where he had left Ned and gone there himself to await the
+information he sought. The time passed heavily on his hands.
+
+Once he moved out to the place where he had entered the thicket and
+looked down toward the spot where Ned was. There was a certain amount
+of companionship in that. He did not dare leave the thicket entirely,
+for fear Hans would miss him on his return from the village.
+
+When he returned to his waiting place, after this visit, and looked
+down on the village, shimmering in the hot sun, he saw that something
+unusual was going on there. Natives, clad in the long skirts worn by
+many Chinamen, were flying up and down the street, and Jack recognized
+three Europeans mixing into the excitement.
+
+Then he saw people running toward the little wharf at the head of the
+bay. Hans did not appear to be within the range of Jack's vision.
+
+"There are doings of some kind down there," Jack mused, "and it seems
+to me that the foreigners created the row, whatever it is. I wonder if
+Hans will get out of it alive?"
+
+The next moment Hans was there to answer for himself.
+
+Jack saw the German lad chasing through the undergrowth as if the very
+Old Nick was after him, swinging his cap as he ran, and shouting out
+some words which he could not understand.
+
+Finally Hans turned square about, pointed in the direction from which
+he had come, and resumed his flight toward Jack.
+
+"I guess some one is chasing the boy," Jack concluded, stationing
+himself close to a slender path which Hans was certain to follow.
+
+In a moment the wisdom of this remark and this arrangement became
+apparent. Hans came nearer, puffing and grunting, and a second after a
+runner who was gaining on the German shot around an angle of
+undergrowth and reached out for Hans.
+
+Hans had passed the spot where Jack crouched by this time, and the
+pursuer was proceeding to foot it after him when Jack stuck out a leg
+and brought him to the ground. Hans saw the action and fell flat on
+the ground, blowing like a fat man on a thousand-step climb.
+
+The man who had fallen, apparently an Englishman, middle aged, well
+dressed for that country, and with a red, passionate face, sat up and
+scowled at Jack.
+
+"Wot the bloomin' mischief did ye do thot f'r?" he asked.
+
+"To stop you," replied Jack.
+
+"You're bloody roight ye stopped me!" cried the other, trying to get
+on his feet. "An' now I'll be stoppin' of ye!"
+
+Jack placed his hand on the man's shoulder and pushed him back to the
+ground.
+
+"Rest yourself," he said.
+
+"You just wait, you bounder!" threatened the Englishman.
+
+"What's it all about?" asked Jack, as Hans arose and cautiously
+approached.
+
+"Don't let that bloody robber get away!" shouted the Englishman,
+trying once more to get up.
+
+Jack presented his automatic, which he would not have used under any
+circumstances, unless his life was actually in danger.
+
+"Keep quiet," he said.
+
+"I'll have your head for this!" bawled the other.
+
+"What is it, Hans?" asked Jack, paying no attention to the threat of
+the angry Englishman.
+
+"I'll tell you what it is!" cried the Englishman. "That Dutch bounder
+stole from my safe. I chased him up here an' you took occasion to
+hinterfere, worse luck. Who are you, anyhow?"
+
+"Did you steal anything from him, Hans?" asked Jack.
+
+Hans shook his head.
+
+Then explanations settled the trouble. A man from the submarine had
+met another at the trader's store. Hans, in his anxiety to hear what
+was being said, had crawled in behind a counter, near the safe, and
+had been discovered there.
+
+The event had created no little excitement in the town, for the chase
+through the street had been witnessed by and participated in by about
+half the population. To satisfy the Englishman, Hans was searched, and
+nothing found. Then Ned asked him a question:
+
+"Where did the submarine people go?"
+
+"Back to their boat," was the prompt reply.
+
+"And the man who met them there?"
+
+"He went with them."
+
+"Where did the latter come from?"
+
+"From Hongkong, he said."
+
+"How long ago?"
+
+"Something over a week."
+
+"He was waiting for the submarine?"
+
+"I think so."
+
+"What, if anything, did the submarine land?"
+
+"Nothing at all."
+
+"You are certain of that?"
+
+"Oh, yes, of course. The submarine man brought some sealed papers with
+him, and the discussion was all about them. The submarine man wanted
+money, I guess, and the other wouldn't give it."
+
+"So the submarine people still have the papers?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"But the other man went on board?"
+
+"Yes, that is the way of it."
+
+"Do you know who that Hongkong man is?"
+
+"He is an Englishman."
+
+"Now," said Jack, "I wish you would come down to the beach with me. I
+have a friend there I want you to talk with."
+
+The Englishman, seeing that something interesting was in the air, went
+without objection, but when they reached the beach they saw Ned making
+for the Sea Lion in the boat. And just before he reached her, they saw
+the conning tower disappear beneath the surface of the water.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+JIMMIE DEMANDS A MEDAL
+
+
+
+Jimmie's first thought, as he saw the flattened head of the sea
+monster sliding upward toward his helmet, was that he had encountered
+the original sea serpent. There seemed to be a coil about the boy's
+leg, and he dropped down lower to see what the chances were for
+cutting it away with his weapon.
+
+The prospects did not seem favorable, for his steel bar, while very
+sharp at the point, was not intended for chopping work. He could
+pierce the body of the reptile, but could not weaken its strength so
+that the coil would drop away.
+
+It was when he dropped down that the spasmodic jerks on the line were
+given. The sea monster had included the line in his coil, and it drew
+as the boy bent lower.
+
+The air-hose seemed to be clear, but Jimmie was afraid that the
+flounderings of the serpent might break it. The horror was certain to
+do some thrashing about when he felt the keen edge of the steel.
+
+The only way was to strike some vital spot. That would end the combat
+at once. The serpent's head lowered with the boy, as if he had great
+curiosity to find out exactly what sort of a being it was that had
+invaded his kingdom.
+
+The boy was cheered by the thought that the submarine had stopped,
+although he did not realize at the time that the signal had been given
+by the action of his enemy. If the boat had continued on her course,
+the air-hose and the lifting line must both have been broken in a
+short time, as the boy's progress was stopped by the great weight of
+his terrifying foe. Then the end would have come instantly.
+
+The coil about the leg was drawing tighter now, and the boy was in
+considerable pain. Also the coils were ascending as the head of the
+sea monster swung around.
+
+It was not only the pain and the deadly danger that brought a
+momentary shiver to the boy. It was the fact that the repulsive body
+of the serpent was winding closer and closer about him.
+
+He seemed to feel the slimy skin of the deep sea terror slipping
+through his waterproof suit, although his common sense told him that
+such could not be the case. He even thought he scented the sickening
+odor which he had now and then experienced in the Central Park Zoo. He
+knew, too, that this was purely imaginary, but the horror of a
+nightmare was on him, and for only an instant he lost his nerve.
+
+Once more the head swung around and the boy presented his weapon and
+struck with all his might. The needle-like point entered the throat of
+the serpent and passed through just at the back of the long, spotted
+head.
+
+There was a great switching in the water for an instant, and then the
+coils loosened. The blow, as Jimmie afterwards discovered, had broken
+the spinal cord.
+
+While not yet dead, the serpent was incapable of moving the lower part
+of his body. With a sense of loathing he pulled at the coils until he
+was clear of them.
+
+The water where he stood was now taking on a faint reddish hue, and
+Jimmie hastened away. At first, weakened and shaken as he was by the
+disgusting encounter, he determined to return to the submarine, then
+the thought of what his chums would say to him if he gave up caused
+him to proceed in the direction of the Shark.
+
+He moved over the level bottom, looking for lines which would indicate
+that the Shark people were out watching the movements of their rival,
+but found none. When he came to the end of his line he signaled for
+the submarine to go ahead.
+
+In this manner, by slow degrees, and always keeping his eyes out for
+creatures similar to the one he had vanquished, he advanced until he
+saw the bulk of the Shark only a short distance away. Then he called
+for a stop.
+
+He remained there some moments, watching the Shark lift to the
+surface. Then a dark object passed shoreward, and the boy was certain
+that a boat had been sent to the little wharf.
+
+"I guess that will be about all," he thought. "I've secured the
+information Ned wants, and may as well go back."
+
+To tell the truth, he was delighted at the thought of getting out of
+the water again. His encounter with the serpent had considerably
+lessened his enthusiasm for deep-sea work.
+
+The Sea Lion dropped down when Jimmie gave the signal, and he was soon
+in the water chamber, where he found Frank in sea dress. The two were
+out of the water in a short time, with the chamber empty again.
+
+"What did you do that for?" asked Jimmie, as soon as the helmets were
+removed.
+
+"Do what?" asked Frank, with a smile.
+
+"Drop down and wait for me in the water chamber."
+
+"Did you notice the color of the water?" asked Frank.
+
+"Yes, down there, but up here--say," he added, "the blood of that
+champion sea serpent never got to the surface, did it?"
+
+"Just enough of it to cause me to think a shark was making a meal down
+there," replied Frank.
+
+Jimmie told the story of the encounter, laughing at the peril which
+was past, but Frank looked grave.
+
+"We'll have to be more careful how we wander about on the bottom of
+the sea," he said. "It was just luck that brought you out alive. You
+might wound a serpent a hundred times with that steel bar and never
+again strike a vital spot."
+
+"Then," Jimmie laughed, "when we get back to New York you put in a
+claim for a Carnegie medal for me! It would look fine on the front of
+me hat." "I'll have Ned make you a medal out of a fish's fin," laughed
+Frank.
+
+"All right!" cried Jimmie. "It will be all right, just so it is a
+medal."
+
+Then Jimmie told of what he had seen in the vicinity of the Shark, and
+Frank complimented him on his courage and good judgment in keeping
+down until he had secured the desired information.
+
+"We know now," he said, "that the Shark people are communicating with
+the shore. Perhaps Ned and Jack will learn just what they are doing
+there. If they do, we shall know just what course to pursue."
+
+"What's the answer?" asked the little fellow.
+
+"Why, if the Shark people dispose of the documents--if there were any
+documents in the plunder--we'll have to chase after the men who take
+them. The gold doesn't count."
+
+"Yes," laughed Jimmie, "and I suppose we'll leave the Sea Lion and go
+over the mountains in an open boat! I'm goin' to stick to the little
+old Sea Lion."
+
+"Well," Frank remarked, after a short wait, "we must get back to the
+spot where Ned left us."
+
+"Never thought of that!" Jimmie cried. "He may be yelling his head off
+because he can't come on board."
+
+The boys lost no time in getting back to the first position, and then
+lifted to the surface. The conning tower, as before, was out of sight
+of anyone on the bay, the point of land intervening.
+
+As the time passed the boys became anxious about Ned and Jack. They
+might have returned while the Sea Lion was away, they thought, and
+gone into the interior thinking that some accident had happened to the
+submarine.
+
+"Anyway," Jimmie declared, "Ned told us to move along as my line gave
+out, and he must know that we'd come back to pick him up."
+
+While the lads speculated on the possible outcome of the visit to the
+shore there came a sharp collision which keeled the Sea Lion over to
+port. Both were active in an instant.
+
+"That's the Shark!" exclaimed Jimmie.
+
+"It must be," Frank agreed.
+
+Jimmie hastened to the stern and looked out of the plate glass panel
+there.
+
+"What do you see?" asked Frank, nervously.
+
+"It is the Shark, all right," was the reply, "and she is backing off.
+She may be going to ram us."
+
+"Then it's us for the bottom," cried Frank.
+
+"Why the bottom?" asked Jimmie.
+
+Frank did not answer for a moment. He was still standing back of the
+little fellow and looking over his shoulder, out of the glass panel.
+
+"Because," he said, "the Shark takes chances in bumping us at a
+considerable depth. She is higher than we are, and her prow sits a
+great deal above our vulnerable parts. If she strikes us when we are
+nestling on the bottom, her blow will glance off."
+
+"If she knows it, then," Jimmie said, "she won't follow us down. What
+will she do?"
+
+"Chase herself off."
+
+"I hope so!" cried Jimmie.
+
+"It beats the Old Scratch why Ned and Jack don't come," Frank said,
+presently. "I'm afraid something has happened to them."
+
+"There is no use of their staying ashore," Jimmie said, "for I found
+out what Ned wanted to know. He asked me to find out if the Shark
+communicated with the shore, and I did it. He ought to know I wouldn't
+fall down on a little thing like that," the boy added, with a grin.
+"I'm the only original snake charmer!"
+
+While this sharp exchange of ideas had been going on, Frank had been
+working the various levers which controlled the altitude of the
+submarine, and the gauge showed that she was close to the bottom as
+the last word was spoken.
+
+Jimmie turned away from the panel and caught hold of a railing which
+ran along in front.
+
+"Look out for the bumps!" he cried!
+
+Then there came a shock which threw both boys off their feet. The
+staunch craft shivered for an instant, then righted, swaying just a
+little under the heavy pressure of the depth she was in.
+
+Frank sprang to the delicate machinery which controlled the air supply
+and the lights. No harm seemed to have been done to them.
+
+"The Shark can't do that again!" Jimmie said, with a sigh of relief.
+"We're on the bottom now, and her prow would slip over our back. The
+only mischief she would do would be to knock off our conning tower,
+and that would not disable us."
+
+"Can you see her now?" asked Frank.
+
+"Sure," replied the boy. "Her lights are on."
+
+"What is she doing?"
+
+"Rolling on the bottom. Say, 'bo, I believe she hurt herself when she
+tried to soak us."
+
+The ex-newsboy moved away from the panel and Frank took his place as
+lookout.
+
+"She's crippled, all right," the latter said, after a moment's
+inspection of their rival, "but I can't see what's the matter."
+
+"Course you can't. The hurt's on the inside."
+
+"Anyway, she doesn't seem to be able to move. I know she is trying to
+get off by the way the water changes around her stern."
+
+"Bump her!" advised Jimmie.
+
+"I reckon that would settle her," Frank replied, "but I'm not in the
+pirate business just now."
+
+The boys watched the Shark for half an hour or more, and then saw her
+move slowly away.
+
+"She's going toward Hongkong," Frank said, "and we may as well bid her
+good-by."
+
+"Not!" exclaimed Jimmie. "We've got to follow her."
+
+"And leave Ned and Jack?"
+
+Jimmie's jaw fell. This was something he had not thought of. The boys
+were still on the island--might be in great peril.
+
+"Well, jump up to the surface," the lad said, then, "and I'll go to
+the island and see what's up."
+
+"Fine chance you'd stand!" laughed Frank.
+
+"Bet I can go ashore an' find a Boy Scout!" returned Jimmie. "We've
+found 'em in every part of the world."
+
+The Shark was still in view, her lights creating faint mists under the
+water, but the boys did not consider her a formidable opponent now, so
+they lifted to the top of the ocean.
+
+Jimmie was first out on the conning tower. The sun was still shining
+brightly and the water lay as quiet as the surface of a pond on a
+still day.
+
+When the boy turned to the white line of sand at the rim of the sea he
+saw Ned and Jack standing there with two others. He waved his hat and
+Jack swung back from where he stood.
+
+"Guess they've found some one worth talking with," Frank remarked,
+stepping up on the conning tower.
+
+"Guess they have," responded Jimmie, "but there's some one creeping up
+to 'em from the thicket," he added, lifting his glasses. "Look out,
+boys!" he shouted, waving one hand frantically. "Look out! There's
+some one makin' a sneak on you!"
+
+"They don't catch what you say!" Frank exclaimed. "Look there!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+A BOY SCOUT WITH A "PUNCH"
+
+
+
+When Ned saw the conning tower of the submarine drop out of sight he
+rowed over to the spot where she had gone down and tried to look into
+the depths of the sea.
+
+The water was fairly clear, and he could see two great bulks below
+instead of one. He knew then what was taking place.
+
+"The Shark is bent on murder," he mused. "Perhaps they wouldn't be so
+ready to sink the Sea Lion if they knew that the manager of the whole
+rotten business was a prisoner on her."
+
+He could not see clearly, of course, but he waited and watched for
+some moments. Then the Shark crashed with the Sea Lion and fell off,
+apparently crippled.
+
+"So that's the reason Frank dropped to the bottom!" thought Ned. "He
+knew the Shark couldn't get a good crack at the Sea Lion when she lay
+on the bottom. Wonder if the Shark is injured seriously?"
+
+He watched until the Shark turned to the east, curving around the
+point of land which she had passed to the attack, then turned toward
+the shore. Jack was still there, and he must find him before
+nightfall.
+
+Much to his surprise, he saw Jack, Hans and the Englishman, Hamblin by
+name, watching him from the beach. He waved his hat and shouted to
+them, wondering all the time where Jack had picked up his
+acquaintances. In five minutes he was on the beach.
+
+"Is this the boy you wanted me to talk with?" asked Hamblin, as Ned
+drew up his boat and approached the group.
+
+"The same," laughed Jack, "only you mustn't call him a boy! He's a big
+man in his own country."
+
+Hamblin eyed Ned critically for a minute and extended his hand. Ned
+laughed as he took it.
+
+"I've met you before!" he said.
+
+"In a cheap lodging house on the Bowery," said Hamblin. "You were
+looking for a man who had robbed a bank an' made a run for it."
+
+"Exactly," Ned said.
+
+"An' the bloomin' moocher was in the next room to mine, an' you got
+him. I was bloody well glad to get the five p'un' note you tipped me
+then. Stone broke I was."
+
+"You earned it," Ned replied.
+
+"It put me on me legs again," Hamblin went on. "An' I took ship an'
+come out to this blasted country. I wish I was on the Bowery again,
+blast me eyes if I don't."
+
+"What are you doing here?" asked Ned.
+
+"Runnin' a bloomin' store an' scrappin' with the Chinks," was the
+reply. "It's a bally bad game, out here."
+
+"Rotten!" echoed Hans.
+
+Hamblin made a break for the German.
+
+"You thief!" he shouted.
+
+"Hold on," cried Jack, "let me tell you about it," and he proceeded to
+inform the Englishman of the exact situation of affairs.
+
+"I thought he was a bloomin' moocher," said Hamblin, in a moment. "He
+acted like one."
+
+"Who is he?" asked Ned of Jack, pointing toward Hans, who now sat on
+the sand with his knees hunched up in his hands.
+
+"That's Hans," laughed Jack.
+
+Hans threw out his hand in Boy Scout salute.
+
+"Owl Padrol, Philadelphia!" he said.
+
+"Looks like an Owl, eh?" asked Jack.
+
+"He is an Owl!" roared the Englishman. "He works for me, an' he wants
+to sleep all day an' sit up all the bloomin' night. He's an Owl all
+but the wise look."
+
+"You loaver!" cried Hans, well knowing that Hamblin would not be
+permitted to attack him again. "You starf mine pelly! You put bugs to
+sleep in mine ped! How should the nights get me sleep when the ped is
+one processions of pugs?"
+
+Jack now called Ned aside and told him of the meeting of the
+conspirators at the Hamblin store, of the sealed packet, and of the
+seeming quarrel, as described by Hans. Ned turned to the Englishman.
+
+"They met there by appointment," he asked, "the man from the Shark and
+the man who waited for him?"
+
+"Yes, by appointment."
+
+"It was about papers?"
+
+"Yes, and gold."
+
+"Where did the man who waited here come from?"
+
+"Some point in China."
+
+Jack gave a low whistle.
+
+"China!" he cried. "I wouldn't have believed it."
+
+"Did you know either of the men who met there--ever see either of them
+before?" asked Ned, then.
+
+"One of them--a Captain Moore, formerly of the United States Navy,"
+was the astonishing reply.
+
+"Where had you seen him?" asked Ned, motioning to Jack to remain
+silent.
+
+"He first came here on a man-of-war about six months ago."
+
+"Well, the documents were taken back on board the Shark, then?" asked
+Ned.
+
+"Yes, I think so."
+
+"You don't know what the packet contained?"
+
+"Papers, they said."
+
+"Then it's all right!" Jack cried. "We can now bunch our hits! The
+papers and the men we want are on board the Shark. All we've got to do
+is to catch the Shark!"
+
+Just then the Sea Lion rose out of the ocean and they saw Frank and
+Jimmie waving to them.
+
+"So they're all right," Ned said. "A moment ago the Shark was ramming
+them!"
+
+"Why don't we go on board, then?" demanded Jack. "If there's going to
+be a fight on the bottom I want to be in on it. Bet your sweet life I
+do! Hurry on board!"
+
+"Look a liddle oudt!" cried Hans at this moment. "They say with their
+hats unt hands somedings. Look a liddle oudt!"
+
+Ned did "look a liddle oudt" just then, and saw Captain Moore and a
+dozen or more natives crowding through the thicket, the Captain
+carrying a revolver in a threatening manner.
+
+"Stand quiet," the ex-naval officer said. "I don't intend to harm any
+of you. Especially you, Mr. Hamblin. I only want to know where my son
+Arthur is."
+
+"I haven't got your son!" blustered Hamblin.
+
+"Make me a search!" cried Hans.
+
+"I'm not talking to you two," snarled the Captain. "I'm directing my
+talk to this sneak," pointing a shaking finger at Ned, whose muscles
+drew under the insult.
+
+Hans flushed and started forward, but the natives closed about the
+ex-naval officer.
+
+"Where is my son?" demanded Moore, flourishing his gun nervously.
+
+"Where did you see him last?" asked Ned.
+
+"That is neither here nor there," the Captain replied. "I want to know
+what you have done with him."
+
+"You sent him on a dangerous mission--a mission of murder," Ned said,
+presently.
+
+"I don't know what you are talking about."
+
+"You sent him to wreck the Sea Lion."
+
+"That is not true. I have not been on board the Shark."
+
+"Well, some one sent him. Anyway, he came on board the Sea Lion and
+got caught. Now, what would you have done under the circumstances? You
+would have given him a banquet, I presume, if he had tried to murder
+you and got caught at it."
+
+"I don't care what he has done," stormed the Captain. "I want to know
+where he is now."
+
+"He's at the bottom of the sea!" Jack cut in.
+
+The Captain staggered and turned a white face to the speaker. Ned was
+about to explain by saying that young Moore was at the bottom of the
+sea in the Sea Lion when Moore sprang toward him.
+
+"You murdered him!" shouted the enraged Captain. "You murdered him,
+and I'll have your life."
+
+He lifted his pistol and fired, but the bullet went whistling through
+the air instead of finding the mark intended for it. Hans, seeing the
+peril Ned was in, had stepped forward and landed a knock-out blow on
+the Captain's jaw.
+
+"You loaver!" he shouted, standing over him.
+
+The natives rushed forward as the Captain fell, uttering a jargon
+which no one understood save the trader. Hamblin saw the danger in the
+threatening looks of the fellows and sprang for the gun, which had
+dropped from Moore's hand.
+
+He reached it not a second too soon, for a brawny native was already
+snatching at it. The fellow seized the trader's wrist as he lifted the
+weapon and uttered a few words in a menacing tone.
+
+This was enough for Hans, who stood close by, rubbing the bruised
+knuckles of his right hand. He struck out again, throwing the whole
+weight of his body into the blow. The native went down and the others
+drew away from the group about him.
+
+"Great clip!" shouted Jack, as the trader threatened the natives with
+the gun. "You seem to be the White Man's Hope!"
+
+Hans rubbed the knuckles again and grinned, such a bland grin that
+both Ned and Jack burst into laughter.
+
+"You sure have a punch!" Jack went on. "Where did you get it?"
+
+"Py the verein just," was the reply.
+
+"You're all right, anyhow," Ned said.
+
+The trader was now addressing the natives in a language--if it was a
+language--which the boys could not at all understand. They noted the
+result of the talk with joy, however, for the black-skinned group
+turned toward the village and soon disappeared in the thicket, taking
+the knocked out fellow with them.
+
+Captain Moore now opened his eyes and staggered to his feet. His face
+was deadly pale and his eyes flashed like those of an enraged wolf.
+
+"You shall pay for this!" he shouted.
+
+"Jack did not finish his sentence when he told you that your son was
+at the bottom of the sea," Ned said, thinking that the deception had
+gone far enough. "He should have added that he was safe in the Sea
+Lion."
+
+"Then I demand his release!" shouted the other.
+
+"I can't bring him to you," Ned said, "but I'll take you where he is."
+
+"And if I refuse to go?"
+
+"You'll go just the same."
+
+"A prisoner?"
+
+"Certainly--a prisoner charged with piracy on the high seas."
+
+"You're a meddling fool!" roared the Captain.
+
+Ned paid no attention to the personal abuse of the angry man, but
+turned to Hamblin.
+
+"I want to talk with you," he said, "but I must get this man on board
+the Sea Lion first. You'll wait here?"
+
+Before the trader could reply, a shout came over the water from the
+submarine, and a column of smoke came out of the open hatch.
+
+"I guess you've got all the trouble on the Sea Lion you need there,"
+snarled Moore, "without taking me on board. Your ship's on fire!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+A DESPERATE PRISONER
+
+
+
+Just as the attention of Frank and Jimmie was called to the Captain
+and the natives advancing upon Ned and Jack from the thicket, they
+heard a great beating on a door or wall below. There was only one
+person in the submarine save themselves, and so they knew that it was
+the captive who was kicking up the row.
+
+"He knows something unusual has been going on," Jimmie observed, "and
+wants to turn whatever takes place to his own advantage. Suppose we go
+below and see what he's doing."
+
+"He's frightened half to death, I take it," Frank surmised. "The two
+bumps the Sea Lion got from the Shark must have given him the
+impression that we had collided with a rock or reef."
+
+"Serves him right," Jimmie replied. "He ought to be willing to take a
+little of his own medicine occasionally. He tried to kill us when he
+came on board."
+
+The pounding below continued, and the boys went down to the door of
+the room where young Moore was held captive. The noise came from
+within, sure enough.
+
+"What do you want?" demanded Frank, calling loudly so that his voice
+might penetrate the thick door.
+
+"Let me out!"
+
+"You've got your nerve!" answered Jimmie.
+
+"Let me out, please!" continued the prisoner.
+
+"Why?" asked Frank.
+
+"Open the door and you'll see," was the reply.
+
+Jimmie sniffed at the air in the larger apartment and pulled Frank by
+the arm.
+
+"Smell anything?" he asked.
+
+"Something does seem queer," the latter replied.
+
+In a second there was an unmistakable odor of burning cloth in the
+room, and the boys began hunting about for the source of it. The
+pounding on the door continued.
+
+"Open up!" young Moore shouted. "Open up if you don't want to lose
+your ship."
+
+"I'll bet the fire's in there," Jimmie ventured. "I'm goin' to open
+the door and find out."
+
+He turned the key, which was in the lock on the outside, and in a
+second the door was open. A burst of smoke shot out into the larger
+apartment.
+
+Through the thick veil of the smoke, in a corner of the room, the boys
+saw a spurt of flame. It was running along the floor, nipping at the
+fringe on an expensive rug.
+
+When the door was opened young Moore dashed out, as if desiring to
+pass the two boys before they got the smoke out of their eyes. Frank
+caught him by the arm and held him fast.
+
+By this time the large room where the boys stood was well filled with
+smoke, and Jimmie opened every avenue by which it might travel to the
+main hatch in the conning tower. In a few moments the interior of the
+submarine was comparatively free from smoke.
+
+Jimmie took a pail of water from the tap and tossed it on the creeping
+flame in the little room. It served its purpose and the danger was
+over. Frank, still holding Moore by the arm, pointed to a chair. The
+young fellow seemed to have no notion of taking the seat, however, for
+he made a dash for the hatch, which was wide open.
+
+In order to gain the staircase it was necessary for him to pass the
+place where Jimmie stood. As he came up to the boy he struck out with
+all his force and continued his flight--for a second.
+
+When the boy saw him getting by, he dropped to the floor and seized
+him by the ankles, with the result that both were rolling about in the
+rich rug in no time.
+
+"Go to it!" shouted Jimmie, as Moore tried to break away from him.
+"Catch him, Frank!" he continued, as the stronger man pulled away.
+
+It was quite a neat little battle, but in the end numbers won, and
+Moore was ornamented with the irons once more.
+
+"Why didn't you say the boat was on fire?" asked Frank. "You might
+have smothered in there."
+
+"Wish I had!" gritted Moore.
+
+"Go back and do it over again," Jimmie suggested. "You can have all
+the time you want!"
+
+"Why didn't you let us know at first?" insisted Frank.
+
+"Well, if you must know," the captive replied, "I was afraid you would
+extinguish the fire by flooding the room, if I told what the trouble
+was. Besides, I thought I could get away if you opened the door."
+
+"Did you set the fire?"
+
+"I was lighting a cigarette, and--"
+
+"That's enough," Frank said. "Any one who will smoke cigarettes
+deserves to be burned alive. Wish we had flooded the room after you
+got well scorched and left you in it."
+
+"You may wish so before you have done with me," threatened the other.
+"I'll get you yet--both of you."
+
+"Well, get back into the den," Frank commanded. "We have had about all
+the lip we can stand from you. You tried to murder Lieutenant Scott at
+Mare Island Navy Yard, you attempted our lives when you came to this
+boat, and now you set us on fire and attempt to run away. You've got a
+long account to settle, young man."
+
+"You can bluff now," Moore retorted, "but that is all you can do. My
+father is on the lookout for you and that wise guy you call Ned
+Nestor. When you go back, without the gold, he'll get you good and
+plenty. You know it! Now lock me up and go away, for I'm sick of the
+sight of your impudent faces."
+
+Jimmie forced the prisoner into his room and closed the door.
+
+"You'll have to make a supper off that smoke!" he called out through
+the keyhole. "You're too fly a guy to take food to."
+
+"I'll charge it up to you!" came back from the den.
+
+"Nervy chap!" Frank said, as the two boys hastened back to the conning
+tower to see what had become of Ned and Jack.
+
+"Cheekiest fellow I ever saw!" Jimmie added. "He really thinks he's
+goin' to give us the slip. He really believes we daren't do a thing to
+him. I'll show him!"
+
+When the boys came in sight of the beach again they saw Captain Moore
+threatening Ned with a revolver. Then they saw the Captain tumble over
+on the sand, with the German standing over him.
+
+"Gee!" Jimmie shouted. "Prize fight!"
+
+"Looks like it."
+
+There was silence in the conning tower for a second, then both boys
+shouted out their joy as they saw Ned and Jack getting the upper hand
+of Moore and the natives.
+
+"Now they'll soon be on board," Frank observed, "and we'll find out
+what they've been up to."
+
+"Bet they didn't find out any more than I did," Jimmie cried. "I'll
+bet they had a scrap too, and that's the only thing I wanted that I
+didn't get."
+
+"Wonder who that Dutch-looking fellow is?" Frank mused. "I believe Ned
+is putting him into the boat!"
+
+"I'll go a dollar to a doughnut that it's a Boy Scout!" laughed
+Jimmie. "Don't look the part, though, does he?"
+
+"Why do you think it is a Boy Scout?"
+
+"Because we've always found one. If we should go to the North Pole,
+we'd find one there--always busy an' ready to do a fellow a good turn,
+too. You know it!"
+
+"And that big fellow, with the paunch and the important look seems
+familiar to me," mused Frank. "Don't you recognize him?"
+
+"Sure," was the reply. "That is Captain Moore. Don't you remember the
+bluff he put up in the Black Bear clubroom before we left little old
+New York?"
+
+"I believe you are right."
+
+"Well, we'll soon know all about it," said the boy. "Ned is bringin'
+the Captain an' the Dutch guy off to us. Funny you'll see so many rare
+specimens when you hain't got no gun!"
+
+Hans grinned delightedly when he set foot on the conning tower of the
+submarine and glanced inquisitively into the interior. His round, baby
+blue eyes protruded in wonder as they fell on the comfortably
+furnished apartment below.
+
+"Jump down, Dutch!" Jimmie laughed. "There is where they make men out
+of Dutchmen. Don't be afraid."
+
+"Iss dot so?" grunted Hans. "Vell, if mens iss madt dere, vy dondt you
+go pelow?"
+
+"Good for you, Dutch!" cried Frank. "Hit him again. He's too fresh,
+anyway."
+
+"Where did you get it, Ned?" asked Jimmie. "You'll have to bake it
+when we get back to New York."
+
+"Better look out, lad," Ned replied, "this boy has the kick of a mule
+in his left. Let him alone."
+
+During this short by-play Captain Moore stood scowling on the conning
+tower, crowded close against the boys, for the platform was a small
+one. He now faced Ned angrily.
+
+"What is the proposition?" he demanded.
+
+"I have brought you here to see your son," Ned replied. "If you'll
+step down the stairs I'll show you where he is."
+
+"He ought to be at the bottom of the sea," Frank said, "for he tried
+to fire the boat."
+
+"I have no doubt that he resents his treatment," said Moore. "I,
+myself, would sink your craft this moment if it lay in my power."
+
+"No doubt of it," Ned said. "You've come to the end of your rope,
+though. All the mischief you can do now is to yourself."
+
+Moore snarled out some reply intended to be exasperating, but which
+made no impression on the boys, and set his feet to the stairs. The
+boys followed him, but the ex-naval officer reached the floor first,
+and, with a bound, reached the mechanism which gave forward motion to
+the submarine, the prow of which was turned toward the beach.
+
+Ned sprang forward, but the boat was already under motion. It was
+unquestionably the intention of the prisoner to wreck her on the
+beach, hoping to rescue his son and make his own escape in the
+confusion.
+
+Moore struck savagely at Ned as he attempted to draw him away from the
+lever, but missed. In a second Jimmie had his arms about those of the
+Captain and they went down together.
+
+Ned leaped to the lever and shut off the power. In three minutes more
+the Sea Lion must have been wrecked on the shelving shore. As it was
+she stopped within a few yards of the danger line.
+
+"You're a pair of murderers!" said Ned, coolly, as he seized Moore by
+the throat and flung him into the room where his son was incarcerated.
+
+Young Moore's face appeared at the door as his father was forced in,
+and angry words between the two followed as the door was closed.
+
+"There'll be a social session in there now," laughed Ned. "Each one
+will blame the other for the predicament they are in!"
+
+"Let 'em fight it out," Jimmie advised, rubbing a bruise on his arm,
+which had been somewhat injured in the fall.
+
+Hans was now gazing about the boat with something more than curiosity
+in his eyes. He had observed how quickly the submarine had responded
+to a touch of the lever, and was actually wondering if he wasn't on
+board one of the magic ships he had read of in the nursery.
+
+"Sit down outside this door and see that nothing more happens in the
+kick line," Ned directed, thinking to give the uneasy youth something
+to occupy his mind. "If they get the door open, give them one of those
+left-hand jolts."
+
+With another glance about the German sat down contentedly. Then Ned
+went to the stern and looked out of the glass panel.
+
+"Is the Shark still in sight?" asked Frank. "Look out to the east and
+you'll see her if she's anywhere about."
+
+"I'm afraid she's too far away by this time," Ned replied.
+
+"Then we'd better be moving!" Frank said. "I'll take the boat and go
+after Jack, then we'll be off."
+
+"Don't lose any time," advised Ned.
+
+Frank, accompanied by Jimmie, was off in the rowboat in short order,
+and before long Jack was on board.
+
+"Hamblin, the trader, wants to talk with you, Ned," he said as he came
+down into the cabin.
+
+"He'll have to wait until we catch the Shark," Ned said. "I'm afraid
+we have lost too much time now."
+
+Jack's report had shown him that the sealed packet was still on the
+Shark, and it was his purpose to keep after the submarine until he
+caught up with her. Just what would take place then he did not know,
+but he was willing to take great risks in order to get hold of the
+packet.
+
+He did not know what it contained, but he did know that it was claimed
+by the enemies of his government, that it held papers which, if
+brought out, might smash several international treaties. His own
+belief was that the packet would establish the fair dealing of the
+Washington officials, but this was only a matter of opinion.
+
+While the Sea Lion was dropping down and getting under way he talked
+the matter over with Frank. That young man was inclined to be rather
+pessimistic over the matter.
+
+"If the papers in the packet are of the sort you think they are," he
+declared, "they will destroy them before they will permit you to get
+hold of them."
+
+"They might do so only for the fact that this is a money-loving world
+we are living in," Ned declared, with a smile. "Those papers, whatever
+they are, are worth a lot of cash to some one, and they will not be
+destroyed."
+
+The submarine was soon moving swiftly through the water, only a few
+yards from the sandy bottom. The general direction was east, toward
+the harbor of Hongkong.
+
+Just before the night fell Jack, who was on the lookout in front,
+peering through the glass panel, declared that the Shark, or some
+other submarine, was in sight.
+
+"She's crippled, too," he cried. "She advances a few paces and then
+stops. They are having all kinds of trouble with her. Just lie still a
+short time, and you'll see her mounting to the surface."
+
+The Sea Lion was brought to a halt, and the boys watched the dark bulk
+ahead with all their eyes. Their own boat was dark, but directly
+lights flared out ahead.
+
+"There she goes to the top!" Jimmie cried.
+
+"And there," exclaimed Frank, "is a signal from Hans which shows that
+there's something doing with the prisoners!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+A BLUFF THAT DIDN'T WORK
+
+
+
+Leaving the prow, Ned hastened down a little passage and came out in
+the room where Hans sat, grinning, before a door behind which there
+was a great commotion. The pounding was incessant, and the voices of
+the prisoners came clearly through the solid panels.
+
+"Open!" cried the voice of Captain Moore. "There's danger ahead for
+you. Open the door."
+
+"Little he cares for our hides!" Jimmie commented. "If there was any
+danger he'd be the last one to warn us."
+
+"Just a crack," pleaded Moore. "Just a crack, and I'll tell you what
+you are facing."
+
+Ned opened the door a trifle and saw Moore's face there, looking
+almost frantic in the strong light.
+
+"Well?" Ned asked.
+
+"There's death for us all if you go ahead," the Captain declared.
+"Stop where you are."
+
+"Soh!" grunted the German.
+
+"Oh, I'm not pretending that I care for your rascally lives," Moore
+went on, vindictively. "I'd kill you all this moment if it lay in my
+power to do so. I'm thinking of my own safety."
+
+"Well?" repeated Ned. "What is it?"
+
+"The boat you are chasing has dynamite on board, and a tube gun. If
+you go nearer, she'll blow you out of the water."
+
+"That's cheerful," Jimmie grinned. "Why didn't she do it before?"
+
+"Probably because she thought to get away. I've been watching her
+through the little port and I know that she is now waiting for you to
+come up and receive a dynamite ball."
+
+"It strikes me," Ned replied, "that she is halting because her running
+gear is out of whack. She rammed us not long ago and got the worst of
+it."
+
+Captain Moore thrust his head close to the little opening between the
+casing and the door and almost screamed:
+
+"Do you mean that she is crippled so that she can't get away from
+you?"
+
+"I said that I thought she had injured herself in trying to destroy
+the Sea Lion," was the reply.
+
+"Well, even if she can't get away," the Captain went on, with a change
+of expression, "she can blow you out of the water."
+
+"We'll have to take our chances on that," Ned replied.
+
+After some further talk, the boy entered the room where the prisoners
+were and closed the door, leaving Hans on guard outside. Captain Moore
+frowned as he seated himself by the port.
+
+"It is bad enough to be confined here without being obliged to endure
+your company," he said.
+
+"What a snake you would have made!" commented Ned. "I never saw a
+fellow loaded to the guards with venom as you are. Will you answer a
+few questions?"
+
+"Depends on what they are," was the reply.
+
+"If they will aid you, you will answer them, eh?"
+
+"Of course."
+
+"And if they will assist me, you won't?"
+
+The Captain nodded.
+
+"All right," laughed Ned. "Suppose the correct answers would help us
+both? What then?"
+
+"Oh, what's the use of all this nagging?" demanded the son. "If you
+have anything to say, say it, and get out."
+
+"And you're a pretty good imitation of this other snake," Ned said,
+glancing at the young fellow. "If you interfere in the talk again I'll
+put you in the dungeon and forget to feed you."
+
+Captain Moore motioned to his son to remain quiet.
+
+"This cheap Bowery boy has the upper hand now," he said. "Wait until
+conditions are reversed."
+
+"Captain," began Ned, paying no attention to the venom of the other,
+"will you tell me what the packet that was rescued from the wreck by
+the pirates under your command contained?"
+
+"What packet?" demanded the Captain, surprise showing on his drawn
+features. "What packet do you refer to?"
+
+"The mysterious packet you came to this part of the world to obtain.
+You know very well what I mean."
+
+"We came, under contract, for the gold," was the reply.
+
+"Yet your boat went away and left most of it on the bottom after the
+packet was discovered."
+
+"She came to this harbor after supplies."
+
+"And neglected to secure them!"
+
+"Well, there was trouble with the trader."
+
+"You met a Shark man, on the island?"
+
+"Of course. I came here to meet him, to receive a report as to the
+success of the expedition."
+
+"You received such a report?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You were told that the gold had been found intact?"
+
+"That is not for discussion here."
+
+"You were astonished when your son did not make his appearance?"
+
+"Frankly, yes."
+
+"You expected that he would bring you the report?"
+
+"Yes; he was in charge of the Shark."
+
+"If he had been in charge when the man landed, he would have given you
+the packet?"
+
+"If he had had a packet, or anything else taken from the wreck, he
+would have turned it over to me."
+
+"But the man you met refused to do so?"
+
+"How do you know what took place?"
+
+"That is immaterial, so long as I do know. Tell, me, what was the
+difficulty at the store--money?"
+
+The Captain did not answer.
+
+"Now," Ned went on, "you stated a moment ago that you came here under
+contract to get the gold. Who are your principals?"
+
+No reply was received.
+
+"What will the man now in charge of the Shark do with the packet he
+refused to deliver to you?" was the next question.
+
+"He will transfer it to me as soon as we meet again."
+
+"You are sure of that?"
+
+"Reasonably sure."
+
+"Then what will you do with it?"
+
+"Anything given to me will be turned over to my principals."
+
+"But, suppose the contents of the packet are not favorable to your
+side of the case? Suppose they clear the United States Government of
+suspicion?"
+
+Captain Moore gave a quick start of amazement.
+
+"I don't know what you are talking about," he said.
+
+"In that case," Ned went on, "I presume you will destroy the papers?
+If you can't entangle the Government that fed you so long in some
+trouble, you won't play."
+
+"You've been reading some of the red-covered detective stories, and
+think you're a sleuth!" snarled the Captain.
+
+"You may as well tell me all about it," Ned urged.
+
+"I have told you all I know about the condition of the wreck."
+
+"And the packet?"
+
+"There was a long envelope, but I did not see what it contained."
+
+"Yet you came here to make sure that it should not get out of your
+hands unless it would aid you in your treachery?"
+
+The prisoner was silent.
+
+"Why didn't you obtain a knowledge of its contents?"
+
+"The man who held it refused to make delivery."
+
+"In other words, he demanded more money than you were authorized to
+pay him?"
+
+"I have nothing to say about that."
+
+"He took the packet back to the Shark?"
+
+"Of course."
+
+"And made an appointment to meet you at Hongkong?"
+
+"It does not matter to you what our arrangement is."
+
+"Oh, yes it does, for I'm telling you now that the appointment will
+never be kept."
+
+"You don't know what peril you are in this minute," snarled the other.
+"There are bombs under your keel now!"
+
+Ned did not like the tone of satisfaction in which the words were
+spoken. The Shark had passed slowly over the spot where the Sea Lion
+now lay, and torpedoes and bombs might have been laid.
+
+"Thank you for the hint," he finally said. "I'll go out and see about
+it."
+
+"When you want further information," frowned the Captain, with a
+scornful laugh, "come in and I'll give it to you--just as I have on
+this occasion."
+
+"No trouble to show goods!" broke in the son.
+
+Ned opened the door and motioned to Hans and Jack, who were just
+outside, watching and listening to such few words as came through the
+heavy panels of the door.
+
+"Take this impertinent young murderer to the den," he said, as Hans
+and Jack stepped up, "and leave him there in darkness. Don't feed him
+until I give the word."
+
+The young man's struggles only increased the violence which was used
+in his removal. The boys would have killed the man who had attempted
+the lives of all the crew if they had been directed to do so.
+
+Then Ned turned back to the Captain, now foaming with rage and calling
+to his son to remain docile until his turn should come.
+
+"You pride yourself on having put me off without any information
+whatever," the boy said. "You advise me to come again and meet with
+the same treatment. Now, let me tell you, for your information, that I
+came in here to get answers to only two questions."
+
+"Did you get them?"
+
+"Indeed I did," was the reply.
+
+The Captain looked disgusted.
+
+"What were they?" he asked.
+
+"I wanted to know if the man who landed from the Shark had the packet,
+and if he took it back on board with him. You gave me the information
+I sought. You even told me that the packet had not been opened when
+you saw it."
+
+The Captain stormed up and down the little room in a towering rage.
+
+"If I could turn a lever now and blow us all into eternity," he
+shouted, "I would do it!"
+
+"Your mind seems to run on blowing up somebody."
+
+Moore gritted his teeth and made no reply.
+
+Ned locked him in again and went out to Frank, who was in charge of
+the boat.
+
+"Get her over to the west a few yards," he said. "Our friend the
+Captain says the Shark is sowing torpedoes along here, and we can't
+afford to be blown up just now."
+
+"The Shark is at the surface now," Frank said. "Anybody on the
+bottom?"
+
+"Not so far as I can see, but it is pretty thick down here."
+
+"Why not go to the surface?" asked Jack.
+
+"Yes; she knows we are here, all right," Frank added.
+
+"Well, keep to the bottom until you change position, then come to the
+top and keep dark. Not a light in sight, understand, and the tower up
+just high enough to keep out the water."
+
+"What are you going to do?" asked Frank.
+
+"I want to get aboard the Shark," was the cool reply.
+
+"Yes; I see you doing it," Frank said.
+
+"I can only try," was the reply. "The boat is headed for Hongkong,
+where she is to deliver the packet we want. She is to deliver it to
+Captain Moore on the payment of a certain sum of money, but if the
+Captain is not there she will turn it over to whoever has the price.
+We can't allow that."
+
+"Of course not; but how are you going to get on board the Shark? If
+you don't watch out you'll be served as you served young Moore."
+
+"The minute the Shark strikes Hongkong," Ned replied, "we will have a
+thousand places to search for those papers. Before she lands, we have
+only one."
+
+"You are always right!" cried Frank. "When are you going to make the
+attempt?"
+
+"That depends. In the meantime, we must get to the surface and in a
+position where we cannot be seen. If she thinks we have gone away, so
+much the better."
+
+"I guess our little picnic isn't over with yet!" laughed Frank. "Are
+you going to take me on board with you?"
+
+"I'll be lucky if I can take myself on board," was the reply.
+
+By this time the Sea Lion was some distance from the Shark, and the
+hatch in the conning tower was open. It was a clear, starlit night,
+and there would be a moon later on.
+
+There seemed to be great confusion on board the Shark. The boat was
+brilliantly lighted, and the conning tower stood high above the water.
+The ports on the side toward the Sea Lion were open, as if to admit
+the pure, cool air of the night.
+
+"I believe there's something the matter with her air supply," Ned said
+to Frank as the two stood together on the tower. "The ramming she gave
+us must have done her a lot of mischief. Looks like she was stuck
+there until help comes."
+
+"The help she ought to have is right here," Frank replied. "I'd like
+to get that crew on board a man-of-war."
+
+"We have the real criminals," Ned replied.
+
+The boys watched the Shark for a long time. They could see people
+moving about on the inside, and occasionally a group assembled on the
+conning platform, which was much larger than that of the Sea Lion.
+
+"I believe some one is going down in a water suit," Ned said,
+presently. "The water chamber is on the other side, but she lists as
+if a weight was pulling at her."
+
+"Listen!" Frank cautioned. "There's the machinery working. That would
+be the lowering apparatus. Some one is going down, all right. Now,
+what for?"
+
+Ten minutes passed, and then the waters surged about the Sea Lion, and
+a great roar and rumble came with the waves which swept into the open
+hatch. The Shark, too, rocked on the crest of a great wave.
+
+"Dynamite below!" Ned said. "Will there be more than one?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+BAD FOR THE SEA CREATURES
+
+
+
+As Ned spoke there came another upheaval of water, and a louder roar
+from the sea. The Shark and the Sea Lion both swayed perilously. Ned
+and Frank closed their hatch and clung to the railing around the
+conning tower platform.
+
+"Those are torpedoes, all right," Frank said.
+
+"But I don't understand--"
+
+Ned cut the sentence short as a third reverberation came from beneath
+the water.
+
+"They think we are down there yet!" Frank said. "I wonder how the man
+who went down came to make such a mistake?"
+
+"Cheerful sort of people to fight!" Ned said. "Every man on that boat
+is a murderer at heart."
+
+A pounding on the under side of the hatch was now heard, and Jimmie's
+face showed when it was lifted.
+
+"Say," the little fellow said, "Captain Moore wants to speak to you,
+Ned. These here earthquake shocks have got him goin'. He acts like a
+crazy man."
+
+Ned paid no attention to the request.
+
+"He wants to say that he told me so," Ned said to Jimmie. "Go back and
+tell him that he ought not to be afraid of his friends on board the
+Shark."
+
+"Gee!" the little fellow replied. "If he don't behave himself, I'll
+turn the hose on him. He ought to have a salt water bath, anyway. For
+a long time he's been tryin' to give us one!"
+
+"Let him alone," Ned ordered.
+
+This second upheaval of the water had swung the Shark around so that
+the door to the water chamber was in view from the Sea Lion. The boys
+saw that it was open, probably left in that way for the return of the
+man who had gone down in the water suit.
+
+The light, shining from the main cabin, filtered through the chamber,
+which was, of course, under water, only a few inches of the conning
+tower of the submarine now being above the surface.
+
+"Can they shut that door from the cabin?" Frank asked.
+
+"I presume so," Ned replied. "They ought to be able to shut the door
+and empty the room as well."
+
+"That can't be done on the Sea Lion," Frank said.
+
+"No, but that is a detail that was overlooked in the construction of
+the boat. I was just learning to run the craft, and did not observe
+the deficiency."
+
+"Well," Frank went on, "they are closing the door, but they are not
+doing a good job at it. Say," he added, grasping Ned's arm, "I'll bet
+the machinery connecting with the door from the cabin is broken!"
+
+"Then the man who is down below will have to come up and do the
+opening after he gets up, and after he shuts the outer door and
+exhausts the water."
+
+"I don't believe the outer door can be closed."
+
+"What I'm interested in just now," Ned said, "is whether the diver is
+still alive. If he was anywhere near where the torpedoes exploded he
+is dead."
+
+"And the Shark can't close her water chamber! I see a chance, Ned,"
+Frank exclaimed. "Suppose I drop out and enter that water chamber?"
+
+"What for?" asked Ned.
+
+"Why, they would think I was the other fellow and let me in."
+
+"With your line and hose unconnected with the mechanism inside?" asked
+Ned.
+
+"Never thought of that."
+
+"The only way for us to get into that boat," Ned went on, "is to get
+in from the top."
+
+"But how?"
+
+"That's just what I'm trying to study out."
+
+"I presume the man who went down is there for good," Frank suggested.
+
+"He probably went down to see why the torpedoes didn't go off and got
+caught," Ned replied.
+
+"Perhaps the Shark will go down to see about it directly," the other
+ventured.
+
+"I hardly think she could lift again with that water chamber door open
+and the chamber full of water," Ned went on. "It is my opinion that
+they will remain on top."
+
+"I should think she'd be afraid of the traps she set for us, anyway. I
+wish she would get caught in one of them."
+
+"Not while she has that mysterious packet on board," smiled Ned. "We
+have traveled a long way to get that."
+
+No more submarine explosions came, and the boys sat on the dark
+conning tower until nearly midnight, watching the people on the Shark
+flying about, evidently laboring under great excitement.
+
+The diver had not returned. The machinery was evidently out of order
+and the Shark might as well have tied to the bottom for all the speed
+she could make.
+
+"I'm afraid some ship friendly to these pirates will come along," Ned
+said, after a long silence. "I think I'd better go aboard the Shark
+and find out what she intends doing."
+
+"I see you doing it!"
+
+"I can only try."
+
+"And try only once," Frank muttered.
+
+"I think they are ready for a compromise by this time."
+
+"Well, then, I'll go with you," Frank decided.
+
+"Get up the boat, then."
+
+Jack and Jimmie were not inclined to favor the scheme, but they
+assisted in launching the boat and stood with half-frightened faces
+while Ned and Frank stepped into her.
+
+Just as they were pushing off, Hans made his appearance on the little
+platform, his china-blue eyes filled with excitement.
+
+"Mine friendts," he said, "vot iss if I goes py the poat?"
+
+"No more room," said Frank.
+
+"Now, you hold on," Jimmie called out. "You know what sort of a left
+hand punch this baby has? Well, then, you may need him when you get
+over to the Shark. See?"
+
+"That might be," Frank muttered, looking inquiringly at Ned.
+
+"Then let him come along," the latter said, so Hans entered the boat
+and took up the oars. "Rows like a steam engine!" Jimmie observed as
+the boat sped away. "That Dutchman is stronger than a mule."
+
+It was still and lonely on the Sea Lion after the departure of the
+boys. The lights of the Shark were in sight, but they did not bring
+cheerful thoughts. The boys sat on the railing of the conning tower
+and waited in no little anxiety.
+
+Occasionally the pounding of the prisoners reached their ears, but
+they paid little attention to it.
+
+"They are suffering the tortures of the lost," Jack said. "Every
+minute they think they're going to the bottom. Let them take their
+medicine!"
+
+"I wish they were going to the bottom," Jimmie responded. "When we see
+snakes like they are we ought never to let them get away from us. If
+we don't get bitten, some one else will."
+
+Jack rested his chin on his palms and regarded the boy quizzically for
+a moment.
+
+"How do you like it, as far as you've got?" he asked, then.
+
+Jimmie looked down into the interior of the submarine, out over the
+sea, sparkling in the moonlight, then up to the heavens, bright with
+stars. Presently he answered:
+
+"I don't like it."
+
+"Why not?" "We ain't havin' any fun. We've been down in that old hold
+for a long time, and haven't got anywhere. I'd rather take a trip
+through South America, or through China. I want the ground under my
+feet part of the time, anyway."
+
+"It seems to me that it is getting stale and unprofitable," Jack
+admitted. "Suppose we get up power and drift up closer to the Shark.
+Then we can at least see what's going on."
+
+"All right, 'bo!" cried Jimmie, starting down the stairs.
+
+"Well," called Jack, "don't be in such a hurry! We want to make sure
+that Ned has attracted the attention of the Shark people before we
+move. If they see us moving up on them before Ned gets a chance to
+talk with them, they may do something rash to the boys."
+
+"Guess you are right," Jimmie admitted.
+
+"So far as I can see," Jack continued, "they are over there now. Do
+you hear that voice?"
+
+"Ned's, all right."
+
+The boys listened, but the voice came no more.
+
+"They've pulled him into the boat!" cried Jimmie. "Hurry up and get
+started!"
+
+When Jack went below to handle the motive power machinery he heard
+Captain Moore thumping on the door of his prison.
+
+"What do you want?" he demanded.
+
+"Come to the door."
+
+Jack did as requested, but did not open the door.
+
+"Now, what is it?" he asked.
+
+"Is that Nestor?"
+
+"It's Jack," was the reply.
+
+"Well, ask Nestor if he'll let both of us go if well give up the whole
+scheme. Will you?"
+
+"And the papers?"
+
+"I'll help him get the papers."
+
+"I'll tell him," said Jack.
+
+"Send for him at once," urged the Captain. "If we remain here much
+longer, we'll be blown out of water. You heard those explosions?"
+
+"They harmed no one but the sea creatures," Jack replied. "They were
+bad for them."
+
+"Where is Nestor?" was then asked.
+
+"Visiting on the Shark," was the reply.
+
+"If they've got him, he'll never come back," gritted the Captain.
+
+"But they haven't," said the boy. "We're going to run the Sea Lion
+over to the Shark now and help them entertain him."
+
+"You're a fool!" roared Moore. "Don't you tell them that we are on
+board--my son and myself."
+
+"Don't they know it?"
+
+"How should they know it? Don't you tell them. If you do they will
+raid your ship and get us."
+
+"So you've been playing some dirty trick on them, have you?" asked
+Jack. "Well, what about your meeting them at Hongkong?"
+
+"That was a lie."
+
+"You are out with them?"
+
+"They are out with me. They claim I am keeping them out of a lot of
+money. Don't tell them I am here."
+
+"In all your life"--asked Jack--"in all your life, did you ever do
+business with any man, woman, or child you didn't cheat and betray?
+You ought to be hanged."
+
+"If Nestor comes back, you send him here and I'll tell him the whole
+story if he'll let us go. And I'll tell him how to get the papers he
+is after. Will you see that he comes--if he gets back?"
+
+"I think it would do you more good," laughed Jack, "to have a talk
+with the people on the Shark."
+
+Ignoring the prisoner's further demands, Jack turned on the power and
+directed the Sea Lion toward the Shark. In a moment Jimmie called down
+through the hatchway:
+
+"Slow up, now, unless you want to bunt the other boat."
+
+Jack, accordingly, shut off the power and went up to the platform. The
+boat was still drifting ahead a trifle, and the boy went below again
+and dropped an anchor.
+
+If the advance of the submarine had attracted the attention of those
+on the Shark's conning tower they gave no evidence of the fact. The
+boat Ned had taken lay swinging on the easy sea close to the tower,
+with Frank and Hans sitting near the stern.
+
+Directly voices came from the other submarine. The first speaker was
+Ned, then a heavier voice exclaimed, angrily:
+
+"You have no right to suppose anything of the kind. We are here on
+legitimate business, and must not be interfered with."
+
+"What did you take from the wreck?" asked Ned.
+
+"What is it to you?" came the stronger voice. "You can't make any
+bluff work with me."
+
+"Then I may as well go back to my ship," Ned said.
+
+"Go back to your ship!" snapped the other. "Not if I know myself. You
+have come aboard without leave or license, and you'll stay until we
+get good and ready to let you go."
+
+The boys saw Hans and Frank spring for the platform, and then a shout
+of triumph came from half a dozen throats. Ned surely was in trouble.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+"MAKING A GOOD JOB OF IT."
+
+
+
+"I guess they've got Ned!" Jimmie cried, as the heavy hatch of the
+Shark closed with a slam. "If they have, we'll ram 'em to the bottom."
+
+"You just wait!" Jack advised. "There's a good deal of a racket going
+on over there. I guess Hans is putting his educated left into motion.
+Look at him!"
+
+There was indeed a great commotion on the platform. Presently the
+hatch was lifted and one of the contestants disappeared.
+
+"Do you mind that, now!" shouted Jimmie. "Ned has captured the boat
+for keeps! There! Now he's tellin' them where to head in at!"
+
+Through the still night air they heard Ned's voice:
+
+"You people down there know what I am here for. If the thing I want is
+destroyed you'll all be hanged for piracy. Understand?"
+
+Then the hatch was jammed down again, and Ned and Frank stepped into
+the rowboat, leaving Hans on the platform. Jimmie threw up his cap
+when the two boys stepped on the Sea Lion's platform.
+
+"You captured the bunch!" he yelled, "and you stole the boat. You sure
+made a good job of it."
+
+"What's the proposition?" asked Jack.
+
+"I thought I'd tow the old tub into a port where I can communicate
+with an American man-of-war," replied Ned.
+
+"This is luck!" Frank exclaimed. "Luck for us, and trouble for the
+pirates. I wonder if they've got much gold on board."
+
+"If they have," laughed Ned, "Hans will see that they don't get away
+with it. They're nailed down hard."
+
+"Talk about the luck of the British army!" roared Jack. "It is blind
+adversity to the luck of the Boy Scouts! Here we've got the pirates
+bunched! As soon as we communicate with a man-of-war, we'll turn 'em
+over to Uncle Sam and go back and get the gold."
+
+"The Shark," Frank observed, "was a derelict when we picked her up,
+wasn't she? She couldn't move a foot. Well, then, we're entitled to
+salvage. We'll put in a bill that will eat up the whole business!"
+
+"If we get her into port," Ned replied. "The old tub is in bad shape
+owing to the bunting she gave the Sea Lion. I'm afraid she'll go down
+before morning."
+
+"Cripes!" Jimmie broke out. "What will we do, then, with all them
+bold, bad men? We've got our penitentiary full now!"
+
+"And the prisoners are making all kinds of trouble, too," Jack added.
+"If the door wasn't good and strong, it'd be in splinters by this
+time. That young Moore is the worst."
+
+"We won't cross any bridges until we come to them," Ned remarked. "The
+Shark may last until we get to Hongkong. Anyway, I'm counting on quite
+a run before she goes down."
+
+"How many are there on board?" asked Jack.
+
+"Six, not counting Hans. I think we can accommodate them all on board
+the Sea Lion, if we have to."
+
+The Sea Lion towed the Shark all through the night, keeping to an
+easterly direction with the idea of going to Hongkong, something over
+150 miles away. All along the eastern coast of Kwang Tung, from the
+slender peninsula which separates the Gulf of Tongking from the China
+Sea to the bay which penetrates almost to Canton, there is a
+succession of little islands, so the submarine and her prize were
+always in sight of land.
+
+Just at dawn there came a cry from the platform of the Shark, and Hans
+was discovered waving his cap excitedly in the air.
+
+"Vater! Vater!" he cried. "Dis iss droubles! Make us off dis
+durdle--gwick!"
+
+"Sinking?" Ned called back.
+
+Further talk with the German informed Ned that water was seeping into
+the different compartments of the Shark, and that the inmates were
+already perched on tables and on the stairs leading to the platform.
+
+The boy attached the towing cable to a windlass on the platform of the
+Sea Lion, turned on the power, and the sinking craft soon lay
+alongside. She was indeed in a bad predicament. Another half hour
+would see the last of her.
+
+"Now," Ned said, "we don't know what those fellows will try to do when
+the hatch is lifted. I've known snakes to sting the hand that fed and
+warmed them. Anyway, we'll take no chances."
+
+Following his orders, the boys got out their automatic revolvers and
+ranged themselves on the platform. Then Ned lowered the rowboat,
+making a bridge between the two. The hulls of the boats met under
+water, but the platforms, owing to the bulge, were some little
+distance apart. The railings of the conning towers were not much above
+the surface.
+
+His arrangements for securing the prisoners without trouble completed,
+Ned went over to the Shark and lifted the hatch. He was greeted with a
+chorus of threats, supplications, and questions.
+
+"You'll get yours for sinking the Shark!" one shouted.
+
+"For God's sake let us out; we are drowning!" whined another.
+
+"What's the matter with the boat?" asked a third.
+
+"Listen," Ned said. "The Shark may go down in ten minutes, or she may
+float, under tow, for a long time. Anyway, you are better out of her.
+I'll take you all out if you promise to behave yourselves. Come out of
+the hatch one at a time and be searched for weapons. The man that
+carries a weapon of any kind on his person will be thrown back, to
+feed the fish. Do you understand?"
+
+They understood, and not even a penknife was found when search was
+made. Five of the rescued ones were plain seamen, with little
+knowledge of submarine work. The other was the captain of the Shark.
+Under the direction of young Moore he had attempted to make off with
+everything of value on the wreck, including the papers.
+
+This man was a fair type of marine officer, had, in fact, resigned
+from the United States service with Captain Moore. He was by no means
+an ill-looking man, but his snaky eyes and treacherous mouth told Ned
+to look out for him.
+
+He came out of the hatch last and was stepping onto the rowboat when
+Ned stopped him with a question:
+
+"Where are the papers?"
+
+"What papers?" snarled the other, Babcock by name.
+
+"The papers you took from the wreck."
+
+"They are below, soaked with water."
+
+"Get them!"
+
+"But--"
+
+"Get them! Quick!"
+
+"But they are afloat, and--"
+
+"Get them!"
+
+Babcock went down the staircase with murder in his eyes. He returned,
+in a moment, with a sealed packet, which was perfectly dry. Ned broke
+the seal and glanced at the sheets inside.
+
+The one which met his eyes first was headed:
+
+"General instructions, to be opened only when the demand for the coin
+is made."
+
+"Now," Ned went on, "where are your sailing orders?"
+
+"Lost!" was the reply.
+
+"Get them!" Ned said, quietly.
+
+"They are--"
+
+"Get them," came again from the boy's lips.
+
+Again Babcock went into the submarine, now rapidly filling with water.
+He returned dripping with sea water, holding in his hand a water-tight
+tin box which was secured by a brass padlock.
+
+"You now have everything I held concerning the mission of the boat and
+the disposition of the gold," he said. "I suppose I may get out of the
+water now?"
+
+Ned stepped aside and Babcock passed over to the Sea Lion. Ned
+attached a buoy to the tower of the Shark and cut loose from her.
+
+"We'll let some of Uncle Sam's boats pick her up," he said. "I'm for
+Hongkong with these papers."
+
+The five sailors were not locked up, but were given the run of the
+cabin, the machine room only being closed against them.
+
+"I'm not going to have them mixing things down here," Jack, who was in
+charge that day, said.
+
+Babcock, however, was locked up with Captain Moore. When the door
+closed on the two men the boys heard them both talking at the same
+time, and their language was not at all complimentary to each other.
+
+"You're a blackmailer!" Moore yelled.
+
+"You're a liar!" was the reply.
+
+"Fight it out!" Jimmie shouted from the door.
+
+"Get to going and see who's to blame for this!"
+
+Then the voices quieted down, and no more words were heard.
+
+"Did you hear what they called each other?" asked Jack. "Well, I'm
+betting they are both right."
+
+Ned went to his cabin and opened the tin box. He lingered over what he
+found there until noon and then called Frank into conference with him.
+
+"There's a plot which involves officers at Canton," he said, "and we
+may as well bag the whole bunch."
+
+"Of course. We ought to make a good job of it, as Jimmie says."
+
+Ned examined his map and called Frank over to the table where it was
+spread out.
+
+"If we go to Canton," he said, "we'll have to run into the lake-like
+mouth of the Si River. Guess that's its name. It looks dim on the map.
+Fifty miles to the north the little stream on which Canton is situated
+runs into the larger stream.
+
+"We can run to that point and leave the Sea Lion while we go to
+Canton. I guess the prisoners won't object to a few days more of
+imprisonment. Anyway, we may meet a ship we can turn them over to."
+
+"They are objecting, right now, it seems," cried Frank, opening the
+door and looking out into the main cabin. "Hans is sitting on one of
+the sailors and Jack and Jimmie are holding the others back with their
+automatics."
+
+Both boys leaped out. The sailors, doubtless alarmed at the arrival of
+the leaders, sprang for the hatchway. The boys did not fire at them as
+they passed, and directly splashes in the sea told those on the stairs
+that the sailors had leaped into the water.
+
+Hans arose, scratching his head, and looked down on the man he had
+been sitting on. The fellow looked up into the lad's face with a queer
+expression in his eyes.
+
+"Vot iss?" demanded Hans. "Go py the odders if you schoose! Py
+schimminy, dose shark haf one feast!"
+
+"Not on your life!" cried the prisoner. "I'm not anxious to get away.
+I was shanghaied on the Shark, and it's glad I am to be out of that
+bum crowd."
+
+Jimmie, who had followed the sailors to the platform, now came back
+with the information that three of them had been picked up by a native
+canoe which had now disappeared from sight in a group of islands. The
+other, he said, had gone down.
+
+"How much do those sailors know?" asked Ned of the man Hans had taken
+prisoner.
+
+"They know a lot," was the reply. "They were all in together. What one
+knew, all knew, I guess. It is too bad they got away, for they had a
+definite plan to operate if there was trouble and any got away. They
+will lay in wait for you when you land."
+
+"They'll have to travel fast if they do!" Frank laughed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+ON THE EDGE OF DISASTER
+
+
+
+The Si River is not a river at all where its waters flow into the
+China Sea. It is a wide, salt-water inlet, a bay, a great delta, like
+that of the Amazon. This great bay is miles in width in places and
+extends at least fifty miles into the interior.
+
+Almost at the end, it is joined by a narrow little stream upon which
+Canton, the capital city of Kwang Tung, is situated. The city is
+something less than fifteen miles from the mouth of the river upon
+which it stands.
+
+It was for Canton that the boys were headed. Some of the papers Ned
+had found in the private box of Captain Babcock made reference to a
+place of meeting there which the boy desired to investigate. He was
+now convinced that the plot against the Government had been a vicious
+one, backed by people of influence and standing in the world of
+diplomacy. It would bring the case on which he was working to a very
+satisfactory finish if he could include in his report the story of a
+meeting of the conspirators.
+
+While the boy sat alone on the platform of the conning tower that
+evening the sailor who had remained on board the Sea Lion at the time
+of the escape of the others came to him. The fellow was an American,
+and seemed to be honest in his desire to assist Ned.
+
+"The men who escaped," he said, "will not lose track of the Sea Lion.
+There are men on shore who will send the news of what has taken place
+on faster than you can travel. Wherever you go they will be waiting
+for you, and they are a bad lot."
+
+"They have plenty of money behind them, I presume?" asked Ned.
+
+"They appear to have," was the reply.
+
+"Especially with the prospect of the loot from the wreck in mind," Ned
+suggested.
+
+"They didn't get much gold out of the wreck," explained the other.
+"They pulled the yellow boys out until they came to the sealed parcel,
+and then they made off."
+
+"They knew that we were on the ground, watching them?"
+
+"Oh, yes, but they had a plan for getting rid of you."
+
+"The plan young Moore attempted to carry out?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"That meant murder?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Ned was silent for a moment, thinking gratefully of the
+resourcefulness of the ex-newsboy. To this they all doubtless owed
+their lives. He promised himself that the lad should be properly
+remembered when the time of settlement with the Government came.
+
+"Do you know where the conspirators are to meet at Hongkong?" he then
+asked.
+
+"At Canton, I said," answered the other, with a twinkle in his eyes.
+"You thought to trip me?" he asked.
+
+Ned, in turn, smiled quietly. He had indeed been testing the man.
+
+"Well," he added, "do you know where they are to meet at Canton?"
+
+"Oh, I heard the name of the street, but it sounded more like the
+clatter of falling crockery than a name, so I don't remember it."
+
+"Perhaps a landmark was mentioned?"
+
+"Yes, come to think of it, there was. The place of meeting is in the
+rear of a curio shop next door to an English chop house. That ought to
+be easy to find."
+
+The visit to Canton promised to be a dangerous one, especially as the
+men who had escaped would send on word of what had taken place on the
+Shark. The fellows had been picked up by natives in canoes, and were
+probably at that time on the main land, within reach of a telegraph
+wire, or some other means of communication with Canton.
+
+While the boy studied over the matter Frank came on the platform and
+the seaman went below. Ned laid the proposition before the newcomer.
+
+"Well," Frank said, "you have the papers, you have the private orders
+of Captain Babcock, of the Shark, and you have the two main rascals,
+Captain Moore and his precious son. What more do you want?"
+
+"I want the foreigner who put up the job."
+
+"That does seem worth while," Frank mused.
+
+"It's this way," Ned went on. "The sealed packet doubtless contains
+instruction to one of the revolutionary leaders regarding the
+disposition of the money. You see, they were sure the rebels would be
+on hand to grab the shipment as soon as it left the ship. The loss was
+to fall on the Chinese government and the revolutionists were to
+profit by it.
+
+"The instructions make it look mighty bad for our Government, for the
+gold was drawn directly from the subtreasury the day it was shipped.
+It looked as if we were plotting against a friendly government."
+
+"I see."
+
+"But some one leaked. The story of the shipment got out, and the
+vessel was rammed one night by a steamer which has never been
+identified. The idea, of course, was to prevent the revolutionists
+getting the money, without telling what was known, or bringing the
+nation which butted into the case into prominence at all."
+
+"Then some nation friendly to the Emperor of China did that?"
+
+"I don't know. Anyway, the nation that did it bribed Captain Moore and
+Captain Babcock to get the gold--and to recover the sealed packet.
+With this in their hands, they might have made Uncle Sam a great deal
+of trouble."
+
+"I understand, and now you want to get the men who conspired with the
+Moores and Captain Babcock?"
+
+"That's the idea, not so much in the hope of bringing them to
+punishment as to locate the source of their inspiration."
+
+"Then, I reckon well have to go to Canton," Frank remarked. "We'll see
+the town then, anyway."
+
+The boy remained silent for a moment and then asked:
+
+"What can you do to the chief conspirators if you catch them?"
+
+"Nothing. I can only file my report with the government and drop out
+of the case."
+
+"And the Moores and Babcock?"
+
+"I'll turn them over to the first American man-of-war I meet."
+
+"And then go back after the gold?"
+
+"That depends on instructions."
+
+"That's the difficulty of working on diplomacy cases," said Frank. "We
+have to take all manner of risks, and then, sometimes, see the real
+rascals get off free--on account of international complications. I'd
+like to work on a real old detective case on the Bowery."
+
+Ned laughed softly but made no reply.
+
+The Sea Lion made slow time, for the crippled Shark--which still
+floated--rolled and tumbled heavily--in her wake and the sea was
+rougher than it had been before for many days. At last, however, she
+entered the long inlet leading up to Canton and cast anchor.
+
+"Ever been in these waters?" Ned asked of the American sailor.
+
+"Sure," was the reply. "That is why they shanghaied me in San
+Francisco."
+
+"How far can I go up?"
+
+"Clear to the mouth of the river."
+
+Proceeding leisurely, the Sea Lion passed up the inlet. It was early
+morning when she came to the mouth of the river. They had passed many
+vessels on the way, some native, some foreign, but had not been
+molested, though many curious eyes were turned toward the tow and the
+odd-shaped craft doing the pulling.
+
+When anchor was cast in a little bay at the mouth--a quiet little
+stretch of water sheltered by old warehouses which had been erected
+years before by native traders--Jack came running up the stairs to
+meet Ned.
+
+"Captain Moore," he said, "is weeping himself to death for lack of
+your sweet society. He's all running out under the door!"
+
+"Jack," Ned laughed, "if your imagination wasn't too strong, you'd do
+well writing fiction. As it is it is so strong that anything you might
+put on paper would not be believable. Anyway, I'll go and see what the
+Captain has on his mind."
+
+Captain Moore had fear on his mind. Ned saw that the second the door
+was open. His face was white as paper and his eyes roved about like
+those of a madman. "You are going on to Canton?" the Captain asked, in
+a trembling tone of voice.
+
+"I was thinking of it," Ned answered.
+
+"When?"
+
+"To-night."
+
+"And leave the submarine here?"
+
+"If I could take her with me," smiled Ned, "I would do so, but I'm
+afraid I can't."
+
+"This is no joking matter," snapped Moore.
+
+"I knew you would begin to look at the matter in that light before you
+had done with it."
+
+"You are going to the chop house in Canton?"
+
+"I hope to be able to find it."
+
+"Alone?"
+
+"Of course not."
+
+"Well," the Captain added, wiping his dry lips with the back of his
+hand, "do you know what will happen to the Sea Lion while you are
+gone?"
+
+"Nothing serious, I hope."
+
+"She will be blown up, and me with it!" almost screamed the Captain.
+"The power that is handling this matter would do more than that to get
+the papers you have secured out of the way, and to get rid of Babcock,
+my son, and myself."
+
+"They seek to murder you?"
+
+"I believe it."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"For two reasons. We know too much, and we failed."
+
+"You haven't named the power," suggested Ned.
+
+"I am unable to do so. I don't know. I have done all my work with a
+go-between."
+
+"I see," Ned said.
+
+"If you must go to Canton," the Captain went on, "first turn us over
+to the authorities here--to the American consul, if you please."
+
+"That would protect the boat?"
+
+"It would protect us."
+
+"For the present, yes."
+
+"And take the papers with you!"
+
+"Why?" laughed Ned, thoroughly amused.
+
+"Because that will draw the search off the boat."
+
+"Then you believe that I shall be watched and followed?"
+
+"Yes, and killed."
+
+"You're a cheerful sort of fellow!" laughed Ned.
+
+Jimmie now came to the door and announced a warship flying an American
+flag.
+
+"She's signaling you," he added.
+
+Ned was pretty glad to see the ship come to a halt lower down the
+inlet. She was not a large vessel, but she looked as big to Ned as all
+Manhattan island.
+
+In an hour he was on board the ship, in earnest conversation with the
+captain, who had been ordered by cable to look the Sea Lion up and
+report to Ned. In another hour the prisoners were on board the
+warship, and the Sea Lion was anchored under her guns.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+AN ENDING AND A BEGINNING
+
+
+
+Captain Harmon, of the warship Union, was a brave and capable officer.
+He understood at once the necessity for the trip to Canton. The
+conspirators must be identified. The United States Government must be
+informed as to the foreign power which had so nosed into her affairs.
+
+"The power that is doing this," the Captain said, "will resort to
+other tricks when this one fails. We want to know who she is. On the
+whole, I think, I'll go to Canton with you--with your permission, of
+course."
+
+"That's kind of you," Ned replied, pleased at the offer. "I can leave
+three of the boys on the Sea Lion and take one with me. I should be
+lost without that little rascal from the Bowery."
+
+"And I'll send a file of marines on board the Sea Lion," the captain
+continued. "That will make all safe there. Now, about the papers. You
+have the packet?"
+
+"Yes, of course."
+
+"What does it contain?"
+
+"Instructions which show the hand of private parties only. They
+completely exonerate our Government."
+
+"And the other parties?"
+
+"I regret that I must not mention names, sir."
+
+"Very well," laughed the Captain. "You have performed your mission
+well. The slanders must now cease. But one thing more remains to be
+done--the meddling nation must be identified, as I have already said.
+We must go to Canton."
+
+And so, leaving the Moores and Babcock safely locked in the den on
+board the Union and the important papers secure in the Captain's safe,
+Ned, accompanied by the Captain and Jimmie, set out for Canton by
+boat. The way was not long, and they arrived at noon, an early start
+having been secured.
+
+Ned was entirely at sea in the city, but Captain Harmon had been there
+a number of times, and the English chop house was soon found. Next
+door to it was the curio shop mentioned to Ned.
+
+The three lounged about the chop house nearly all the afternoon. The
+Captain was in plain clothes, and the trio seemed to be foreigners
+waiting for friends to come. After a long time Ned saw a man pass the
+chop house and turn into the curio shop who did not seem to be a
+Chinaman.
+
+"Jimmie," he said to the little fellow, "suppose you go in there and
+buy a dragon, or a silk coat, or a tin elephant. Anything to give you
+a notion as to what is going on in the shop." The lad was off in a
+moment, and then the Captain turned to Ned.
+
+"Why did you send the boy?" he asked.
+
+"Because we may both be wanted outside," was the reply.
+
+"You mean that others may come--others who should be followed and
+observed?"
+
+"That's the idea," Ned replied.
+
+Directly two more men, evidently not Chinamen, passed into the shop,
+then Jimmie came running out.
+
+"They're going into a back room," he said.
+
+Ned strolled into the shop, and in a moment the Captain followed.
+Jimmie remained at the door.
+
+The two worked gradually back to the door of the rear room, and Ned
+"accidentally" leaned against it. It was locked. With the impact of
+the boy's shoulder against the panels came a scraping of chairs on the
+floor of the room beyond.
+
+"You've stirred them up," whispered the Captain.
+
+Then some one called from the inside.
+
+"What do you want?"
+
+"A word with you," Ned replied.
+
+The shopkeeper now drew near and motioned the two away. When they did
+not obey he motioned toward the street, as if threatening to call
+assistance.
+
+"Who is it?" was now asked.
+
+"A messenger from Captain Henry Moore and his son," Ned answered, with
+a smile at the Captain.
+
+There was a long pause inside.
+
+"Where is he?" was asked.
+
+"A prisoner. He wished me to come here."
+
+Then the door was opened a trifle and the two saw inside. The
+shopkeeper, thinking that all was well, went back to the front of the
+shop.
+
+When the door swung open both Ned and the Captain threw themselves
+against it. It went back against the wall with a bang, and the two
+nearly fell to the floor.
+
+When they straightened up again they saw a servant standing between
+them and the still open doorway. At a round table in the back end of
+the apartment were three men--all Europeans.
+
+Ned stepped forward to address them, but Captain Harmon drew him back
+and motioned toward the door.
+
+"What do you want?" one of the three asked, in English. "Why this
+intrusion?"
+
+Then Ned observed the face of the speaker, for the light was strong
+upon it. It was a face he had often seen pictured in reports of
+diplomatic cases. It was the face of one of the keenest diplomats in
+the world.
+
+"I come from Captain Moore," Ned said, almost trembling at the thought
+of standing in the presence of the powerful man who had spoken.
+
+"Can you send him here?" was asked.
+
+"I'll try," was the reply.
+
+"Who is your friend?" asked the other, pointing to Captain Harmon.
+
+Ned turned toward the Captain and was amazed at the change which had
+taken place in his friend's appearance. The erect naval officer was no
+longer at his side. Instead, a shambling, bent figure stood there,
+with face bent to the floor.
+
+"A seaman who is on sick leave," Ned replied.
+
+"Well, step outside while we consider what to do in the matter," said
+the diplomat. "Chang!" he called.
+
+The shopkeeper appeared at the door.
+
+"Watch these fellows," came the orders. "Watch them, understand!"
+
+The words were spoken in French, a language which Ned understood
+something of. The boy glanced keenly toward the man who had answered
+to the name of Chang. He decided that he was not a Chinaman.
+
+The three stepped out into the shop together, Ned watching the seeming
+Chinaman closely. It was his idea that the fellow would give a signal
+which would call a score or more of mercenaries to his assistance. He
+believed that it was not the intention of the men in the rear room to
+let them leave the place.
+
+When the three neared the center of the shop the alleged Chinaman
+lifted a whistle to his lips, as if about to signal. Ned snatched the
+whistle away and seized the fellow by the throat.
+
+"Now, Captain," he whispered.
+
+The Captain, now his old self, sprang forward and the shopkeeper was
+soon tied fast, gagged, and laid behind one of the counters. Then the
+two walked calmly out of the place.
+
+Jimmie paused long enough to lean over the counter and make a face at
+the prisoner, then followed on.
+
+"You know the truth now?" asked Ned, as the two stopped on a street
+corner not far away.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"The name of the meddlesome power is no longer a mystery?"
+
+"Yes, I understand that, but what are we to do?"
+
+"Make our report."
+
+"Then you think the case is closed?" asked the Captain.
+
+"Well," replied Ned, "we have all the documents, and we have the name
+of the diplomat who was waiting for Moore. What more do you want?"
+
+"Rather a clean job of it," mused the Captain. "I wonder what the
+Washington people will say when the papers are laid before them; with
+the name of the man Moore was doing business with?"
+
+"What will be done about it?"
+
+"Nothing. All Uncle Sam can do is to block such games."
+
+"And the Moores and Babcock?"
+
+"They may be punished for attempting to wreck the Sea Lion."
+
+"I don't like diplomatic cases," Ned said. "The rascals usually get
+free of punishment."
+
+"Well," Captain Moore said, "suppose we go on board the Union while we
+can. As soon as the alleged shopkeeper is found behind the counter,
+there will be the dickens to pay. They will know that the identity of
+the big gun has been established, and every attempt to murder us will
+be made."
+
+"You think the man knew you?" asked Ned.
+
+"I don't know. You noticed how I changed my attitude all I could when
+he looked at me. I rather fancied he saw something military about me
+before that."
+
+"Then we may as well go aboard," Ned said.
+
+"You have made a wonderful success of the mission," the Captain said,
+that night. "You have done everything expected of you and more. Has it
+been easy?"
+
+"Well," was the reply, "we have been kept busy!"
+
+The Captain laughed and pointed to the shore of the inlet in which the
+Union lay.
+
+"There are people who want to come aboard!" he said. "See the
+commotion on shore?"
+
+"Shall you permit them to board?"
+
+"Decidedly not. I have cabled to Washington for instructions. Until
+they arrive I shall keep everybody off the boat."
+
+"That listens good to me," Ned said.
+
+Boats which seemed to have no business there prowled around the
+warship all night, and once a sneak was caught hanging to the forward
+chains. However, no one succeeded in getting aboard.
+
+In the morning the Captain came to Ned's cabin with a number of
+cablegrams, all from Washington.
+
+"I have orders for you," he said.
+
+Ned yawned and shook his head.
+
+"Not for a submarine trip," he said.
+
+"I am going north," the Captain said, "north through the China Sea,
+into the Yellow Sea, and so on to the Gulf of Pechili. Do you know
+where that is?"
+
+"It is the highway to Peking," laughed Ned. "I hope you are not going
+there."
+
+"Sure, and you are going with me."
+
+"What for?" asked the boy.
+
+"To find the two men who sat at the table with the diplomat at
+Canton," was the reply. "The Government wants them."
+
+"We might have taken them, a few hours ago," mused Ned.
+
+"Doubtful," said the Captain. "Besides, there is other work for you in
+the Imperial City. Your friends are going with us, and the Sea Lion is
+to be left here."
+
+"And the prisoners?"
+
+"They remain on board. In fact, the Government has a surprise for the
+conspirators. We may want Babcock and the Moores at Peking."
+
+"And you'll send the papers to Washington?"
+
+"Yes. Write your report, briefly, for they now know a lot about the
+wonderful success you have had."
+
+"But how are we to get from the coast to Peking?" asked Ned. "It is
+quite a trip, and the diplomats will be after us."
+
+"Motorcycles have been provided," was the reply, "and a flying
+squadron of my boys will go with you."
+
+"Whoopee!" yelled Jimmie, who entered the cabin just in time to hear
+the latter part of the talk. "Me for the Chink land! I'll go and tell
+Frank and Jack."
+
+The boy dashed off, and all preparations for the trip were made.
+
+That night the Union sailed out of the China Sea. The case of the
+missing papers was closed. The gold was still at the bottom of the
+sea, but that was not Ned's fault. He had followed orders. However,
+the gold could be taken out at any time. The discovery of the men who
+had conspired with the famous diplomat could not wait.
+
+What the boys did, the luck they had, and the adventures they met
+with, on the way from the coast to the Imperial City, will be told in
+the next volume of this series, "Boy Scouts on Motorcycles; or, With
+the Flying Squadron."
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Boy Scouts in a Submarine, by G. Harvey Ralphson
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Boy Scouts in a Submarine, by G. Harvey Ralphson
+
+Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
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+*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
+
+
+Title: Boy Scouts in a Submarine
+
+Author: G. Harvey Ralphson
+
+Release Date: July, 2004  [EBook #6108]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on November 7, 2002]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, BOY SCOUTS IN A SUBMARINE ***
+
+
+
+
+Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading
+Team.
+
+
+
+[Illustration: But the Sea Lion was equal to the task set for her, and
+all the remainder of the night the chase went on.]
+
+
+BOY SCOUTS IN A SUBMARINE
+
+OR
+
+SEARCHING AN OCEAN FLOOR
+
+By G. HARVEY RALPHSON
+
+Author of
+BOY SCOUTS IN AN AIRSHIP
+BOY SCOUTS IN MEXICO
+BOY SCOUTS IN THE NORTHWEST
+BOY SCOUTS ON MOTOR CYCLES
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+
+I.     LOST ON AN OCEAN FLOOR
+II.    A CONFLICT OF AUTHORITY
+III.   "THE DANDY SUBMARINE"
+IV.    A WOLF ON THE TRAIL
+V.     TWO WOLVES IN A PEN
+VI.    NIGHT ON AN OCEAN FLOOR
+VII.   THE SECRET OF THE HOLD
+VIII.  ON GUARD UNDER THE SEA
+IX.    "JIMMIE'S FOOLISH--LIKE A FOX"
+X.     A CHASE ON THE OCEAN FLOOR
+XI.    JIMMIE GOES OUT HUNTING
+XII.   JACK MAKES A DISCOVERY
+XIII.  JIMMIE DEMANDS A MEDAL
+XIV.   A BOY SCOUT WITH A "PUNCH"
+XV.    A DESPERATE PRISONER
+XVI.   A BLUFF THAT DIDN'T WORK
+XVII.  BAD FOR THE SEA CREATURES
+XVIII. "MAKING A GOOD JOB OF IT"
+XIX.   ON THE EDGE OF DISASTER
+XX.    AN ENDING AND A BEGINNING
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+LOST ON AN OCEAN FLOOR
+
+
+
+The handsome clubroom of the Black Bear Patrol, Boy Scouts of America,
+in the City of New York, was ablaze with light, and as noisy as
+healthy, happy boys could well make it.
+
+"Over in the Chinese Sea!" shouted Jimmie McGraw from a table which
+stood by an open window overlooking the brilliantly illuminated city.
+"Do we go to the washee-washee land this time?"
+
+"Only to the tub!" Jack Bosworth put in.
+
+"What's the answer?" asked Frank Shaw, sitting down on the edge of the
+table and rumpling Jimmie's red hair with both hands.
+
+Jimmie broke away and, after bouncing a football off his tormentor's
+back, perched himself on the back of a great easy chair.
+
+"The answer?" Jack said, after peace had been in a measure restored,
+"I thought everybody knew that the Chinks wash their clothes in the
+Gulf of Tong King and hang them out to dry on the mountains of Kwang
+Tung! Are we going there, Ned?" he added, turning to Ned Nestor, who
+sat by a nearby window, looking out over the city. "Are we going to
+the gulf of Tong King?"
+
+Ned left his chair by the window and walked over to the table.
+
+"I hardly know," he said, taking a roll of maps and drawings from his
+breast pocket and spreading them out on the table. "When Captain Moore
+arrives we shall know more about it."
+
+"Who's Captain Moore?"
+
+This from Jimmie, still sitting on the back of the chair, elbows on
+knees, chin on palms.
+
+"Is he going to be the big noise?"
+
+This from Jack Bosworth, who was reaching out with his foot in a vain
+effort to tip Jimmie's chair and send him sprawling.
+
+"Is Captain Moore going with us?"
+
+This question was asked by Frank Shaw with a show of anxiety. When out
+on their trips the Boy Scouts did not relish having older men about to
+show authority.
+
+"One question at a time!" laughed Ned. "To answer the first query
+first, Captain Moore is the Secret Service officer who is to post us
+with regard to our mission to Chinese waters. Second he will, to use
+the slang adopted by Jack, be the 'Big Noise' as long as he is with
+us. Third, I don't know whether he is going on the journey with us or
+not."
+
+"Here's hopin' he don't!" cried Jimmie.
+
+"He'll want us to sit in baby chairs at tables and object to our
+takin' moonlight walks on the bottom of the sea! Is he covered all
+over with brass buttons, an' does he strut like this?"
+
+Jimmie bounded to the floor and walked up and down the room with a
+mock military stride which set his companions into roars of laughter.
+
+"I have never seen him," Ned replied. "He is coming here tonight, and
+you must judge for yourself what kind of a man he is."
+
+"Here?" asked Frank. "Here to this club-room? The boys won't do a
+thing to him if he puts on dog!"
+
+"Is he a submarine expert?" asked Frank.
+
+"Sure!" replied Jack. "He wouldn't be sent here to post us if he
+wasn't, would he?"
+
+"I don't believe he knows any more about a submarine, right now, than
+Ned does," Jimmie exclaimed. "Ned's been taking walks on the bottom of
+the Bay every mornin' for a week!"
+
+Jack and Frank turned to Ned with amazement showing on their faces.
+
+"Have you, Ned?" they asked, in chorus.
+
+"Have you been out training without letting us know about it?"
+
+"You bet he has!" Jimmie grinned. "I've been with him most of the time
+too. This Captain Moore, whoever he is, hain't got nothin' on Ned when
+it comes to makin' the wheels go round under the water."
+
+"Oh, you!" laughed Jack, pointing a finger at Jimmie. "You can't run a
+submarine, even if Ned can."
+
+"You wait an' see!" retorted the boy, indignantly. "You wait until we
+get into the Chinese sea, then you'll see what I know about boats that
+travel on ocean beds!"
+
+"Can he run a submarine, Ned?" asked Jack.
+
+"Well," was the laughing reply, "he did pretty well on the last trip.
+If some one hadn't interfered with his steering I reckon he would have
+tipped the Statue of Liberty into the Atlantic!"
+
+Jimmie winked when the others roared at him and then looked
+reproachfully at Ned.
+
+"You promised not to tell about that!" he said, accusingly.
+
+At that moment a knock came on the door of the clubroom, which was on
+the top of the palatial residence of Jack Bosworth's father, and a
+moment later a tall, military-looking man with a white, stern face,
+thin straight lips and cold blue eyes was shown in. He paused just
+outside the doorway, and the boy who did not catch the sneer on his
+chalky face as he looked superciliously over the group must have been
+very unobservant indeed.
+
+"Gee! He don't seem to like the looks of us!" Jimmie whispered to
+Frank Shaw, as Ned stepped forward to greet the newcomer.
+
+"Looks like a false alarm!" Frank replied, in an aside. "I hope we
+don't have to lug him along with us."
+
+"We won't need any cold storage arrangement on the submarine if he
+does go!" Jimmie went on. "That face of his would freeze hot steel."
+
+Captain Moore of the United States Secret Service remained standing
+near the door until Ned reached his side. Then he lifted a single
+glass, inserted it in his eye-orbit and stood gazing at the boy who
+had advanced to welcome him.
+
+Ned stepped back, coldly, and Jimmie nudged Jack delightedly when he
+saw the lad's face harden into bare civility.
+
+"Aw," began the visitor, "I'm looking for--ah!--Mr. Nestor!"
+
+"I'm Ned Nestor," said the boy, shortly.
+
+"Fawncy!"
+
+Ned pointed toward the table where the other boys were sitting and
+moved away.
+
+"Fawncy!" repeated the visitor.
+
+Ned made no reply. Instead, he marched to the table, drew a chair
+forward, and motioned Captain Moore to be seated.
+
+Before complying with this gracious invitation the Captain glanced
+around the apartment with the supercilious sneer he had shown on
+entering. The boys watched him with heavy frowns on their faces.
+
+"If we've got to take this along in the submarine," Jimmie whispered
+to Jack, "I hope the boat will drop down into a deep hole and stay
+there. Look at it!"
+
+"Hush!" whispered the other. "It has ears!"
+
+Those who have read the first and second volumes of this series will
+understand without being told here that it was a very fine clubroom
+upon which the frosty blue eyes of the Secret Service man looked.
+
+The walls were adorned with all manner of hunting and fishing
+paraphernalia, together with many trophies of the chase. Foils,
+gloves, ball bats, paddles and many other athletic aids were scattered
+about the large room.
+
+This clubroom, that of the Black Bear Patrol, as has been said, was
+the handsomest in New York, the members of the Patrol being sons of
+very wealthy men. The father of Frank Shaw was editor and owner of one
+of the important daily newspapers of the metropolis. Jack Bosworth's
+father was a prominent corporation lawyer, while Harry Stevens, a lad
+with a historical hobby, was a prominent automobile manufacturer.
+
+Ned Nestor, the boy just now trying to entertain the very formal
+Captain Moore, was a member of the Wolf Patrol, also of New York, as
+was also Jimmie McGraw, who had been a Bowery newsboy before joining
+fortunes with Ned.
+
+As is well known to most of our readers, Ned had, at one time and
+another, undertaken and successfully accomplished delicate and
+hazardous enterprises for the United States Government. Accompanied by
+Frank, Jack, Jimmie, Harry, and other members of the Boy Scout Patrols
+of the United States, he had visited Mexico, the Canal Zone, the
+Philippines, the Great Northwest, had navigated the Columbia river in
+a motor boat, and had covered the continent of South America in an
+aeroplane.
+
+He was now about to enter upon, perhaps, the most important mission
+ever assigned to him by the Secret Service department. The story of
+the quest upon which he was about to enter will best be told in the
+conversation which now took place in the clubroom of the Black Bear
+Patrol on this evening of the 11th of September.
+
+Presently Captain Moore transferred his gaze from the apartment to the
+boys gathered about the table and grouped about the place. As a matter
+of course all conversation in the room had ceased on the arrival of
+the Captain. While the boys who were not fortunate enough to be
+planning on the trip in the submarine were too courteous to openly
+stare at their guest of the moment, it may well be believed that his
+every look and word was closely noted.
+
+Concluding his rather rude observations, Captain Moore dropped his
+glass, shrugged his shoulders, which were heavily padded, and gave
+utterance to his feelings in the one word of comments which he had
+twice used before:
+
+"Fawncy!"
+
+Ned said not a word, but waited for the visitor to lead out in the
+talk. Captain Moore was in no haste to begin, but he finally broke the
+silence by asking:
+
+"You are Ned Nestor?"
+
+Ned bowed stiffly. He did not like the man he was supposed to do
+business with, and did not try to conceal the fact.
+
+"The Ned Nestor who undertook the Secret Service work in the Canal
+Zone and South America?"
+
+Ned nodded again.
+
+"Fawncy!"
+
+"You said that before?" broke in Jimmie, who was fuming under the idea
+that the Captain was not treating his chum with proper courtesy.
+
+The Captain brought his glass into use again and looked the boy over,
+much as he would have inspected a curio in a museum. Jimmie glared
+back, and the eyes of the two fenced for a moment before a twinkle of
+humor appeared in those of the Captain.
+
+"You are Jimmie, eh?" the latter demanded.
+
+Jimmie would have made some discourteous reply only for the tug Ned
+gave at his sleeve. As it was he only nodded.
+
+"Aw, I've heard of you!" the Captain said, then. "Quite remarkable--quite
+extraordinary!"
+
+"You came to deliver instructions regarding the submarine trip?" Ned
+asked, feeling revolt in the air of the room.
+
+Unless something was done, the boys, all resenting the manner of the
+Captain, would be beyond control, and then the Secret Service man
+would be likely to leave the place in anger.
+
+This, in turn, might endanger the adventure already planned and
+prepared for, for the chief of the department might see fit to adopt
+whatever recommendations Captain Moore made in the matter.
+
+The visitor might have sensed the hostility, for he hastened to take
+from a pocket a sheaf of papers and place them on the table. The next
+moment the boys all saw that they had not gained a correct estimate of
+the Secret Service man.
+
+The instant he began talking of the matter which had brought him to
+the clubroom his manner changed. He was no longer the drawling,
+supercilious naval officer in resplendent uniform. He was a keen-
+brained mechanical expert, questioning Ned regarding his knowledge of
+submarines.
+
+"You are fairly well up in the matter," the Captain said, going back
+to his old drawl, in a few moments. "I shall not object to your going
+on the Diver with me."
+
+The boys all gasped. So their worst fears were coming true! The
+Captain was indeed going with them! He would be the commander, and Ned
+would be obliged to work under his orders if he went at all!
+
+Would Ned do this? Would he submit to the authority of another while
+practically responsible for the results of the trip? Frank, Jack, and
+Jimmie saw their cherished plans go glimmering.
+
+Ned made no reply whatever. Instead he began asking questions
+concerning the Diver as the submarine the Captain had in view was
+named, and also about the object of the expedition.
+
+"A short time ago," the Captain said, "the Cutaria, a fast mail boat,
+went down in the Gulf of Tong King, carrying with her many passengers,
+the United States mails, and $10,000,000 in gold consigned to the
+Chinese Government. We are to search the ocean floor for the gold, and
+also for information sought by the Department of State."
+
+"Who got careless and dropped $10,000,000 on an ocean floor?" asked
+Jimmie.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+A CONFLICT OF AUTHORITY
+
+
+
+The Captain gazed at Jimmie for a moment without answering. Then he
+parted his thin lips and uttered the old, familiar word:
+
+"Fawncy!"
+
+"The Cutaria went down as the result of a collision?" Ned hastened to
+ask, observing that Jimmie was growing flushed and angry.
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "and it is asserted in the diplomatic circles of
+foreign governments that she was rammed by the orders of a power
+alleged to be friendly to our Government, and that our department of
+state does not dare remonstrate and ask for reparation for the reason
+that an investigation would reveal the fact that the $10,000,000 in
+gold which was lost was not really, as alleged, on its way from the
+sub-treasury in New York to the treasurer of the Chinese Empire."
+
+"But why should Uncle Sam be sending money over there?" asked Ned.
+
+"It is asserted that the money was sent at the command of men high in
+influence in Washington who understood that it was to be seized while
+in transit, after reaching Chinese soil, and used to assist the
+radical fomentation now going on in China."
+
+"An indirect way, a sly and underhand way, of assisting the
+revolutionary party in China to get control of the government, eh?"
+asked Ned.
+
+"Aw, that is what is claimed," was the reply.
+
+"And you are to have charge of the expedition?" asked Ned, quietly,
+his eyes fixed keenly on the face of the visitor.
+
+"Orders," was the slow reply.
+
+"And the Diver has been chosen as the boat?"
+
+"At my request, yes."
+
+"But," Ned then said, by way of protest, "I have made all my trial
+trips in the Sea Lion."
+
+"You will soon learn to help handle the Diver," was the lofty reply.
+
+"The Diver is no more like the Sea Lion than she is like the Ark," was
+Ned's reply. "It will take me another fortnight to learn to run her,
+I'm afraid."
+
+"You can take lessons from my son on the way over," was the
+unsatisfactory reply.
+
+"Why, the submarine is not going to sail across the Pacific," said the
+boy. "As I understand it, we are to take passage in a mail steamer at
+San Francisco and find the submarine in some harbor of the island of
+Hainan, after she arrives on the other side in a man-of-war which will
+be detailed to carry her over."
+
+"I have changed all that," said the Captain.
+
+Ned said no more on that phase of the matter at that time, but the
+boys knew that he had not given up his original intention of making
+the explorations in the Sea Lion, the submarine which the Secret
+Service chief at New York had placed at his disposal soon after his
+return from South America.
+
+"You will be permitted to take one of your--ah, Boy Scouts with you,"
+the Captain went on. "Baby bunch, the Boy Scouts, what?" he added,
+lifting his glass and surveying the boys grouped about in a manner
+which brought the hot blood to their cheeks.
+
+"I'm afraid you have never investigated the Boy--"
+
+Ned's conciliatory remark was cut short by Jimmie.
+
+"Will the Boy Scout who goes with him be allowed to breathe?" the boy
+asked.
+
+Captain Moore eyed the lad critically through his glass.
+
+"You needn't concern yourself about that, bub," he said, after an
+exasperating silence, "for you won't be the one to go, don't you know--not
+the Boy Scout to go."
+
+Jimmie was about to make some angry reply, but Frank seized him by the
+arm and marched him to a distant part of the large room.
+
+"You'll queer the whole thing!" Frank said.
+
+Jimmie shook himself free of the detaining hand and faced the Captain
+with flashing eyes.
+
+"I don't care if I do!" he said. "That thing is not going to make ugly
+remarks about the Boy Scouts without bein' called for it. He's an old
+false alarm, anyway. I'll bet he never heard a real gun go off!"
+
+Captain Moore heard the insulting words and arose.
+
+"If you'll, aw, come to my office tomorrow morning," he said, to Ned,
+"we'll discuss the, aw, mattah. I cawn't remain here and quarrel with
+boys who ought to be, aw, spanked and put, aw, to bed as soon as the
+sun goes down."
+
+Ned did not rise from his chair to escort the Captain to the door. His
+face was pale and there was a dangerous light in his eyes.
+
+"It won't be necessary for me to visit you in the morning," he said.
+
+The Captain fixed his glass.
+
+"Fawncy!" he exclaimed.
+
+"Anything you like!" Ned said.
+
+"Fawncy!" repeated the Captain.
+
+"As you please," Ned smiled. "Fawncy anything you like--anything
+agreeable, you know."
+
+"And why won't you come to my office in the morning?" asked the
+Captain, with a tightening of his thin lips.
+
+"I have decided to withdraw from the enterprise," was the quiet reply.
+"I'm out of it."
+
+The boys gathered about Ned with cheers and words of encouragement.
+
+"Go it, old boy!" cried one.
+
+"Don't let him bluff you!" cried another.
+
+"Dad will buy you a submarine!" Frank Shaw put in.
+
+The Captain stood in the middle of the group, gazing in perplexity
+from face to face.
+
+"My word!" he said, presently.
+
+"What about it?" asked Jimmie, edging closer.
+
+"Not going?" continued the Captain; "why?"
+
+"I've changed my mind," was the unsatisfactory reply.
+
+"But the submarine is waiting," urged the Captain.
+
+"I shall never go to the bottom in the Diver," Ned replied.
+
+"My word!"
+
+The Captain loitered, as if anxious to reopen the whole matter, but
+Ned turned his back and seemed inclined to consider the case closed.
+
+"And so we're not going?" asked Frank.
+
+"Rotten shame!" declared Jack.
+
+"So fades me happy, happy dream!" chanted Jimmie.
+
+The Captain stuck his glass in his eye and moved toward the door, an
+expression of satisfaction on his stern face.
+
+No one opened the door for him, and when he opened it for himself, he
+found a slender, middle-aged man with a pleasant face and brilliant
+eyes confronting him. His supercilious manner vanished instantly, and
+the military cap he had already donned came off with a jerk.
+
+"Admiral!" he exclaimed.
+
+The boys gathered about the doorway, all excitement. A real, live
+admiral in the Boy Scout clubroom! That was almost too much to expect.
+
+The admiral saluted and stepped inside the room.
+
+"Pardon me," he said, addressing Ned rather than the Captain, "but I
+must confess that I have been doing a discourteous thing. I have been
+listening at your door."
+
+"I sincerely hope you heard all that was said," the Captain ventured.
+"I have been shamefully insulted here."
+
+"Did you hear all that was said?" asked Nestor.
+
+The Admiral bowed.
+
+"I think so," he said.
+
+"I'm glad of that," Frank said, "for this Captain does not tell the
+truth."
+
+Captain Moore frowned in the direction of the speaker but said not a
+word.
+
+"When I reached the door," the Admiral said, "I heard Captain Moore
+saying that the trip was to be made in the Diver, and that he was to
+have charge."
+
+"That is the way I understand it," Captain Moore hastened to say.
+"And," continued the Admiral, "he said, further, that only one Boy
+Scout would be permitted to accompany Mr. Nestor."
+
+"That will be quite enough, judging from the samples we see here," the
+Captain observed, with a vicious glance toward Jimmie, whose face was
+now set in a broad grin.
+
+"Those are the statements made by Captain Moore," Ned said. "I refused
+to accept them."
+
+"Quite right!" said the Admiral.
+
+Captain Moore stuck his glass in his eye again and, saluting, turned
+toward the door.
+
+"Wait!" commanded the Admiral.
+
+The angry Captain turned back, a scowl on his face.
+
+"Mr. Nestor," the Admiral continued, "goes in charge of the
+expedition, and in the Sea Lion, the submarine he has been
+experimenting with. He will be permitted to take three of his
+companions with him. Any officer who goes in the Sea Lion will
+necessarily remain under Mr. Nestor's orders."
+
+"Then I ask for a transfer," scowled the Captain.
+
+"Granted," answered the Admiral. "You may go now."
+
+Captain Moore lost no time getting out of the door, and then the
+Admiral seated himself and motioned Ned to do likewise. The boys
+gathered about, but Ned asked them to proceed with their sports, and
+only the ex-newsboy remained at the table.
+
+"I'm sorry to say," the Admiral began, "that there are hints of the
+most despicable disloyalty and treachery in this matter. I don't like
+to cast suspicions on Captain Moore, who really is an expert submarine
+officer, but it appears to me that he went beyond his authority in
+changing the plans for the cruise."
+
+"He had no authority for changing from the Sea Lion to the Diver?"
+asked Ned.
+
+"Not the slightest."
+
+"Or for changing from a steamer ride to China to a long journey on the
+submarine?"
+
+"Not at all."
+
+"But he was sent here by the Secret Service department to instruct
+me," Ned said.
+
+"Exactly, and that is all he was expected to do in the case. I don't
+understand his conduct."
+
+Jimmie, who had been looking over an afternoon newspaper which lay on
+the table, now broke into the conversation.
+
+"Just look here," he said. "This tells why Captain Moore butted into
+the game wrong. Just read that."
+
+The Admiral took the newspaper into his hand and read, aloud:
+
+"The Diver, the famous submarine boat invented by Arthur Moore, the
+talented son of Captain Henry Moore, of the United States navy, is
+soon to be put in commission for a most extraordinary voyage. Under
+the command of Captain Moore, who will be accompanied by the inventor,
+his son, the Diver will make the trip from San Francisco to China,
+almost entirely under water. It is understood that the submarine goes
+on secret service for the Government."
+
+"There you are!" cried Jimmie.
+
+"I rather think that does explain a lot," laughed Ned.
+
+"The Diver," said the Admiral, thoughtfully, "has not yet been
+accepted by the Government, and I see trouble ahead for the Sea Lion."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+"THE DANDY SUBMARINE"
+
+
+
+The Sea Lion was a United States submarine, yet she was not
+constructed along the usual naval lines. It was said of her that she
+looked more like a pleasure yacht built for under-surface work than
+anything else.
+
+It is not the purpose of the writer to enter into a minute description
+of the craft. She was provided with a gasoline engine and an electric
+motor. She was not very roomy, but her appointments were very handsome
+and costly.
+
+There were machines for manufacturing pure air, as is common with all
+submarines of her class, and the apparatus for the production of
+electricity was modern and efficient. Every compartment could be
+closed against every other chamber in case of damage to the shell.
+
+The pumps designed to expel the water taken into the hold for the
+purpose of bringing the craft to the bottom were powerful, so that she
+seemed to sink and rise as easily as does a bird on the wing. At top
+speed she would make about twenty miles an hour.
+
+On a trial trip taken by Ned on the day before the visit of Captain
+Moore to the Black Bear clubroom, the double doors and closet which
+enabled one to leave or enter the boat while under water had been
+thoroughly tested and found to work perfectly.
+
+The diving suits--which had been manufactured to fit Ned and Frank,
+Jack and Jimmie--were also found to be in perfect condition.
+
+On the whole, the Sea Lion and her appurtenances were in as perfect
+condition as science and experience could make them on the day the
+four boys, accompanied by a naval officer, left the train at Oakland
+and proceeded to the navy yard up the bay.
+
+By the middle of the afternoon the boys were on board, receiving their
+final instructions from Lieutenant Scott, who had arranged for the
+transportation of the Sea Lion from New York and attended to all other
+details connected with the trip.
+
+After a long talk regarding the perils to be encountered, Lieutenant
+Scott drew forth a map of peculiar appearance and laid it on the table
+in the chamber which was to serve as a general living room.
+
+"I have retained possession of this map until the last moment," the
+officer said, "because it is most important that no eyes but those of
+the occupants of the Sea Lion should rest upon it. It shows where the
+lost vessel went down, shows the drift there, the depths, and various
+other details of great moment.
+
+"The Cutaria, as you doubtless know, went down off the Taya Islands, a
+small group to the east of the large island of Hainan, which, in turn,
+is off the coast of China, being separated, if that is a good word to
+use in this connection, from the eastern coast by the Gulf of Tong
+King.
+
+"Immediately following the sinking of the ship divers were sent down.
+They found the lost ship resting easily in about sixty feet of water.
+A few days later, however, when other divers went down, the wreck was
+not at the place described by the first operators.
+
+"There are drift currents there, but it is remarkable that so heavy a
+wreck should have been shifted so suddenly. There are no indications
+that the vessel has been buried in the sands of the bottom. Your duty
+is to search the ocean floor then and locate the wreck. Having done
+this you are to secure the treasure, if possible. In case you cannot
+do this, you are to steam to Hongkong and report what assistance you
+require.
+
+"And remember this: You are not to destroy or mislay any documents you
+may find in the gold room. You are not to reveal the purpose of your
+mission at any port you may touch on the way out, or at any port you
+may visit for the purpose of reporting progress.
+
+"If at any time you have reason to believe that another submarine is
+working or loitering about in the vicinity of the wreck, you are to
+report the fact without delay and a man-of-war will be sent to you."
+
+"And that means--"
+
+Ned did not complete the sentence, for the officer hastened to explain
+the meaning of the warning.
+
+"The Diver," he said, "is somewhere on this coast."
+
+Ned gave a quick start of surprise.
+
+"I knew it!" shouted Jimmie. "I just knew we were in for somethin' of
+the kind! There'll be doin's."
+
+"I reckon we can take care of the Diver," said Frank, "and Mr. Arthur
+Moore, son of Captain Henry Moore, with it."
+
+"Don't underestimate the Diver," warned Lieutenant Scott. "She is a
+peach of a submarine, and Mr. Arthur Moore knows how to operate her.
+She is almost the latest thing in submarines."
+
+"Why didn't the Government buy her, then?" demanded Jack.
+
+"Principally because she was withdrawn from the market," was the
+reply.
+
+"I begin to understand," Ned said.
+
+"Then that son of Captain Moore is after the gold?" asked Jack.
+
+"That is what we suspect."
+
+"Well," Frank said, then, "it wouldn't be any fun to go after the old
+wreck if all was clear sailing."
+
+"Right you are!" cried Jimmie.
+
+"But how did they get the Diver here so quickly?" asked Ned.
+
+"The same way I got the Sea Lion here," was the Lieutenant's reply.
+"They engaged a special train, took the boat to pieces as far as
+practicable and sent her over."
+
+"But she is something of a whale as compared with the little Sea
+Lion," urged Ned. "It was easy enough to get our boat across the
+continent."
+
+"Not quite so easy as you think," laughed the officer. "Still," he
+added, "here she is, all ready for the trip. There are plenty of
+provisions, and everything is in fine working order. You, Mr. Nestor,
+took a hand in taking the submarine to pieces, and you ought to know
+all about her."
+
+"I think I do," was the reply, "still, I should have liked the chance
+of putting her together again."
+
+"It is all right as it is," was the reply. "You doubtless had a good
+time in New York while the work was being done here. When I left for
+the big city to ride over with you she was nearly ready, and now, on
+our arrival, she is, as you see, right and fit."
+
+"But I thought we were to cross the Pacific in a steamer and pick up
+the Sea Lion over there," Ned observed.
+
+"Right you are," the Lieutenant answered, "but the Sea Lion is to be
+taken over by the big steamer, too."
+
+"Then they've got to take her to pieces again," wailed Jimmie, "and it
+will be weeks before we get started."
+
+"You are wrong there," the officer replied. "The Sea Lion will be
+picked up by something like a floating dock and towed over. How does
+that strike you?"
+
+"Out of water?" asked Frank.
+
+"Of course. Novel way of carrying a submarine, eh?"
+
+"I should say so."
+
+"Over there," the Lieutenant went on, "there would be no facilities
+for assembling the parts. That is why the work was done here."
+
+"Of course," laughed Frank.
+
+"And this floating dry dock," continued the officer, "will be roofed
+over and its contents kept secret. A short distance from the Taya
+Islands, she will be shucked of her shell and take to the water. No
+one will know what her mission is."
+
+"It seems to me that everything is pretty cleverly planned," Ned
+remarked. "I hope all my plans will come together as nicely as the
+plans of the Government have."
+
+"That will be a big tow for a steamer," Jimmie suggested.
+
+"Yes, it is awkward, but there seemed to be no other way. The Diver
+will be far in the rear and you take water off the Taya Islands."
+
+"And on the way over," Ned said, "I can live in the Sea Lion and
+continue my studies of the machinery."
+
+"That is the idea," said the Lieutenant.
+
+"When are we to be picked up?" asked Jack.
+
+The Lieutenant lifted a hand for silence.
+
+From outside, seemingly from underneath the keel of the Sea Lion, came
+a grating sound, which was followed by a slight, though steady,
+lifting of the vessel.
+
+"Gee!" cried Jimmie, springing to his feet. "I guess we're up against
+an earthquake!"
+
+The boys were all moving about now, but Lieutenant Scott remained in
+his chair, a smile on his face.
+
+The Sea Lion rose steadily, and there was a slight tip to port. Ned
+sat down with a shamed look on his face.
+
+"I should have known," he said.
+
+"Say," Jack exclaimed, "was the submarine put together on the float
+that is going to carry her across?"
+
+"Of course she was," laughed the Lieutenant. "The pieces brought on
+from New York were assembled on the float. Some of the larger pieces,
+the ones most difficult to handle, were made here from patterns sent
+on from the east. Then, when all was ready, the float was dropped out
+of sight so the submarine would lie on the surface, as we found her."
+
+"And now they're lifting the float?" asked Jimmie.
+
+"Exactly," was the reply. "Suppose you go outside, on the conning
+tower, and look about."
+
+"You bet," cried Jack, and then there was a rush for the stairway, or
+half-ladder, rather, leading to the tower.
+
+The Sea Lion was still lifting, though where the power came from no
+one could determine. While Ned studied over the problem Lieutenant
+Scott laid a hand on his shoulder.
+
+"You want to know what makes the wheels go round?" laughed the
+officer. "Well, I'll tell you. The bottom of the float forms a tank.
+Now do you see?"
+
+"And there's a large hose laid from the tank to the shore, and the
+water is being pumped out! I see."
+
+"That's it," replied the Lieutenant. "Now that we are getting up high
+and dry, you boys can step down on the floor of the float and look
+about. I don't think there was ever a contrivance exactly like this.
+Go and look it over."
+
+Night was falling, and a chill October wind was blowing in from the
+Pacific. There were banks of clouds, too, and all signs portended
+rain. It would be a dismal night.
+
+Leaving Lieutenant Scott in the conning tower, the boys all clambered
+down to the floor of the float to examine the blockings which kept the
+submarine on a level keel. They were gone only a short time, but when
+they climbed up the rope ladder to the conning tower again the light
+was dim, and a slow, cold rain was falling. The Lieutenant was not on
+the conning tower, and Ned at once descended to the general living
+room of the submarine. Before he reached the middle of the stairs the
+lights, which had been burning brightly a moment before, suddenly went
+out, and the interior of the submarine yawned under his feet like a
+deep, impenetrable pit.
+
+Fearful that something was amiss, Ned dropped down and reached for his
+electric searchlight, which he had left on a shelf not far from the
+stairs. Something passed him in the darkness and he called out to the
+Lieutenant, but there was no answer. Then, out of the darkness above,
+came a mingled chorus of anger and alarm.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+A WOLF ON THE TRAIL
+
+
+
+"That isn't Ned!" cried Jack's voice, in a moment.
+
+"Don't let him get away! He's been up to some mischief!"
+
+That was Frank Shaw's voice.
+
+"Soak him!"
+
+That could be no one but Jimmie!
+
+Ned, groping about in the darkness, heard the voices faintly. He
+seemed to be submerged in a sweep of pounding waves, the steady
+beating of which shut out all individual sounds.
+
+He knew that he staggered and stumbled as he walked. Moving across the
+floor his feet came in contact with some soft obstruction lying on the
+rug and he fell down.
+
+There was a strange, choking odor in the place, and he groped on his
+hands and knees in the direction of the shelf where his searchlight
+had been left. His senses reeled, and for an instant he lay flat on
+the floor.
+
+Then he heard the boys clambering down the stairs from the conning
+tower and called out, feebly, yet with sufficient strength to make
+himself heard above the sound of shuffling feet.
+
+"Go back!" he cried. "Don't come in here! Leave the hatch open, and
+let in air. Go back!"
+
+Jimmie recognized a note of alarm, of suffering, in the voice of his
+chum and dropped headlong into the black pit of the submarine. Ned
+heard him snap the catch of a searchlight, and then, dimly, heard his
+voice:
+
+"Gee!" the voice said. "What's comin' off here?"
+
+The round face of the electric searchlight showed at the end of a
+cylindrical shaft of light which rested on Ned's face, but the boy did
+not realize what was going on until he felt a gust of wind and a
+drizzle of rain on his forehead.
+
+Then he opened his eyes to find himself on the conning tower of the
+submarine, with the boys gathered about him, anxiety showing in their
+speech and manner. It was too dark for him to see their faces.
+
+"You're all right now," Jimmie said. "What got you down there?"
+
+Then Ned remembered the sudden extinction of the lights as he moved
+down the stairs, the stifling, choking odor below, and the deadly grip
+of suffocation which had brought him to the floor.
+
+"Go back into the boat," he said, gaining strength every moment. "I am
+anxious about Lieutenant Scott."
+
+"We've just come from there," Frank said. "We've done all that can be
+done for him."
+
+"What do you mean by that?" demanded Ned, moving toward the hatch
+which sealed the submarine.
+
+"The poison which keeled you over got him!" Jack said.
+
+"Do you mean that he's dead?" asked Ned, a shiver running through his
+body as he spoke.
+
+"I'm afraid so," was the reply. "We got you out just in time. You
+would have perished in a moment more."
+
+"Dead!" said Ned. "Lieutenant Scott dead! And he was so gay and so
+full of life a few moments ago!"
+
+Jack, who had left the little group a moment before, now returned.
+
+"The poison seems to have evaporated from the interior," he said, "so
+we may as well go below. I'll go ahead and turn on the lights." The
+body of the naval officer lay in a huddle at the foot of the stairs
+leading to the conning tower, just far enough to the rear so that the
+free passage was not obstructed. With all the lights turned on and
+every aperture which might transmit a ray to the world outside closed,
+the boys, after placing the body on a couch, began a close examination
+of the boat.
+
+There were no wounds on the body, so it seemed that he had died from
+suffocation. There was still a sickening odor in the boat, but the
+constant manufacture of fresh air was gradually doing away with this.
+
+The door to the room where the dynamos and the gasoline engine were
+situated was found wide open, and Ned instructed the boys to leave it
+so and leave everything untouched.
+
+"The first thing to do," he said, "is to discover any clues the
+assassin may have left here. It is an old theory that no person,
+however careful he or she may be, can enter and leave a room without
+leaving behind some evidence of his or her presence there. We'll soon
+know if this is true in this case."
+
+"There was some one in here, all right," Jimmie said. "He passed us on
+the conning tower, skipping like to break the speed limit for the
+city. I tried to trip him as he passed me, an' got this."
+
+The lad turned a bruised face toward his companions. In the confusion
+no one had observed the cut on his cheek.
+
+"You did get something!" Jack exclaimed. "Why didn't you say something
+about it?"
+
+"Nothin' doin'!" answered the boy. "Only a scratch!"
+
+Notwithstanding the boy's claim that the wound was of small
+importance, Ned insisted on its being dressed at once.
+
+"Now," Ned said, after the cut had been properly cared for, "what sort
+of a man was it that passed you boys on the conning tower? The
+circular platform is so small that he must have crowded you pretty
+closely when he stepped out."
+
+"He did," Jimmie answered. "I thought it was you, and stepped aside to
+make room for him."
+
+"And then?"
+
+"I had a feeling that it wasn't you. Then, he was makin' for the wharf
+so fast that I thought it would do no harm to have a look at him, and
+so called out."
+
+"Then's when you got the slash across the cheek?"
+
+"Yes; he cut me then."
+
+"What about the size of the fellow?" asked Ned.
+
+"Oh, I should think he was slender and light, the way he bounded off
+the platform and made for the wharf."
+
+"Do you think he went there to kill Lieutenant Scott?" asked Jack, a
+moment later.
+
+"It is more probable that he came here to put the Sea Lion out of
+commission," Frank replied.
+
+"I'll bet well find somethin' all busted up!" Jimmie predicted.
+
+"Ned can soon determine that," Jack remarked.
+
+"Yes," Ned went on, "but the first thing to do is to see if this
+murderer left any visiting cards here. After that, we must notify the
+Coroner and have the body removed."
+
+Ned went into the dynamo room and looked about.
+
+"Here is where any enemy would have to do his work," he said, "so we
+must look for clues here. Keep your hands off the machinery, for he
+may have left finger marks somewhere."
+
+Ned searched long and carefully without reward. Finally he turned to
+the waiting boys.
+
+"There's quite a lot of waste lying around," he said. "Secure every
+fiber of it and examine it under the microscope. You would better
+attend to that, Frank, as you are familiar with the instrument. If you
+discover anything foreign to a place like this, let me know."
+
+While Ned continued his search about the interior of the submarine,
+Frank busied himself inspecting the bits of waste the other boys
+brought to him. At last an exclamation of astonishment brought Ned to
+his side.
+
+"There's something funny about this," Frank said, as Ned bent over his
+shoulder. "That stuff is not oil, and I'd like to know how it got in
+here."
+
+"What does it look like?" asked Ned.
+
+"I can't say," was the hesitating reply.
+
+Ned took the microscope and looked at the object to which his
+attention had been called.
+
+"Rubber!" he said, in a moment.
+
+"Rubber!" repeated Frank. "How could rubber be in the waste in that
+shape?"
+
+"All the same," Ned replied, "this is some rubber composition, and it
+has been wiped into the waste. Now, what could any person want with
+rubber here?"
+
+"It is used quite a lot around electric apparatus," suggested Frank
+Shaw.
+
+"But not in this form," Ned replied.
+
+Then, remembering certain smooth blurs on the polished machinery he
+had recently examined, he took the microscope and made another
+examination of the spots. Presently he called Frank to his side.
+
+"Look through the glass," he said, handing the instrument to Frank,
+"and tell me what you see."
+
+"Rubber!" cried the boy, after a short examination. "There are a few
+traces here of the same rubber composition I found on the waste. Can
+you tell me what it means?"
+
+"Quite simple," Ned replied, as the boys gathered about him. "The use
+of rubber composition by men engaged in nefarious undertakings dates
+back to the time of the utilization of the whorls and lines of the
+human fingers as aids in the detection of crime."
+
+"I guess I know what you are going to say," cried Frank.
+
+"When the thumb- and finger-print experts got busy with their
+photographs and their enlarged reproductions, the criminals began
+studying on methods to offset this dangerous aid to detective work."
+
+"I knew it," cried Frank.
+
+"And so," Ned went on, "they conceived the idea of filling the lines
+on the fingers and hands and making them perfectly smooth. This is
+rubber paint," he went on. "The man who was hidden in here when we
+came in did not care to leave any finger marks behind him."
+
+"But he did leave smooth blurs on the machines where his fingers
+touched them!" said Jack.
+
+"Certainly, and so pointed out the location of his efforts. Still, I
+do not think he meditated disabling the Sea Lion. It is more probable
+that he believed Lieutenant Scott to be the expert in charge of the
+boat and sought to kill or disable him."
+
+"See where the chump wiped his hands on waste," Jimmie cried.
+
+Ned now made a still closer inspection of the room and was rewarded
+for his thoroughness by discovering a tiny pool of the rubber
+composition on the floor, close to the giant iron frame of the big
+dynamo. Looking at the pool through his glass he discovered bits of
+wool mixed with it. He put up his glass with a smile.
+
+"We ought to be able to find this fellow now," he said, "if we get
+busy before he has time to change his clothes."
+
+"Got him, have you?" asked Jack.
+
+"I think I could pick him out of a thousand provided he is captured in
+the clothes he wore while here. His hand trembled while he was putting
+the rubber composition on his fingers and some of it dropped on his
+clothing and dripped off to the floor.
+
+"There are shreds of blue wool in this composition on the floor--so
+you see he wore a blue woolen garment--probably a coat or pair of
+trousers. And, see here, the fellow lost all caution when he bounded
+out of the submarine, after extinguishing the lights, on my entrance.
+
+"He had already wiped the rubber off his hands on the waste, and so
+his finger marks showed on the steel railing of the staircase. I'll
+just take a photo of them."
+
+When this was accomplished, Ned and Jimmie drew the Sea Lion's boat to
+the edge of the float and launched it. Then, leaving Frank and Jack in
+charge of the submarine, with instructions to keep a close watch for
+suspicious characters, they turned the prow of the rowboat toward
+South Vallejo. The distance to the wharf was not great. In fact, the
+intruder seemed to have cleared it in a minute, either in a boat,
+which was improbable, or by swimming.
+
+The Sea Lion lay off the United States Navy Yard, on the west of Mare
+Island, in the straits of the same name. The nearest landing place on
+the mainland, therefore, was South Vallejo.
+
+It was after 8 o'clock when the boys reached the main street of the
+town and encountered a policeman in uniform. Ned at once asked for the
+office of the Coroner of Salano County.
+
+"What's doing?" asked the policeman.
+
+"I have business with him," Ned replied, not caring to create a
+sensation by reciting there in the street the details of what had
+taken place.
+
+"Well," replied the policeman, "if you're so mighty close-mouthed
+regarding your business with the Coroner, you may find him yourself."
+
+"All right," Ned replied. "I'll go to police headquarters. Perhaps the
+night desk man won't be so fresh."
+
+"Say," growled the policeman, "you needn't get gay. I know my duty.
+So, if you don't mind, I'll take you to headquarters, saving you the
+trouble of asking for the place."
+
+"I refuse to go with you," Ned replied.
+
+"Oh, well," announced the other, "I'll take you along, just the same.
+I'm used to kids of your stamp. You're both under arrest, so you'd
+better come along without making any trouble."
+
+As he spoke the policeman seized both boys roughly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+TWO WOLVES IN A PEN
+
+
+
+"Take it quietly," Ned advised Jimmie, as the little fellow began
+struggling with the arm of the law. "We'll come out on top in the end,
+I take it."
+
+"I'd like to knock the head off this fool cop!" Jimmie cried. "What
+right has he to go an' arrest us?"
+
+"If it will take any load off your mind," the policeman replied, as
+the three waited on a corner for a patrol wagon, "I'll tell you what
+right I had to arrest you. There's a report at the office that a man
+who went into that submarine of yours never came out again."
+
+"When was this report sent in?" asked Ned.
+
+"Just a few moments ago," was the reply. "All the officers in the city
+are either watching for you or heading toward the boat. What have you
+done with Lieutenant Scott?"
+
+"Who sent in the report?" asked Ned.
+
+"I don't know his name, but the chief does. He says he went to the
+water front, on the island side, with the Lieutenant, that the
+Lieutenant went on board the Sea Lion with you and the others, and
+that he has not been seen since. What about it? Better confess and get
+an easy sentence."
+
+"The officers who are on their way to the submarine will find out why
+the Lieutenant never came out," Ned said. "But about this man who made
+the report. Why was he waiting for Scott to leave the boat?"
+
+"Said he had an understanding with him that he was to watch outside,
+as Scott did not exactly trust you New York kids. A little while ago
+he heard a commotion and calls for help on board, so he came up to
+report."
+
+"Thank you for the information," Ned said. "Now, you can't get us to
+headquarters any too quickly."
+
+"Where is Scott?" asked the officer.
+
+"Dead," was the reply.
+
+"Holy smoke!" cried the policeman. "Then I've arrested a couple of
+murderers!"
+
+"If you'll hurry us to headquarters," Ned replied, "and the man who
+made this report is still there, I'll help you to arrest a real
+murderer. Here comes the wagon."
+
+"Drive fast," ordered the policeman as the three entered the patrol
+wagon and the driver turned to inspect the boys. "I've got the fellows
+we're after," he added.
+
+"Great luck!" the driver replied. "There'll be a big reward."
+
+"Oh, I guess I know my business!" said the policeman, with a boastful
+chuckle.
+
+The station was soon reached, and, without the least ceremony, the
+boys were pushed along to the cell block and locked up. Ned's demand
+that they be taken before the chief was not heeded.
+
+"This is fine!" Jimmie said, from the next cell to the one occupied by
+Ned. "I like this."
+
+Before Ned could reply, the chief of police made his appearance in the
+corridor outside, a great ring of keys in one hand. He unlocked the
+cell doors without speaking a word and motioned the boys out into the
+corridor.
+
+Then, still without speaking, he pointed the way to his private
+office, ushered the lads in, closed and locked the door.
+
+"Well?" he said, then.
+
+"Will you send for the Coroner?" asked Ned.
+
+"So Scott is dead?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Why did you kill him?"
+
+Before opening his mouth to reply, Ned caught sight of a dark stain on
+the arm of the chair in which he was seated.
+
+"Have you a microscope handy?" he asked.
+
+The chief opened his eyes in amazement.
+
+The question, coming at that time, seemed almost the raving of a mad
+man. This is the view the chief took of it, and he decided to
+conciliate the maniac.
+
+"What do you want of a microscope?" he asked.
+
+"I want to see if this spot is caused by the application of a certain
+rubber composition, and if there are shreds of blue wool mixed with
+it."
+
+"I guess," the chief said, "that your proper place is the foolish
+house."
+
+"While your men are bringing the microscope," Ned went on, coolly, "I
+want to ask you a few questions."
+
+"Go ahead," laughed the chief, wondering what sort of insanity this
+was.
+
+"Who sat in this chair last?" asked Ned.
+
+"Why, the last visitor, of course."
+
+"Can you now recall his name?"
+
+"Curtis."
+
+"How was he dressed?"
+
+"In a blue suit."
+
+"Where is he now?"
+
+"I don't know. He said he would return as soon as the officers came
+back from the submarine."
+
+"Yes he will!" Jimmie broke in.
+
+"Does he belong here?" asked Ned.
+
+The chief pointed to the west.
+
+"Over in the navy yard," he said.
+
+"So the blue suit he wore was a naval uniform?"
+
+"Exactly."
+
+The chief touched a bell on his desk and a policeman opened the door
+at the back of the room, connecting with the sergeant's room, and
+looked in.
+
+"Get a microscope," the chief ordered, "and keep quiet about what is
+going on in here."
+
+The sergeant nodded and went out.
+
+"What did you say about that smear on the arm of the chair?" asked the
+chief, then.
+
+He was beginning to understand that there was something besides mental
+trouble at the bottom of Ned's inquiries.
+
+"I think," was the reply, "that an inspection of the spot will reveal
+a rubber composition used principally by the thieves of Paris as a
+paint to prevent palm and finger lines and whorls showing on things
+they take hold of."
+
+The chief looked at the spot critically.
+
+"Also, shreds from a blue uniform," Ned continued.
+
+"We shall see," replied the chief.
+
+The microscope was soon brought in, and then a close examination of
+the spot on the arm of the chair was made by the chief.
+
+"What do you find?" asked Ned.
+
+"I really can't say what it is," was the reply.
+
+Ned took from a pocket a bit of the waste he had brought from the
+dynamo room of the submarine.
+
+"Look at this," he said, "and see if the material in it appears to be
+the same as that on the chair. I mean, of course, the smudge on it."
+
+The chief turned his instrument on the waste.
+
+"It is the same," he declared, in a moment, "and I'd like to know
+where you got it."
+
+"Do you find blue threads--well, not threads, exactly, but bits of
+fuzz--in the waste, too?"
+
+"Yes, but the trace is faint."
+
+"Well," Ned said, "the man who killed Lieutenant Scott is the man who
+gave you the information you speak of. He sat in this chair not long
+ago. I would advise a search for him."
+
+"But he agreed to come back." "Of course he never will," Ned said.
+"Now, here is another point. You are going to have the Sea Lion
+searched?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, your men will find the body of Lieutenant Scott lying on a
+couch there. In that case, they will doubtless arrest the two boys I
+left on watch there?"
+
+"Certainly."
+
+"And that will give the man who left this blur on the arm of this
+chair not long ago a chance to make off with the boat. I reckon you'll
+do well to look after that part of the case, for the submarine belongs
+to the Secret Service department of the Government, and Uncle Sam has
+use for it just at this time."
+
+"The Secret Service department?" repeated the chief. "He said she was
+a scout boat Lieutenant Scott was going to coast south with."
+
+"Did he say why he suspected that Lieutenant Scott was in danger?"
+asked Ned.
+
+"He said you boys were suspicious characters who claimed to be able to
+operate a submarine, and that Scott was inclined to try you out."
+
+Ned took a long envelope from a pocket of his coat and passed it,
+unopened, to the chief.
+
+"Read the letter inside," he said, "and then get me to the Sea Lion as
+quickly as possible."
+
+The chief opened the envelope and read the single sheet of typewritten
+paper it held.
+
+"From the Secretary of the Navy!" he exclaimed.
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"I don't need to ask if you are the Ned Nestor mentioned in the
+letter, then. I saw a picture of you in a San Francisco newspaper, not
+long ago, and now recognize you as the boy referred to."
+
+"Then take us to the submarine," urged Ned.
+
+"It won't do no good to take us there after that cheap skate has
+geezled the boat," Jimmie cut in.
+
+"And you are Jimmie," the chief went on. "I saw your picture, too.
+Well, this is quite a surprise for me," the chief added.
+
+"You'll get a greater surprise if you let that murderer get off with
+the Sea Lion," Jimmie remarked.
+
+The chief called the sergeant again and in a moment all was confusion
+in the police station. A wagon was called, and the chief and his ex-
+prisoners were soon on their way to the wharf, followed by the eyes of
+the policemen left behind.
+
+"That's Ned Nestor, of New York," the boys heard one of the men on the
+iron steps in front saying as they passed, "and the little fellow is
+Jimmie McGraw. Great hit Preston made arresting them!"
+
+But the minds of the boys were too full of anxiety regarding the fate
+of Scott and the Sea Lion to pay much attention to the words of
+flattery they overheard. If the unknown murderer succeeded in securing
+the arrest of Jack and Frank and getting away in the submarine, the
+whole trip would have to be abandoned, at least for the present.
+
+Besides, Ned had no idea of going back to New York and reporting that
+he had been robbed of his boat under the very guns of the Mare Island
+Navy Yard. He urged the driver to make greater speed, and in a short
+time the wharf was in sight.
+
+Half a dozen policemen were gathered about the end nearest the float
+which upheld the Sea Lion, and the figure of another showed at the top
+of the conning tower. As the police wagon dashed up to the wharf
+another rig came up on a run and halted close at the side of it.
+
+"Hello," called the chief, recognizing a man on the seat, "how did you
+manage to get here so soon?"
+
+"Some one 'phoned for me," was the hurried reply. "Where is the dead
+man?"
+
+"In the submarine," answered an officer who had drawn closer to the
+official's buggy.
+
+Without another word the newcomer leaped out and was conveyed to the
+Sea Lion in the rowboat Ned had left tied to the wharf.
+
+"That's the Coroner," the chief said, in explanation. "He'll soon get
+at the bottom of this."
+
+"Suppose we get aboard the Sea Lion," suggested Ned.
+
+"Of course," said the chief, "you'll remain here a few days and assist
+in the capture of this fellow?"
+
+"I shall have to ask for instructions from Washington," was the reply.
+"I really ought to get away on the steamer which sails in the
+morning."
+
+When the three, using a boat an officer found nearby, reached the main
+cabin of the Sea Lion they found Jack and Frank sitting by the table,
+handcuffed, repeating over and over again their individual and
+collective opinion of the police of Vallejo. Jimmie seemed to take
+great delight in taunting them.
+
+"Black Bears in chains!" he roared.
+
+"Huh, where have you Wolves been?" demanded Jack. "These cops said
+they had you in a pen!"
+
+While the Coroner was making his examination the chief ordered the
+irons removed from the wrists of the boys. For a time the Coroner
+appeared to be puzzled. He lifted the hands of the apparently dead man
+and dropped them again. Then he held a pocket mirror before his lips.
+
+"Look here," he said, presently, "I don't believe this man is dead."
+
+"I hope you are right," Ned said, hopefully. "Still, the poison I got
+near killed me, while he must have gotten much more."
+
+There was a short silence, during which the Coroner held his watch.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+NIGHT ON AN OCEAN FLOOR
+
+
+
+"Over there, straight to the west," Ned said, pointing from the
+conning tower of the submarine, "is the coast of China, not far from
+seventy-five miles away."
+
+"And there, to the north," Frank said, "lie the Taya Islands. The big
+fellow beyond is Hainan."
+
+The sun was going down into the Gulf of Tong King like a ball of red
+fire, and the night was far from cool.
+
+Jimmie declared he could hear the water hiss as the sun dipped its red
+rim under the waves. The boy now stood by Ned's side, looking over the
+wonderful scene.
+
+"We've been somewhere near here before," he said. "You remember the
+time we came over to this side of the world and found a key to a
+treaty box? Well, we wasn't far from this spot at one time."
+
+"Right you are," Frank replied. "Only we hope to find something more
+important than a key now. I hope they've had use for a cell key in
+connection with that mix-up at Mare Island Navy Yard."
+
+"It was rotten to let that fellow get away!" Jimmie declared. "I just
+knew they would."
+
+"We were all so astonished at the recovery of Lieutenant Scott," Ned
+observed, "that we overlooked a few things we ought to have kept in
+mind. Wasn't it glorious! Think of Scott coming out of it all right at
+last!"
+
+"Well, he said he was a fixture on the coast until he found the man
+who came so near killing him," Frank said, in a moment, "and I hope
+he'll make good."
+
+"Huh," Jimmie interrupted, "if you think that fellow is on the Pacific
+coast yet, you've got another think comin'. You remember the Diver
+left San Francisco just about the time we did."
+
+"What has that to do with it?"
+
+"Most nothin' at all, only he sailed in her."
+
+"You're a wise little man!"
+
+"And, what's more, we'll see the Diver come pluggin' along here before
+we get this job done," Jimmie went on. "That Captain Moore and his son
+are out for blood."
+
+"But the Diver will require at least a couple of months to get here,"
+urged Frank. "We can get away before that time."
+
+"You don't know what the Moores will do," Ned said. "I rather agree
+with Jimmie, that we shall see something of the Diver before we leave
+this part of the world."
+
+"I hope so," Frank said.
+
+"Well, who's for the bottom of the sea?" demanded Jimmie. "I want to
+see what's down there before the Bogy Man gets me."
+
+"I don't mind going down," Ned said. "Come on, we'll close the top
+hatch and drop to the bottom, then, if conditions are right, we'll
+enter the water closet, put on the diving suits, and take a walk on
+the floor of the big water."
+
+"Suppose we all go," suggested Frank.
+
+"Perhaps it may be well for two to remain aboard in order to help the
+others out, if necessary," Ned observed.
+
+"All right," Frank said. "Catch a fish by the tail and bring him in
+for supper."
+
+"To-morrow," Jimmie said, "you can take a run on the riparian rights
+an' chase whales."
+
+"I'll wait and see whether you boys come out alive," laughed Frank.
+"I'm a little leary about mixing with the funny little fishes. Some of
+'em may bite!"
+
+After a thoroughly interesting voyage, the boys had at last reached
+the scene of their labors. It was now the 2oth of October. The Sea
+Lion had rode securely on the float, and Ned and his companions had
+spent most of the time during the journey under the great hood which
+covered the submarine, studying the mechanism and making themselves
+thoroughly familiar with the big machine.
+
+Arriving off the Taya Islands, the float had been submerged by opening
+the sluiceways and filling the tanks with water. The Sea Lion behaved
+admirably when she came to the surface after cutting away from the
+companion of her voyage.
+
+As there were no appliances for lifting the big float, she was now at
+the bottom of the sea for all time, unless broken away from the water-
+filled tanks by divers, in which case the upper works would come to
+the surface. It was with feelings of keen regret that the boys saw the
+great barge, as it might well be called, lying, deserted, on the ocean
+floor.
+
+As has been shown by the conversation between the boys in the conning
+tower, Lieutenant Scott had fully recovered from the effects of the
+poisonous fumes he had inhaled in the submarine on the night of Ned's
+arrest at South Vallejo. Physicians stated at the time that his
+recovery was due to the fact that the conning tower hatch was open
+when the deadly gas was released. Ned, it was also stated, would have
+been dead in a few moments if the hatch had been closed.
+
+Search had been made, both by the police and the naval detectives, for
+the author of the mischief, but he had not been found. It was believed
+that his purpose in reporting the result of his own deviltry to the
+chief of police was to secure the arrest of the boys on the Sea Lion
+and make off with her.
+
+Ned did not say so, when discussing the matter with the officers, but
+he was satisfied that the Moores were at the bottom of the trouble.
+The Captain had resigned, and had been observed lounging about the
+wharf in New York where the Sea Lion lay, and had, it was afterwards
+learned, been seen in San Francisco on the day before the arrival of
+Lieutenant Scott and the Boy Scouts.
+
+In reaching this conclusion Ned assigned envy as the prime motive on
+the part of the Captain and his son. They had expected to be assigned
+the duty of searching the ocean floor for the wreck of the mail
+steamer. In their great disappointment nothing was more probable than
+that they had resolved to hamper the efforts of their successful
+rivals in every way.
+
+But there was still another view of the case which might be
+considered. The gold in the hull of the wrecked steamer would become
+the spoil of the first submarine to reach her.
+
+With the double incentive, greed joined to a thirst for revenge, it
+would not be at all strange if the Moores had risked everything in
+their efforts to prevent the Sea Lion leaving the Navy Yard on her
+long trip. It was Ned's private opinion, too, that the son had been
+the one to sneak into the submarine and attack the Lieutenant with the
+poisonous gas.
+
+Leaving Frank and Jack in the machine room, Ned and Jimmie entered the
+water chamber and closed the door, which, however, was provided with a
+plate glass panel of great thickness, so that light from the other
+room supplied plenty of illumination.
+
+It was not designed to submerge the Sea Lion until the boys were all
+ready to step out. Four deep-sea suits hung on hooks in the water
+chamber, one for each of the boys.
+
+These suits were not much different from those usually worn by deep-
+sea divers. They were of seamless rubber composition, braced across
+the breast with bars of steel in order to offset the great pressure of
+the lower levels and give the lungs plenty of room for expansion.
+
+The helmets, which fitted on the neck of the suits, were lighter than
+those in ordinary use, but fully as strong. The cords attached to the
+helmets were very long, and the air-hose admitted of a range of at
+least three hundred feet.
+
+By the side of each suit lay an electric searchlight of special
+construction and a long steel pole, shaped something like a crowbar,
+but very slender and strong. This latter for defense in case attack
+should be made by some monster of the deep.
+
+"Say," Jimmie grinned, slipping on his suit, "these spring suits look
+to me like someone to button us up in the back."
+
+"I don't see where you find buttons," replied Ned.
+
+"Look here, then!"
+
+The boy pointed to the screws designed to secure the helmets.
+
+"You button me up, and I'll button you up," Ned laughed. "We've got to
+learn to do such things."
+
+"I'll catch a shark an' get him to learn how," cried Jimmie. "I wonder
+how I would look in this suit walkin' down the Bowery. Gee! I bet the
+boys would jump out of their skins if they saw me comin'. They'd think
+their master had come to claim 'em!"
+
+The boys worked industriously for a time, settling themselves in the
+rather clumsy suits, and then all was ready save putting on the heavy
+helmets. Jimmie pointed to a belt about the waist of his suit.
+
+"What's that for?" he asked, pulling at a hook which was suspended
+from the steel circlet.
+
+"That's to hang your searchlight on," was the reply. "There may come a
+time when you'll want both hands to operate that spike thing you've
+got to carry."
+
+At last the helmets were adjusted, the cords and air-hose attached,
+and then Ned motioned to the boys, watching with grinning eyes through
+the plate glass panel, to turn on the air. The first sensation on
+receiving the air was one of exhilaration, but this soon passed off.
+
+Ned saw, by looking through the immense goggles which Jimmie wore,
+that the lad was almost bursting with laughter, but he knew that this
+effect would soon pass away. He pushed a button, and signaled to Frank
+to fill the water tanks.
+
+As the water chamber filled the boys felt a cold circle rise from
+their toes to their heads. They felt a sinking motion, and soon the
+mysterious life of the ocean became visible through the outer glass
+door of the water chamber.
+
+The Sea Lion dropped evenly to the bottom. The supply of air was as
+perfect as it could well be. When the faint jar told Ned that the
+submarine was at last resting on the bed of the tropical sea he
+released a heavy bar which held the door, pushed it back against
+considerable pressure, and stepped out.
+
+Jimmie followed, and Ned stopped long enough to point to the lines as
+a warning that they should not be allowed to become tangled, and
+struck off. It was early in the evening, and there was a moon, almost
+at the full.
+
+The depth at that point was not great, scarcely more than sixty feet.
+The pressure of the water overhead made walking rather difficult, and
+the boys were strange to the lines they were drawing after them, but
+they made good progress until they came to the end of the air-hose.
+
+It was not as dark under the waves as might have been expected. The
+light of the sun penetrates, ordinarily, to a depth of not far from
+forty feet, and the moon's rays on this night were very strong. It was
+not light enough for the boys to see objects around them, but there
+was a soft illumination above their heads not dissimilar to the faint
+haze of light which lies over a country landscape situated at no great
+distance from a city bright with electricity.
+
+By using the searchlights, however, the boys were able to distinguish
+objects directly about them. They were on a level plain of pure white
+sand. Ages and ages ago this pavement laid so smoothly on the ocean
+floor had existed in the form of rocks.
+
+Through countless years it had faced the assaults of the waves, until
+at last, in utter defeat, it had succumbed to the mighty force and
+dropped in fine grains to the lower levels of the world. It seemed to
+Ned that it had lain there for centuries, with never a storm to pile
+it into ridges or break its level surface into pits.
+
+The scene about the boys was indescribably beautiful. The inhabitants
+of the sea rivaled the rainbow in brilliancy of coloring. There were
+more forms of life in sight than either of the boys had ever imagined
+in existence.
+
+Queer-shaped sea creatures with long tails darted about the rubber-
+clad figures, and now and then an inquisitive fish with curious eyes
+poked its nose against the eye plates, as if intent on discovering
+what sort of creature it was that carried a sunrise in its head.
+
+There were monster creatures in sight, too, and Jimmie jabbed at one
+of them and brought blood. This brought others, and in a short time
+the boys found themselves surrounded by a school of sharks.
+
+Ned threw himself down on the sandy bottom and motioned to Jimmie to
+do likewise. This seemed to surprise the sharks, for they nosed around
+for only a moment longer. Seeing no opportunity of getting under their
+prospective dinners, they switched their tails angrily, like a cat in
+a temper, and swam off about their business, if they had any.
+
+But Ned had little interest in the sea life about him. At another
+time, and under other conditions, he would have enjoyed the novelty of
+the scene to the fullest, but now he was anxiously watching for some
+indication of the presence of the wreck of the Cutaria.
+
+He was as certain as it was possible to be that the Sea Lion had
+descended almost at the exact spot where the ill-fated vessel went
+down. The hull should be out there in the sand somewhere, and he lost
+no time in making his investigations.
+
+But there was nothing on the smooth surface to show that any vessel
+had ever rested there. Away to the north, however, the boy finally saw
+what looked like an elevation.
+
+His flashlight, however, would not throw its beams to the point of
+interest, and he decided to return to the Sea Lion, rest for the
+remainder of the night, and shift the submarine in the morning.
+
+Motioning to his companion, therefore, he turned toward the door to
+the water chamber. They had proceeded only a few steps when something
+seemed to pass over their heads.
+
+It was as if a heavy cloud had drifted over a summer sky, outlining
+its shape on the fields below for an instant and then passing on.
+Jimmie caught Ned's arm and pointed upward.
+
+It was plain that the little fellow had caught sight of something his
+companion had missed, but of course he could not explain then and
+there what it was. Ned hastened his steps, and soon stood at the door
+of the water chamber, which had been left open.
+
+As Jimmie pushed into the water-filled apartment by his side and Ned
+was about to close the door and expel the water from the chamber, as
+well as from the tanks of the submarine, something which flashed like
+polished steel hurtled through the water and struck the bottom just
+outside the doorway.
+
+Ned stepped out and picked it up. It was a keen-edge knife, such as
+sailors carry. On the handle was a single initial--"D."
+
+Ned knew what that meant. Through some strange agency, by means of
+some unaccountable assistance, the Diver had reached the scene of the
+proposed operations of the Sea Lion.
+
+From this time on, it would be a battle of wits--perhaps worse!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE SECRET OF THE HOLD
+
+
+
+In response to Ned's hand on the lever, the water door closed and the
+pumps in the next compartment soon cleared not only the sea vestibule
+but the tanks of the submarine of seawater.
+
+In a moment the Sea Lion lifted to the surface, and Ned lost no time
+in relieving himself of his helmet. Then, still attired in the rubber
+suit, he hastened to the conning tower, where he found Jack, glass in
+hand, sweeping the moonlit sea eagerly. There was a faint haze off to
+the west, but nothing more. Whatever had passed above the submerged
+boat, on the surface, had wholly disappeared, though the time had been
+very short.
+
+"What did you see?"
+
+Ned asked the question because Jack's manner indicated excitement, if
+not anxiety.
+
+"Just a shadow," was the reply.
+
+"It might have been a shadow, passing over the moon, the shadow of a
+cloud, or a cloud itself," suggested Frank, sticking his head out of
+the hatchway.
+
+Ned pointed to the sky. There was not a cloud in sight.
+
+"It must have been something of the kind," Jack mused, "for no boat
+could get out of sight so soon."
+
+"Not even a submarine?" asked Ned.
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"Did you see a submarine?"
+
+Both questions were asked in a breath.
+
+"No," replied Ned, "I did not see a submarine, but I don't believe any
+cloud passing over the sky would drop anything like this."
+
+He passed the knife to Jack and took the glass. Jack opened his eyes
+wide as he examined the weapon and noted the initial on the handle. He
+turned impulsively to Ned.
+
+"Where did you get it?" he asked.
+
+"At the bottom."
+
+"Did you find it lying there?"
+
+"It fell just as I reached the water chamber."
+
+"Then how the dickens did the Diver get away so soon?" demanded the
+boy.
+
+"It sure did fall from the Diver," agreed Frank, taking the knife and
+examining it.
+
+"It would seem so," Ned replied, "but, of course, the initial may be
+merely a coincidence."
+
+"I guess we're in for it."
+
+"But how did the Diver get here so soon after our arrival?" asked one
+of the boys.
+
+Ned looked grave for a moment, and then replied, his manner showing
+how fully he appreciated the importance of his words:
+
+"What I fear is that she got here first."
+
+"And found the wreck?"
+
+"She might have done so."
+
+"Did you see anything of the Cutaria down there?" asked Frank.
+
+"Not a bloomin' thing," answered Jimmie, making his appearance on the
+conning tower.
+
+"The Diver might have towed it away," suggested Jack.
+
+"Impossible!" cried the others, in chorus.
+
+"Anyway," Jack continued, "we're up against the real goods now. If the
+Diver is here we'll have a scrap."
+
+"But suppose it should be some other outfit?" asked Frank. "Some
+pirate outfit after the gold?"
+
+"Still there would be a scrap."
+
+"That's one advantage of goin' with Ned," Jimmie edged in. "You most
+always get into a scrap!"
+
+"Well," Ned said, presently, "we may as well drop down and keep our
+lights low. If the Diver is here, the Moores are aware of our
+presence, and we must be prepared for anything."
+
+In ten minutes the submarine lay at the bottom of the sea, with no
+lights showing, every plate glass window having been shuttered on the
+outside by a system of protection which was one of the best features
+of the craft. Then Ned explained that he had seen, at some distance,
+an apparent elevation rising from the sand.
+
+"That may be the wreck," he said.
+
+"I move we go and see," shouted Jimmie.
+
+"In the darkness?" asked Frank.
+
+"It is as light out there now," Jack declared, "as it will ever be,
+unless some subterranean volcano lights up and makes fireworks on the
+bottom, so we may as well be off."
+
+"All right," Ned said, in a moment. "I was meditating a little rest
+to-night, but it may be advisable to get to work at once. For all we
+know the Moores may be stripping the wreck, even now."
+
+"What I can't understand," Jack said, sticking to the first
+proposition, "is how the Diver got here in such good time."
+
+"As has been said, it may be some other craft," Frank consoled.
+
+"Don't believe it," insisted Jimmie. "The boat that dropped that knife
+is a submarine, else how could she disappear so suddenly? She may be
+watching us now."
+
+"Or her divers may be prowling around the Sea Lion!" Jack created a
+little sensation by saying.
+
+"What would be the use of prowling around outside the boat?" asked
+Jimmie. "They couldn't hear anything, or see anything."
+
+"But a torpedo will act under water," suggested Frank. "Those chaps
+are equal to anything."
+
+"Shall we go out and look around?" asked Jack.
+
+Ned hesitated. He really was alarmed at the situation. He knew how
+desperate the Moores must be, and he had no doubt that in some strange
+way the Diver had been brought to the scene of the wreck.
+
+"If you and Frank are partial to a moonlight stroll under sixty feet
+of water," he finally said, "you may as well put on your water suits
+and look around."
+
+"Leave Jimmie here to watch the boat and come with us," urged Jack.
+
+"Go on," Jimmie advised. "I can run this shebang, all right. Go on and
+see what you can see."
+
+"If we are going out to-night," Ned said, after reflection, "we may as
+well shift the Sea Lion and inspect the bottom over where we saw the
+apparent elevation."
+
+"Yes; that may be the wreck," Jack admitted.
+
+So the submarine was moved a short distance to the north, about the
+space which had seemed to separate the boys from the elevation, and
+preparations were made for going out. Jimmie was rather pleased at the
+idea of being left in charge of the submarine.
+
+"Of course you'll not touch the machinery," Ned warned. "All you can
+do is to see that the air pumps are kept going. Any motion of the
+boat, you understand, might break or disarrange the hose carrying the
+air to us, so be careful."
+
+"Oh, I guess I don't want to murder any of you," laughed the little
+fellow. "Go ahead and I'll run things all right on board the boat. I
+could operate her anywhere."
+
+The Sea Lion was lifted only a trifle in order to make the change to
+the new location. As she moved along she was not much more than a
+fathom from the level sand below.
+
+This was done by regulating the water in the tanks to the pressure at
+the depth it was desired to navigate. The delicate mechanisms designed
+to show depth, pressure, air value, and all the important details of a
+submarine were absolutely perfect.
+
+So the three boys entered the water chamber, leaving Jimmie grinning
+through the glass panel. When the boat was brought to the bottom they
+opened the outer door and stepped out.
+
+The Sea Lion had traversed only a short distance, yet the surface upon
+which the lads walked seemed very different from the smooth sand level
+Ned had seen before. There were now little ridges of sand, and now and
+then a pit opened up almost under their feet.
+
+A dozen yards from where they emerged from the submarine they came
+upon the elevation which Ned had observed on his first trip out. It
+was not, however, a submerged rock or a bit of harder soil in the
+desert of sand. It was the hull of a wrecked vessel.
+
+Ned moved along one side of the wreck, as far as his air-hose would
+permit him to go, and was satisfied that he had found the lost mail
+ship. The sand was already drifting against her sides, but she was
+still far from buried.
+
+On the port side, about a third of the way to the stern from the bow,
+the boy discovered the wound which had brought the stately vessel to
+her present position. She lay, tilted about a quarter, in eighty feet
+of water.
+
+Ned wondered why passing vessels had not discovered her. The tall
+stacks had been beaten down, probably snapped off at the collision,
+but the superstructure was high, and not far below the surface, Ned
+thought.
+
+After motioning Jack and Frank to remain at the break in the side of
+the ship, Ned clambered up and, being careful to protect his air-hose
+and line from the jagged edges of the wound, crept inside. His
+electric flashlight revealed the interior only a short distance ahead
+of him, but at the very outset he saw that some of the air-tight
+compartments remained intact.
+
+There was a lifting, swaying motion occasionally which told him that
+there was still air imprisoned in the broken ship. At that distance
+from the surface there would be no wave motion to produce the
+oscillations he observed.
+
+"It is very strange," he mused, as he clambered over bales, chests and
+boxes in the hold, "that the ship should have gone down so quickly.
+Telegraphic reports at the time of the accident--if it was an
+accident--stated that she sank slowly. It would require only a little
+assistance to bring her to the surface."
+
+The boy made his way as far into the interior as he could with his
+comparatively short air-hose, and then turned back to where he had
+left Jack and Frank. He had found it impossible, on account of the
+shifting to the prow of the hold cargo, to reach the cabin and the
+captain's offices without entering from the top deck.
+
+As he turned around he stopped an instant, his attention attracted by
+a sound which seemed to come from beyond the bulkhead back of him. It
+sounded almost like the hiss of escaping steam. The lad knew that it
+must be a strong vibration which could thus make itself felt at that
+distance below the surface and through the heavy helmet he wore.
+
+The more he considered the matter the clearer became the fact that it
+was actually uniform sound he heard. That is, sound brought to his
+ears by the water.
+
+Some force might be moving the water, and the motion might be
+conveying to his ears, through the thin sides of the air-hose, the
+story of the action of the waves, if waves could be created at that
+depth.
+
+As he listened to the steady beating he became convinced that some
+unknown power was at work in the wreck. What it was he could not even
+guess.
+
+Then he heard sharper sounds which seemed to be created by steel
+striking steel. The jar brought the sound waves to his ears quite
+distinctly.
+
+"Either I'm going daffy," the boy mused, "or there is some one at work
+on the wreck."
+
+He left the hold and, without giving the others to understand that he
+had discovered anything of importance, began an examination of the
+sand along the line of the bottom. His air-hose was not long enough to
+admit of passing entirely around the vessel, so he motioned to the
+boys to accompany him and turned back to the submarine.
+
+"Did you hear anything down there?" asked he as soon as the helmets
+had been removed.
+
+"What are you talking about?" asked Frank, with a laugh. "Water would
+not convey sound to the ear."
+
+"But the jar of water would," observed Jack. "I heard a jar while I
+was down there."
+
+"I don't believe it!" Jimmie cut in.
+
+"When in swimming," said Frank, "did you ever sit on the bottom of the
+swimming hole and pound two stones together?"
+
+"Of course," laughed the little fellow.
+
+"And you heard a noise?"
+
+"I believe I did, but it was not such a noise as one would hear from
+the same cause in the air."
+
+"Well," Ned went on, "I heard noises down there, too, and I'll tell
+you right here that I'm alarmed."
+
+"Scared!" roared Jimmie.
+
+"Alarmed at what?" demanded Frank. "I didn't see anything to be
+alarmed at."
+
+"I have no theory as to what it was I heard," Ned went on, "but I'm
+going to get a longer air-hose, shift the Sea Lion so she will hang
+over the wreck, and go down again right away."
+
+"I'm ready!" laughed Jack. "I want to hear that noise again."
+
+"Do you think there are men down there removing the gold?" asked Jack.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+ON GUARD UNDER THE SEA
+
+
+
+"If there is anybody at work on the wreck," Ned replied, "they may be
+removing the gold or they may be searching the vessel for
+incriminating documents."
+
+"I guess any documents found down there will be pretty wet," laughed
+Jack.
+
+"They may be in sealed boxes," Ned replied. "Anyway, if there are
+important documents on board they might be rendered legible by proper
+and judicious handling." "Here we go, then," Jack exclaimed. "I'll
+expel the water in the tanks until the Sea Lion rests at the right
+altitude, over the wreck, and we can enter by way of the decks."
+
+"But what will the other fellows be doing while we are getting into
+position?" asked Frank.
+
+"Gettin' ready to cut our lines, probably," interposed Jimmie.
+
+"That's a fact," Jack said. "If there are men working in the ship they
+must be supplied with air by a submarine. How could that be done, I'd
+like to know."
+
+"They might anchor the submarine some distance away," replied Ned,
+"and lay an air-hose along the bottom. If attached to the hose leading
+into the helmets before being placed, two or three might work from
+such a supply, and such a system, too, would obviate a good deal of
+the danger to be feared from crossed lines."
+
+"You've got it all figured out!" cried Jimmie.
+
+"Well," Frank intervened, "I'll bet that he has it right. Those Moore
+persons were not born yesterday."
+
+"That's right," Jack admitted. "We saw enough of the Captain in the
+Black Bear club-room in New York to know that he is an expert in the
+submarine business. He may be an imitation fop and a bounder, as he
+would say, but he certainly is next to his job."
+
+"Why wouldn't it be a good idea to sneak around in our water suits
+until we find the lines an' cut them?" asked Jimmie.
+
+"That would be plain murder," Ned replied.
+
+"I guess they wouldn't hesitate long if the conditions were reversed,"
+Frank suggested, "still, I wouldn't like to be in with anything as
+brutal as that."
+
+"Come to think of it," Jimmie admitted, "I wouldn't, either."
+
+"I don't get the idea of these incriminating documents," Jack said, in
+a moment. "That is one thing I did not pay attention to in the talk
+with Captain Moore at the clubroom."
+
+"What he said was this," Ned explained. "The Government is accused, in
+certain hostile foreign circles, of conspiring with the leaders of the
+revolution now brewing in China. He declared that the Washington
+officials were even charged with sending the gold to the rebels by the
+roundabout way of the present Chinese Government."
+
+"You'll have to come again!" laughed Frank. "I'm dense as to that part
+of it. It is too subtle for me."
+
+"Me, too," Jimmie asserted.
+
+"All I know about it," Ned answered, "is that Captain Moore declared
+that the rebel leaders were purposely posted as to the shipment of the
+gold, and that they were to seize it as soon as it left the protection
+of the American flag, if they could. At least they were to be given a
+chance to do so."
+
+"Even in that case," Frank reasoned, "the Washington people wouldn't
+be foolish enough to place incriminating papers with the shipment. The
+whole scheme might fail, you know."
+
+"It does look pretty fishy," Ned remarked, "but the ways of diplomacy
+are often crooked ways. Anyway, it is claimed by some that the mail
+boat was rammed, that it was no accident that sent her to keep company
+with McGinty at the bottom of the sea."
+
+Jack expelled the water from the tanks of the Sea Lion until the
+instruments in the machine room showed her to be near the surface,
+and, as Ned estimated, directly above the wreck. Then an anchor was
+sent out, to prevent any possible drifting, and Ned, Frank and Jack
+put on their helmets again.
+
+The lines used for signaling and the air-hose had both been spliced,
+and it was figured that any part of the wreck could now be visited.
+The drop lines were also longer, and the machinery for hauling the
+divers up on signal was made ready for use.
+
+"We can't walk out and in the Sea Lion now," Ned said, "and a good
+deal depends on the vigilance of the boy left in the boat. Watch for
+the slightest signal, Jimmie," he warned.
+
+The touching of a lever unwound the lifting and lowering lines when
+all was ready, and in a minute the three boys found themselves on the
+upper deck of the wreck. It was tilted at an angle of about twenty
+degrees, so great care was exercised in traversing it.
+
+As Jimmie swung the lever which lowered the three boys he peered out
+of a darkened window. He saw only the dim surface light.
+
+"They've got sense enough not to show any light," he mused, "so the
+thieves won't know what is going on unless they see the shadow
+overhead, or run into one of the fellows."
+
+Leaving Frank, as the most cautious of the boys, to guard the lines
+and air-hose when they touched sharp angles, Ned, accompanied by Jack,
+advanced down the main companionway and was soon in the large and
+handsomely furnished cabin.
+
+Then the electric searchlights were put to use, and the great
+apartment lay partly exposed to view. Their entrance into the room
+seemed to create something like a current in the water, and articles
+of light weight came driving at them.
+
+Ned turned sick and faint as a dead body lifted from the floor and a
+ghastly face was turned toward his own. A few unfortunate ones had
+gone down with the ship, and most of the bodies lay in this cabin.
+
+Those who had remained on deck until the final plunge had, of course,
+drifted away. However, the boy soon recovered his equilibrium, and
+went about his work courageously, notwithstanding the fact that many
+terrifying forms of marine life swam and squirmed around him.
+
+Clinging to heavy tables and chairs to prevent slipping, the boys made
+their way to that part of the ship where, according to their drawings,
+the captain's cabin had been. Their first duty was to make search for
+any sealed papers which might be there.
+
+The room was located at last, and then Ned motioned to Jack to
+extinguish his light. The boy obeyed orders with a feeling of dread.
+
+It was dark as the bottomless pit in the cabin now, and fishes and
+squirming things brushed against his legs and rubbed against the line
+which was supplying him with air.
+
+In all the experiences of the Boy Scouts nothing like this had ever
+been encountered before. In Mexico, in the Philippines, in the Great
+Northwest, in the Canal Zone, in the cold air far above the roof of
+the world, they had usually been in touch with all the great facts of
+Nature, but now they seemed separated from all mankind--buried in a
+fathomless pit filled with unclean things.
+
+The door of the captain's cabin was closed. Ned put his ear against
+it, then reached out and took Jack by the arm. The latter understood
+the order and crowded close.
+
+From the other side came sharp blows, and through the keyhole came the
+glow of illuminated water. Ned's worst fears were realized. Some one
+had reached the wreck in advance of his party.
+
+He knew that he could not justly be censured for the activity of his
+enemies, and yet the thought that he was in danger of failing in his
+mission brought the hot blood surging to his head. He did not stop at
+that time to deliberate as to how the hostile forces had gained this
+advantage in time.
+
+He did not even try to solve the problem as to the personality of the
+hostile element. The men working on the other side of the door to the
+captain's cabin might have crossed the Pacific in the Diver, or they
+might have been recruited from foreign seaports.
+
+The question did not particularly interest him. The point with him was
+that they were there.
+
+And, now, what course ought he to pursue? For a time, as he stood
+against the door, he could reach no conclusion.
+
+Directly, however, the important question presented by the unusual
+situation came to the boy's mind. It was this:
+
+Where was the boat into which the workers on the other side of the
+door proposed to remove the plunder?
+
+The Diver, or some other efficient submarine must be close at hand.
+The men who were searching the captain's room were being supplied with
+air from some source.
+
+And here was another question:
+
+Had the gold already been removed?
+
+It seemed to Ned that the first thing for him to do was to locate the
+submarine. For all he knew, prowlers from her might be nosing around
+the Sea Lion.
+
+He had left the door to the water chamber open, of course, and so it
+must remain until he returned. Jimmie, owing to a defect afterwards
+corrected, could not expel the water while the door was open, nor
+could he close the door from the interior.
+
+Fearful that some mischief was on foot, he grasped Jack by the arm and
+hastened back to where Frank had been left. His first care should be
+to find the exact location of the hostile submarine and then see that
+no air-hose reached from her to the Sea Lion.
+
+The three boys passed out of the wreck and came to the stern of the
+once fine ship. She had gone down prow first, and the stern was a
+little above the level sand floor of the sea.
+
+Instead of passing around the stern and coming out on the other side,
+the boys halted and crouched down, so as to see under the keel. As the
+outer shell of the ship was here at least a yard above the bottom, it
+was plain that the cargo had swept forward when she went down, thus
+holding her by the nose.
+
+There was no longer any doubt as to what was going on. There, only a
+few yards away, lay the dark bulk of a submarine. Only for a light
+glimmering through the closed door of the water chamber it could not
+have been seen at all.
+
+The men who were working in the wreck had taken no chances in leaving
+the boat. Their lines and air-hose passed through the outer door in
+well-guarded openings, and the interior was as safe from intrusion as
+a walled-in fortress.
+
+Ned regretted that he had not observed the same precaution in leaving
+the Sea Lion, still he did not believe that his boat had been
+attacked. After a few moments devoted to observation, Ned crept around
+the keel and looked down the side of the ship which lay toward the
+submarine. Men with electric lamps in their helmets were working
+there.
+
+They appeared to be forcing an entrance into the lower hold of the
+ship through a small break in the shell. This led him to the
+conclusion that the way to the very bottom was blocked from the
+inside, and that the gold--if it had been stored there--had not yet
+been removed.
+
+He returned to his chums and all three started back to the Sea Lion.
+The men about the wreck were all so busy that it did not seem to Ned
+that they knew of the presence there of his submarine.
+
+Still, he searched the bottom, as he passed along, with both hands and
+feet for any line which, leaving the stranger, might be leading to her
+rival. Finally he discovered, much to his annoyance, a hauling line
+and an air-hose leading in the direction he was going.
+
+"I'm afraid," he thought, "that Jimmie is in trouble."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+"JIMMIE'S FOOLISH--LIKE A FOX"
+
+
+
+Left alone in the Sea Lion, Jimmie spent most of his time watching
+from a darkened window. He could distinguish little in the faint
+sifting of moonlight which dropped down from the sparkling surface of
+the sea, but there was companionship even in that.
+
+He had been instructed by Ned to keep the interior dark, and so he
+watched the ocean floor for the lights which his chums might be
+obliged to turn on. As the reader knows, however, the exploring party
+showed no lights at all until the interior of the wreck had been
+gained.
+
+Listening and waiting, half inclined to admit that he was just a
+little bit lonesome, the boy stood at his post for about a quarter of
+an hour. Then he saw an opaque object moving toward the submarine.
+
+It was not a shark or other monster of the sea, for it walked upright
+and seemed to move up and down as it came to the little undulations in
+the ocean floor. When it came nearer Jimmie moved toward the door of
+the water chamber.
+
+"That must be Ned," he thought, "comin' back alone. Now, I wonder if
+anythin' has happened to Frank an' Jack?"
+
+For a moment the heart of the lad throbbed wildly, then he calmed
+himself with the thought that in case of accident he would have been
+notified by the lifting lines. The air machine was working perfectly,
+too, and this indicated that all was well below.
+
+Finally the moving object came to a position about ten yards distant
+from the submarine and stopped. He was now about fifty feet below the
+window out of which Jimmie looked, for the Sea Lion, as has been said,
+lay well up from the bottom, not exactly over the wreck but not far
+from it.
+
+In a moment the boy saw the glimmer of a lamp down where the man was,
+and saw that it was moving about on the bottom. Lights, of course, do
+not show in water as they do in air, and so it was only a faint
+illumination that Jimmie observed.
+
+Still, he could see that whoever was carrying the light was fumbling
+about on the bottom. He watched intently for a moment and then saw the
+man coming toward him, swimming straight up.
+
+"I guess it's one of the boys," Jimmie mused. "He must have lost his
+line, and when I saw him fumbling he must have been removing the
+weights designed to hold him down in spite of the air in the helmet."
+
+This appeared to be a good explanation, and the boy stood with his
+face pressed against the glass panel of the water chamber door,
+waiting for whoever it was to enter, close the apartment, and push the
+lever that controlled the exhaust which emptied the chamber.
+
+At last the swimmer clambered into the chamber, and the waiting boy
+was about to switch on a light when a suspicious action on the part of
+the other caused him to hesitate. He could observe the actions of the
+man in the water on the other side of the glass panel quite clearly
+now, and was alarmed at what he saw him doing.
+
+Instead of drawing his air-hose in with him and coiling it carefully
+so as to clear the doorway and still leave free passage for the air
+which was being pumped into it, he laid the hose carefully in a slide-
+covered groove in the edge of the door. The hose did not seem to be
+quite large enough to fill the groove, and the fellow took something
+soft and pliable from a pocket and wrapped around it.
+
+Then he closed the door and pushed the lever which released the power
+that forced the water out of the chamber. Only one inference was to be
+drawn from the scene which Jimmie had witnessed.
+
+The man in the water chamber was a stranger. This was merely an
+attempt to get possession of the Sea Lion.
+
+The fellow was breathing air pumped into his hose by some other boat
+than the Sea Lion. He had cast off his weights in order to gain the
+chamber, which neither one of the boys would have found necessary, as
+they would have been carried up by the machinery which worked the
+lifting and descending lines.
+
+Another thing the boy realized, as he waited with anxiety for the next
+move. The man, whoever he was, was thoroughly familiar with the plan
+of the Sea Lion.
+
+The grooves in the edge of the door had been planned so as to give
+entrance to visitors who were not receiving their air from the Sea
+Lion. No one was believed to know anything about this arrangement--no
+one save the builders and the Secret Service men.
+
+While Jimmie watched, the intruder moved the lever and the water in
+the chamber began to lower. When the water was forced out fresh air
+was automatically forced in.
+
+Before long the intruder disconnected his hose with his helmet and
+threw the end over a hook provided for that purpose. When the water
+was all out he knocked heavily on the door leading to the room where
+Jimmie stood.
+
+"There'll be doings here directly," the boy thought.
+
+Again and again the visitor beat upon the door, but Jimmie gave no
+sign. He could not well observe the man now, for, with the water out
+of the chamber, the light carried by the man inside shone brightly
+against the glass panel, and the boy would have been observed had he
+stood close to it.
+
+Jimmie grew more anxious as the seconds passed. He was trying to put
+away the thought that the intruder had cut the air-hose attached to
+the helmets of his friends.
+
+For all he knew all three boys might be lying drowned, on the floor of
+the ocean. The thought was unbearable, and he resolved to banish it in
+action.
+
+His first impulse was to disconnect the exhaust and fill the chamber
+with water. The man in there had disconnected his air-hose and would
+soon drown.
+
+But the brutality of such a course soon presented itself, and Jimmie
+cast about for some other method of meeting the dangerous situation.
+He could hear the visitor fumbling at the door, and wondered if he
+knew the secret of opening it.
+
+After a time it seemed to the listening boy that the fellow was
+feeling in the right locality for the hidden spring which would open
+the door from the other side, and sprang for the bar which secured it
+against such entrance. Then he dropped the bar and stood wiping the
+sweat from his forehead.
+
+"If I bar the door," he mused, "that robber will cut the air-hose
+protecting the boys outside, if he has not already done so. I've just
+got to let him in here an' take chances."
+
+He hastened to the back of the room and brought a long coil of rope.
+Making a running noose in one end, he released several loops from the
+big coil and held them loosely in his hand.
+
+"I wonder if I can assist him into our princely apartments?" thought
+the boy, whimsically. "If I can get this rope around his body and over
+his arms, I'll be the boss of the precinct! I expect he'll tumble
+around a good deal, but I guess I can quell him!"
+
+The boy waited in the darkness until a faint click told him that the
+intruder had discovered the spring. This was followed by a slam as the
+sliding door fell back.
+
+Then all was still. Jimmie, hidden in the shadows, prepared to throw
+his lasso as soon as the visitor left the doorway.
+
+"Hello!"
+
+The voice carried a hoarse challenge.
+
+"Any one here?"
+
+The man was still in the doorway, and was swinging his light about so
+as to give him a better view of the room.
+
+"If he would only drop his arms!" Jimmie mused. "I'd like to hit him
+with a ballclub!"
+
+Directly the fellow did drop his arms, and at the same moment stepped
+out of the shelter of the doorway. This was what Jimmie had been
+waiting for, and he lost no time in acting.
+
+The rope cut the air and descended over the intruder's head and arms.
+The lad's hours of practice while playing cowboy now proved to be of
+great worth.
+
+Jimmie gave a quick jerk as the rope landed and he ran to the back of
+the room. He heard the other fall, and knew by the weight that he was
+dragging him.
+
+When he gained the wall he switched on the light and reached to a
+shelf for a weapon. When he faced his captive he held an automatic
+revolver in his hand.
+
+By this time a torrent of expletives was coming through the helmet
+opening where the air-hose had entered. The prisoner rolled about on
+the floor, trying to get to his feet.
+
+"Whoo-pee!" shouted the boy. "Look what one can catch out of the
+ocean!"
+
+A roar of rage was the only answer.
+
+"Take off that helmet!" commanded the boy.
+
+A muffled challenge came from the interior.
+
+"All right," said the boy, "then I'll take it off for you. But I'll
+have this gun handy, and if you try any foolishness you won't hold
+water when I get done shootin'."
+
+Before long the helmet was off, and Jimmie was looking into as evil a
+face as he had ever seen. It was the face of a stranger, and yet there
+seemed something familiar about it.
+
+"What sort of a game is this?" demanded the captive. "If you know
+what's good for you, you'll quit this cowboy business."
+
+"Who are you?" asked Jimmie.
+
+A snarl was the only reply. The enraged man was tugging fiercely at
+the rope.
+
+"Quit it!" warned Jimmie. "I'll have to put you to sleep if you try
+that."
+
+"You don't dare!"
+
+"Don't four-flush!" the boy advised.
+
+"Release me!"
+
+Jimmie sat down and leveled the weapon at the struggling man.
+
+"I guess I'd better shoot," he said, calmly. "I suppose you've cut the
+boys' air-hose, and I'll have to get back to New York the best way I
+can--alone. So, you see, I can't be bothered with you."
+
+The captive ceased his struggles and managed to rise to a sitting
+position. His eyes were not so threatening as before.
+
+"No," he declared, "I didn't cut the hose."
+
+"Why? You're equal to such a trick."
+
+"I was told not to."
+
+Jimmie hesitated a moment. He wished devoutly that he could believe
+what the fellow said.
+
+"Who told you not to?" he then asked.
+
+The captive shook his head.
+
+"I don't know his name," he said.
+
+"And you are sailing with him?"
+
+"All I know is that he is called the Captain."
+
+"I see," said the boy. "Now, how comes it that you know so much of the
+plans of the Sea Lion?"
+
+"What makes you think I do?"
+
+"You found the groove in the door, and also the spring that opens the
+door to the water chamber."
+
+"Oh, that!"
+
+"Well?" the boy flourished his weapon, though nothing could have
+induced him to fire on the unarmed man.
+
+"I was told what to do when I got here," was the reply.
+
+"Did you see my chums on the way here?" The captive nodded.
+
+"Where?"
+
+"At the wreck."
+
+"Where is your boat?" was the next question.
+
+"On the other side of the wreck."
+
+"And you are after the gold?"
+
+"Of course."
+
+"And important papers?"
+
+"I know nothing about that."
+
+"What is the name of your boat?"
+
+"The Shark."
+
+"Appropriate name that!" laughed Jimmie. "Used to be the Diver, didn't
+she?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"What did you come here for?"
+
+"To get the boat."
+
+"And remove it?"
+
+"Of course."
+
+"That would have meant death to the boys who are out in the water at
+this time?"
+
+"I suppose so. Say, there's something wrong with your air machine. I
+know something about such contrivances, and this one acts as if a hose
+out in the sea had been cut!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+A CHASE ON THE OCEAN FLOOR
+
+
+
+Jimmie listened for an instant. There certainly was something the
+matter with the air machine.
+
+"Get a move on!" shouted the captive, "or we'll all be food for the
+sharks directly."
+
+"Remain quietly where you are, then," Jimmie said, with a significant
+flourish at the gun which he had no intention of using, except in a
+case of the direst necessity.
+
+"Go!" shouted the other.
+
+Jimmie did not know what to do. While he had learned a good deal about
+the submarine, he was by no means an expert in the handling of her.
+His experience with the air machines had been very slight, as the boys
+had made little use of them.
+
+"It's getting close in here already!" cried the captive in alarm. "Why
+don't you do something?"
+
+"What is there for me to do?" asked the boy.
+
+"Release me and I'll fix it," suggested the other.
+
+Before Jimmie could explain the foolishness of this proposition, he
+heard a pounding at the outer door of the water chamber. He bounded
+through the open doorway and looked out.
+
+There was a helmeted face against the pane. The boy was motioning for
+the door to be opened.
+
+"Now," mused Jimmie, "I wonder how he got up there? The lifting lines
+haven't moved. Why didn't he let me know he was coming up?"
+
+"Hurry!" called the captive.
+
+Jimmie knew, from the flounderings on the floor, that the fellow was
+again trying to get rid of the rope. He stepped to the door and lifted
+a hand in warning, then slid the bolts and guards so the water chamber
+door would open from the outside, then stepped back into the larger
+apartment and closed the door.
+
+He heard a rush of water and knew that some one was entering. Then,
+satisfied that all was well, he turned to his prisoner.
+
+The fellow was half out of the rope, and one hand was sneaking toward
+a heavy ax which lay not far off.
+
+"Cut that!" cried the boy.
+
+He stood guarding the man while the water chamber filled and emptied.
+Then the door opened and Ned came in, helmet in hand. First, he turned
+a screw and the trouble at the air machine ceased.
+
+"What the dickens!"
+
+Ned stopped short in the middle of the room as he turned and gazed in
+amazement at the prisoner.
+
+"I've been fishin'," Jimmie explained, with a chuckle.
+
+"What is it you caught?" asked Ned.
+
+"This," said Jimmie, "is the original sea serpent!"
+
+"Looks to me like Moore, Jr.," Ned said.
+
+"No?" exclaimed the boy.
+
+"Are you the son of Captain Moore?" asked Ned.
+
+The other nodded.
+
+"I thought you'd recognize me," he grunted. "I was a fool to come
+here."
+
+"That's about the only true word you've said since you came on board,
+I take it," Ned went on.
+
+Young Moore scowled and bent his eyes to the floor.
+
+Ned now turned to Jimmie and asked:
+
+"Why didn't you draw us up?"
+
+"Why," replied the little fellow, "I never got the signal."
+
+"Guess you were too busy getting your sea serpent," smiled Ned.
+
+"Did you pull?" asked Jimmie.
+
+"Sure. Jack and Frank are out there now, ready to beat you up for
+keeping them out so long."
+
+The prisoner turned his face away from the two and sulked.
+
+"There's the boys now," Jimmie said. "Let them in."
+
+In ten minutes Jack and Frank were in the large room, busily engaged
+in taking off their deep-sea clothes.
+
+As Frank threw his helmet into a corner he held up the end of a line.
+
+"You see," he said, glancing angrily at the prisoner, who had moved as
+far away as possible. "The line was cut."
+
+"Aw, it would have come away in your hand when you pulled, then," said
+Jimmie. "You'd have found that out quick enough."
+
+"I tell you it was cut," Frank insisted. "It was cut and tied to a
+rock that lies at the bottom. When we pulled we pulled at the big old
+boulder we saw lying there on the sand. Now, what do you think of
+that?"
+
+"Why did you do it?" asked Ned, turning to Moore.
+
+"I didn't," was the reply.
+
+"Who did?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"I don't believe you."
+
+"There were others besides me," insisted Moore.
+
+Ned made an examination of the end of the three cords. All had been
+cut. All had been tied to something, for the ends were frayed as if by
+being twisted about in the hands.
+
+"I presume you thought you were cutting the air-hose?" asked Ned,
+tentatively.
+
+"I reckon I know a line from a hose," was the reply.
+
+"So you did cut them?"
+
+Frank sprang toward the prisoner with flashing eyes. "I'll show you
+what such sneaks get here."
+
+Ned drew the enraged boy away.
+
+"He'll get what's coming to him at some other time," he said. "Let him
+alone for the present."
+
+"But he did attempt to cut the hose!" Jack exclaimed. "We ought to
+throw him out to the sharks."
+
+"Not now," said Ned, coolly.
+
+"Anyway," Frank said, a smile showing on his face, "he made us swim to
+the boat."
+
+"He did that himself," laughed Jimmie, "and lost his weights."
+
+"That's the worst of it," Jack remarked, "we've lost our weights, and
+there's no knowing how we are to get more."
+
+Jimmie now pointed to the air machine.
+
+"Was there something wrong with it?" he asked.
+
+Ned shook his head.
+
+"Working perfectly," he said. "There wasn't a screw loose."
+
+"Well, he," pointing to the prisoner, "said there was something wrong,
+and I began to think he was right."
+
+"Imagination!" laughed Jack.
+
+Ned now faced Moore and asked:
+
+"Have you taken the gold out of the wreck?"
+
+A shake of the head was the answer.
+
+"Have you discovered any important papers? You know what I mean by
+'important.'"
+
+"We have not."
+
+"You came in the Diver?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Run her across?"
+
+"No; came on a tow-line."
+
+"I thought so. What steamer towed you over?"
+
+"I can't answer that."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"I'm not permitted to."
+
+"It was a Japanese boat?"
+
+"Well, yes, it was."
+
+"And she kept you out of sight all the way over and dropped you here
+to do this dirty work?"
+
+"She didn't put a brass band on board of us," replied the captive,
+sullenly. "What is the meaning of this third degree business? Who do
+you think you are?"
+
+"Your people know that we are here, of course?"
+
+"Oh, yes, we're not fools. We saw you from the first."
+
+"And they know where you started for?"
+
+"Sure."
+
+"Is your father in the Diver?"
+
+"I refuse to answer any more questions," Moore stormed. "You've got
+the upper hand now, but the time will come when things will be
+reversed. Release me!"
+
+"Of course," replied Ned, "we'll release you and give you the run of
+the boat! You came here to murder us, and so are entitled to the most
+courteous treatment!"
+
+"Well, quit asking impertinent questions, then," snarled the other.
+"You can at least do that."
+
+Ned hunted up two pairs of handcuffs, ironed the prisoner, and then
+conveyed him to a little room used for storage purposes. Moore did not
+appear to like this program.
+
+"If anything should happen," he declared, "I'd be left here to die
+like a dog."
+
+"And serve you good an' right!" Jimmie consoled.
+
+"What do you expect is going to happen?" asked Jack.
+
+"Oh, I don't know," was the hesitating reply. "Something might, you
+know."
+
+The boys went out and shut the door, leaving young Moore protesting
+against the treatment he was receiving.
+
+"Now," Ned said, when the boys were assembled in the large room, "it
+is plain that the rascals on board the Diver are preparing to attack
+us, or do something to imperil our lives. You saw how frightened Moore
+was when he was locked in that room."
+
+"Yes, he seems to fear that he will be brought to death by his own
+friends," Frank said.
+
+"What do you suggest?" asked Ned.
+
+"Stay an' fight!" urged Jimmie.
+
+"Hide away from them!" Frank proposed.
+
+"Wait here until we see what they propose doing," Jack ventured.
+
+"I think," laughed Ned, "that we'll bunch your advice and utilize it
+all. We'll hide in some deep spot until we see what they're up to, and
+then we'll fight."
+
+"I reckon they are about five to one."
+
+This from Frank, who preferred meeting the enemy on dry land.
+
+"Oh, we can't come to a hand-to-hand battle," Ned replied. "We've got
+to fight submarine fashion."
+
+Without attempting any explanation of this observation Ned proceeded
+to make a careful inspection of the boat. There was a torpedo tube at
+the prow, and this he studied over for a long time.
+
+"Goin' to blow 'em up?" asked Jimmie.
+
+"I was thinking," was the reply, "that we might use this as a bluff if
+we come to a tight place."
+
+"Aw, what's the use?" demanded Jimmie. "You don't make bluffs! You get
+the winning hand before you call! If I had my way, I'd blow 'em out of
+the water!"
+
+"Yes, you would!" Frank said. "You'd be the first one to kick if we
+should attempt to put that thief in there out of the boat. You're the
+tender-hearted little child of the bunch!"
+
+All the boys laughed, including Jimmie, for they knew that what Frank
+said was the truth. Jimmie liked to talk of merciless measures, but he
+was not inclined to put them into practice.
+
+"Well," Ned said, presently, "the Diver people will soon understand
+that something has happened to Moore, and will be after us. We may as
+well take a moonlight stroll."
+
+The water tanks were filled, the power turned on, and the Sea Lion,
+with no lights in sight, save the one at the prow from which Frank
+watched the level ahead, began feeling her way to the south.
+
+"The charts show a deep pit not far off," Ned said, "and we'll hide
+there for a time and see if they give up the job of looting the wreck.
+The loss of young Moore may scare them out."
+
+"Why not go to the surface and air out the boat?" asked Jack. "Our air
+apparatus is all right, of course, but I like the real thing better.
+We can drop down again in a few minutes."
+
+"That's a good idea," Ned replied, and in a moment the Sea Lion was
+lifting to the surface.
+
+In half an hour she was down again, dark and silent, in the pit of
+which Ned had spoken. Occasionally the submarine was lifted a few
+fathoms in order that anything unusual in the vicinity of the wreck
+might be observed.
+
+Sometime near morning the Diver was seen making her way to the north
+as if setting out for a long voyage. The lights of the craft showed
+plainly--that is, as plainly as lights ever show at that depth--and
+the Sea Lion had no difficulty in following her.
+
+"She's steamin' up!" Jimmie cried, presently. "I believe she knows
+we're after her."
+
+But the Sea Lion was equal to the task set for her, and all the
+remainder of the night the chase went on.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+JIMMIE GOES OUT HUNTING
+
+
+
+"I hope she'll make for some port where there is an American man-of-
+war," Ned said, as the sea grew shallower.
+
+"You bet she won't," Jack replied. "She'll make for some out-of-the-
+way place where she can get rid of her plunder."
+
+"Why don't we go back an' see if she took all the plunder out of the
+wreck?" asked Jimmie.
+
+"If we lose sight of her now," Ned answered, "we may have hard work
+picking her up again. If there is anything left in the wreck it will
+keep. The thing to do now is to catch her and recover what she took
+away, then have her held to await the action of the Washington
+authorities."
+
+"But we ain't catchin' her!" urged the little fellow.
+
+"Well, we are not losing her," Jack replied, "and that is the
+principal thing."
+
+"She may give us a long chase," Ned went on, "for she undoubtedly
+knows that we are in pursuit, so we must get ready to travel over a
+good deal of ocean floor before we get our hands on the thieves."
+
+The chase went on all day and all the ensuing night. At dawn of the
+second day the Diver ran up into what seemed to be a little bay
+protected by two long points of land. The Sea Lion halted outside and
+waited. Once she came to the surface in order to purify the boat, and
+Ned took observations.
+
+"Where are we?" Jimmie asked.
+
+"We're here!" laughed Jack.
+
+"This is all new land to me," Ned replied.
+
+Frank clattered down the staircase into the bowels of the submarine
+and brought out a map, which he spread out on the floor of the conning
+tower. It was pretty crowded there, with the three boys grouped about
+it, for the hatch was still open.
+
+"We've been going north all the time?" he asked.
+
+"Just a trifle east of north," Ned answered.
+
+"And we've been running at the rate of about twenty miles an hour for
+24 hours," continued Frank. "Figure that out."
+
+"Not far from 480 miles," cried Jimmie.
+
+"Then measure," Frank continued. "This map shows about 400 miles to
+the inch. Now, where would a run of 480 miles bring us?"
+
+"To the coast of Kwang Tung," suggested the little fellow.
+
+"But this is an island," Ned explained, looking through his glass. "I
+can see water where the main land ought to be."
+
+"Figure it out, then," persisted Frank. "We've come to an island in
+the China Sea by running 480 miles a little east of north. Where would
+that bring us?"
+
+"Hailing island," suggested Jimmie.
+
+"Wise little chap!" laughed Frank. "You've hit it!"
+
+Ned was silent for a moment. He was wondering why the Diver, or the
+Shark as she was now appropriately called, had put in there. Could it
+be that she was expecting to be met there by some vessel commissioned
+to remove the plunder she had taken from the wreck?
+
+Or was it true that the plot had included a hiding of the plunder on
+the shore and the delivery of the documents--if any had been found--to
+some official of the accusing power?
+
+These thoughts were disquieting. The boy had already missed the
+opportunity of searching the wreck in advance of all others, though
+the fault was not his own. The best he could do now was to secure the
+plunder from the pirates who had removed it.
+
+In case assistance came to the people of the rival boat at that
+distant point, he would not be able to do this. The conspirators might
+hide the gold in the country near the port and deliver the papers and
+he would be powerless to prevent.
+
+"I wonder," he mused, "if anything can be gotten out of young Moore?
+It is possible that he has been in solitary confinement long enough to
+comb down that sneering attitude."
+
+Leaving the boys on the conning tower, therefore, he hastened to the
+room where Moore was incarcerated, although the irons had been removed
+from his hands and feet.
+
+"Well," snarled the young man, "you've come to the jumping off place,
+have you?"
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"You've chased the Shark to her lair, eh?" Moore added, with a leer.
+
+"How do you know that we've been chasing the Shark?" demanded Ned.
+
+"Oh, you wouldn't be running full speed unless you were after her."
+
+"How do you know that we're not in Hong-kong harbor, ready to
+communicate with Washington and an American man-of-war?"
+
+Ned thought the fellow's face turned a shade whiter as the suggestive
+words were spoken. However, he said nothing.
+
+"Do you know where we are, if, as you seem to think, we have followed
+the Shark?" asked Ned.
+
+"How should I know?"
+
+Moore had evidently reached the conclusion that he had said too much
+at the opening of the conversation.
+
+"You know where the Shark was headed for?" asked Ned.
+
+"She's headed for a place where you can't butt in on her," answered
+the young man with a snarl. "When are you going to turn me loose? Aw,
+what's the matter with you?" he continued, assuming an air of good-
+fellowship. "I never did anything to you. Why can't you let me go, and
+say nothing about it?'
+
+"Because," Ned answered, "you are a dangerous person to be at large.
+The next time you attempt to murder the crew of a submarine you may
+have better luck."
+
+"Well, you keep right on," Moore scowled, "and you'll come to a place
+where there'll be no such word as luck in your dictionary. You might
+save yourself now by letting me go."
+
+"You're a snake," cried Ned. "I wouldn't trust you with the life of a
+rat I cared for. Such people as you ought to be smothered at birth."
+
+"Pile it on, now that you have the inning," said Moore. "Pretty soon
+you'll be playing second fiddle."
+
+Ned went out of the temporary prison and locked the door without
+further talk. He had gained the point he sought.
+
+Nothing could be clearer, now, than that the Shark was to meet fellow
+conspirators there. The boy was up against a tough proposition.
+
+He believed that the Shark had secured the important papers. She would
+hardly have left the wreck without them.
+
+The gold did not matter so much, yet he did not like the idea of his
+rival taking it out from under his very nose. He did not believe that
+all the gold had been secured, and figured that the Shark would go
+back after the remainder--but not until the important papers had been
+delivered to the conspirators.
+
+In order to clear her skirts of the false accusations being whispered
+through foreign court circles, the Government must get possession of
+those documents. Ned had no idea where they were, where they had been
+stored, but he believed that, somewhere in the shipment of gold, full
+instructions for its use had been given.
+
+The papers might have been tucked away in a keg or package of gold
+coins. At least they would have been placed where the revolutionary
+leaders could find them, and where the Chinese federal officers could
+not--or would not be apt to--find them in case the plans of the
+conspirators failed in any way.
+
+It struck Ned as a crude arrangement from start to finish. The idea of
+shipping gold to the Chinese government in such a way that the
+revolutionary leaders were sure to seize it looked too childish for
+diplomats to entertain. The fact that it had miscarried was proof that
+it was not well conceived.
+
+A certain foreign nation, put wise to the conspiracy, had sent a ship
+out to ram the gold bearing craft, and there she lay at the bottom of
+the China Sea, with all sorts of rumors concerning her cargo and
+mission circulating through Europe--greatly to the loss of Uncle Sam's
+reputation as a square-dealing old chap.
+
+Ned had no doubt that the foreign government which was kicking up the
+most noise over the affair had sent the Shark to the China Sea to
+search for the papers in the hope that they would bear out the
+accusations that had been made. In case they did not the papers would
+doubtless be destroyed--and the charges would continue to be made--the
+charges that the subtreasury in New York had shipped the gold to aid
+the revolutionary junta in making a republic of China.
+
+So it will be seen that Ned was in no position to give further
+attention to the wreck, or the gold it might or might not contain
+until he had done everything in his power to secure the papers, if any
+had been found, before they could be destroyed or delivered.
+
+And now the question was this:
+
+"How can I get to the Shark and have a look through the plunder taken
+from the wreck?"
+
+The decision was that he could not accomplish such a mission. It would
+be impossible for him to board the Shark, or make a search even if he
+should succeed in getting into the rival submarine.
+
+What next? The men on board the Shark would undoubtedly go ashore if
+the boat remained long in the bay. Why not land and watch about the
+island for the arrival of the foreign conspirators?
+
+The island was not a large one, and there were few inhabitants, so a
+meeting such as Ned believed was set for the place could not fail to
+attract some attention. Well, the first thing to do, he reasoned, was
+to discover if the Shark was sending her men on shore.
+
+"Jimmie," he said, as he returned to the conning tower, "how would you
+like to go hunting in the bottom of the sea?"
+
+"Fine!" shouted the lad.
+
+"Bring in a catfish with a bunch of kittens," Frank laughed. "I'm
+afraid we have mice in the provision room."
+
+"I'll find a dogfish with a couple of puppies," replied Jimmie, "so we
+can have plenty of bark to build fires with."
+
+"A bad joke," Frank replied. "If you'd quit studying up slang and read
+the best authors you wouldn't inflict such pain-giving jolts."
+
+"Who's going with the kid?" asked Jack, sticking his nose up through
+the open hatchway.
+
+"I am," replied Frank, calmly. "It is not safe to trust him on the
+island alone."
+
+"What do you want me to hunt?" asked Jimmie, turning his back on the
+two boys.
+
+"Information."
+
+"I can get that in a book," said Jimmie, with a wink at Frank.
+
+"Get into your promenade suit," Ned continued, "and I'll let you out
+on the bottom. Then I'll warp the Sea Lion around that point of land,
+so you can see where the Shark lies and what is going on, if
+anything."
+
+"Carry me around the point of land before you drop me," suggested the
+little fellow.
+
+"No," Ned answered. "I want you to search the ocean floor on the way
+around the point. The rascals may have laid mines there, or the people
+on board may be making trips to the point, just to see what we are up
+to. Understand?"
+
+"Oh, yes, I see the point, all right," was the reply. "And you want me
+to go out in the wet and inspect another point?"
+
+"Cut it out!" cried Jack.
+
+Jimmie ran off, laughing, to put on his deep-sea suit, and in a moment
+was back asking Ned to set his helmet in place.
+
+"When you get down to the bottom," Ned said, before attaching the
+heavy headpiece, "keep hold of your lifting line and signal stop or
+forward, just as you find it easy or difficult to make your way along
+the level. One jerk for stop and two to go ahead. You won't forget
+that. Think of the signals on the surface cars in little Old New
+York."
+
+"And keep your eyes out for signs of air-hose and lines on the
+bottom," Frank put in.
+
+"All right," the boy cried, cheerfully.
+
+"You have a long air-hose and a very long line," Ned went on, "so you
+can go up the bay where the Shark lies quite a distance after we stop
+the Sea Lion at the point."
+
+The helmet was now put on, the lad passed through the water chamber,
+and directly there came a signal on the line--two quick jerks.
+
+The submarine moved slowly ahead, and Jimmie almost crawled on the bed
+of the ocean. The water was not very deep, not more than ten fathoms,
+and the bright sunlight enabled the boy to see quite well.
+
+Fishes, large and small, sea reptiles, hideous in aspect and
+attractive as to coloring, swam around him, and terrifying forms rose
+from the bottom and rubbed against his helmet windows. He felt safer
+on the bottom, for then the creatures could come at him in only one
+way.
+
+Presently the sand in front of him showed commotion. It stirred and
+clouded the water. Jimmie stopped and looked, drawing his weapon--the
+razor-pointed steel bar--to the front as he did so. Then he felt
+something close about an ankle and draw him down. A serpent's head
+showed on a level with his shoulder.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+JACK MAKES A DISCOVERY
+
+
+
+"Now," Ned said, when the Sea Lion stopped in response to a quick pull
+from below, "who is going to shore with me?"
+
+"Me for the shore!"
+
+Both boys spoke at once.
+
+"But one must remain on board," declared Ned.
+
+"Then let Frank stay," laughed Jack. "Somehow, I always get into
+trouble when I am left on guard."
+
+Frank looked disappointed, but said nothing, and Ned and Jack prepared
+to go ashore. When they were ready the submarine was carefully raised
+so that the conning tower was out of water.
+
+The boys did not know, while they were doing this, that the signal to
+stop was an involuntary one on the part of the boy who was exploring
+the ocean floor. They did know, however, that Jimmie had a very long
+air-and signal-system, and that under ordinary circumstances it could
+do no harm to lift the Sea Lion to the surface. The exact effect of
+this action on the little fellow will be seen in a short time.
+
+When the conning tower was out of water, the point showed still ahead
+of the submarine, and Ned wondered why Jimmie had ordered a halt
+there. In one way this was an advantage, as the people at the head of
+the bay, if any were there, would not be able to see what was going on
+at the spot where the Sea Lion lay.
+
+As soon as the hatch was opened Ned and Jack brought up a small boat
+and launched it. It was a narrow boat and seemed almost too small to
+carry two husky boys, but she was capable of harder service than that.
+
+"Keep a sharp watch for the line," Ned warned, as they left Frank
+looking sadly over the rim of the tower. "Jimmie would be in a bad box
+down there if you should forget him."
+
+"All right!" Frank answered, cheerfully. "I'll take care of the little
+scamp, but I don't believe there is water enough in the ocean to drown
+him!"
+
+The boys, paddling the boat softly, proceeded to the west of the point
+of land near which the Sea lion had stationed herself. Ahead of them
+they saw a sloping shore, running white and smooth as to surface for
+some distance from the water. Then, at the back, rose a line of wooded
+hills. There were no natives in sight.
+
+"I'd like to know what kind of people live on this island," Jack said
+as they landed and drew the boat up on the beach. "Whoever they are,
+they don't appear to have houses."
+
+They crossed the white rim of beach, keeping their eyes on the boat as
+they advanced, and came to an elevation in the wild country beyond.
+From this elevation a small clearing showed to the east, and in the
+clearing were a number of buildings, some residences of a poor type
+and some evidently erected for business purposes.
+
+"There," Ned said, pointing, "if we could get down into the cluster of
+buildings, with an interpreter, we might find out whether the Shark
+fellows have landed yet, and whether there are strangers loitering
+about the island."
+
+"Yes," Jack answered, "the place is so small that any strange faces
+would be instantly noted. Suppose I skip down there and see what I can
+learn?"
+
+"I think that a good idea," replied Ned, "only you're such a reckless
+chap that you're likely to get into trouble."
+
+"I'll be the good little lad," laughed Jack. "You remain here and see
+that no one steals the boat while I size up that burg."
+
+Jack was off, creeping through the undergrowth, before Ned could utter
+a warning, and the latter sat down to wait for his return. The cluster
+of buildings was not very far away, and Jack could not be gone very
+long.
+
+Ned was pretty well satisfied with the arrangements made to corner the
+men who had plundered the wreck. With Jimmie watching operations from
+the bottom and Jack investigating from the land, it seemed to him that
+the robbers could not well make any important move without being
+observed.
+
+In the meantime Jack was making his way toward the little town, if
+such it may be called, at the head of the bay. He could see people
+moving about in the one lane-like street, but there was no one nearer
+him than that--as he at first believed.
+
+Presently, however, he heard a low whistle, coming, apparently, from a
+thicket just ahead. It seemed to be an amazed whistle, at that, and
+Jack paused in wonder.
+
+Who could it be? If any of the people on the Shark had come onto the
+island they certainly wouldn't be whistling to attract his attention.
+
+More likely, he thought, they would be lying in wait for him with a
+gun. What he hoped was that some American, familiar with the island
+and friendly with the natives, had strayed into the thicket.
+
+Jack whistled in reply and then stepped back out of sight. He had an
+idea that he wanted to see the other fellow first.
+
+Before long a voice came out of the thicket, a voice which might have
+come from a tenement on Thompkins Square, in the city of New York.
+
+"Vot iss?" were the words Jack heard.
+
+"Show yourself!" commanded Jack.
+
+"Py schimminy," came the answer, "you gif me in the pack one, two,
+dree pain. What?"
+
+"You're Dutch!" said Jack.
+
+"Chermany!" corrected the other. "Come a liddle oudt."
+
+Jack stepped out of the shelter and soon saw a boy of about seventeen
+do likewise. The boy was short, round, fat, muscular, and big and red
+of face. He was dressed in a checkered suit of ready-mades which did
+not fit him, and his blond head was covered with a cap such as German
+comedians use on the stage.
+
+"Hello, Dutch!" Jack called out.
+
+"Irish!" exclaimed the other.
+
+Jack threw out his right hand in full salute, wondering if the German
+boy was a member of the Boy Scout army, and was pleased to see him
+make an awkward attempt to respond.
+
+"I got it my headt in," the German said, "but I can't get it oudt. It
+shticks. Vot is? I'm the Owl Padrol, Philadelphia."
+
+"No one from Philadelphia ever does remember," laughed Jack. "What are
+you doing here?"
+
+The boy took himself by the back of the trousers with his right hand
+and by the back of his neck with the other, then bounced himself
+forward, as if being thrown out of a vessel or a building.
+
+"You mean that you got fired off a ship here?" asked Jack, almost
+choking with laughter.
+
+"You bet me I didt!" exclaimed the other. "I hidt in a lifeboad to get
+me pack to Gott's goundry, an' they foundt me. Shoo! Kick! Den I
+schwim! Gott un himmel! Vot a goundry!"
+
+"Where did you get aboard the ship?" asked Jack.
+
+"Hongkong."
+
+"What's your name?"
+
+"Hans Christensohnstopf--"
+
+"Never mind the rest of it," laughed Jack. "I'll call you Hans. How
+long have you been here?"
+
+Hans ran his hands around his waist as if counting time by the number
+of meals he had missed.
+
+"Month," he finally said.
+
+"Where are you stopping?"
+
+Hans explained that there was one English trader in the place, and
+that he was giving him about half what he needed to eat and a place to
+sleep in return for about ten hours work each day.
+
+"Do you want to get away?" asked Jack.
+
+"Aindt it?" cried Hans. "I think I'm foolish to stay here. You schwim
+here?"
+
+Jack knew that it would take a long time to make Hans understand the
+means of transportation he had used in reaching that part of the
+world, so he merely shook his head and went on:
+
+"If you'll do something for me, Hans, I'll take you off the island."
+
+"Me--sure!" was the quick reply.
+
+Jack then explained that he wished to know if there were any strangers
+in the town, and if anything had been seen of the submarine people.
+Hans listened attentively.
+
+"I'll remain here until you come back," Jack said, after concluding
+his instructions. "Get the information and I'll take you off the
+island and land you in Philadelphia."
+
+"Sure!" cried Hans, and disappeared from view in the thicket.
+
+Jack lay a long time watching the sky and listening to the singing
+leaves about him. He wished that he had instructed Hans to return to
+the place where he had left Ned and gone there himself to await the
+information he sought. The time passed heavily on his hands.
+
+Once he moved out to the place where he had entered the thicket and
+looked down toward the spot where Ned was. There was a certain amount
+of companionship in that. He did not dare leave the thicket entirely,
+for fear Hans would miss him on his return from the village.
+
+When he returned to his waiting place, after this visit, and looked
+down on the village, shimmering in the hot sun, he saw that something
+unusual was going on there. Natives, clad in the long skirts worn by
+many Chinamen, were flying up and down the street, and Jack recognized
+three Europeans mixing into the excitement.
+
+Then he saw people running toward the little wharf at the head of the
+bay. Hans did not appear to be within the range of Jack's vision.
+
+"There are doings of some kind down there," Jack mused, "and it seems
+to me that the foreigners created the row, whatever it is. I wonder if
+Hans will get out of it alive?"
+
+The next moment Hans was there to answer for himself.
+
+Jack saw the German lad chasing through the undergrowth as if the very
+Old Nick was after him, swinging his cap as he ran, and shouting out
+some words which he could not understand.
+
+Finally Hans turned square about, pointed in the direction from which
+he had come, and resumed his flight toward Jack.
+
+"I guess some one is chasing the boy," Jack concluded, stationing
+himself close to a slender path which Hans was certain to follow.
+
+In a moment the wisdom of this remark and this arrangement became
+apparent. Hans came nearer, puffing and grunting, and a second after a
+runner who was gaining on the German shot around an angle of
+undergrowth and reached out for Hans.
+
+Hans had passed the spot where Jack crouched by this time, and the
+pursuer was proceeding to foot it after him when Jack stuck out a leg
+and brought him to the ground. Hans saw the action and fell flat on
+the ground, blowing like a fat man on a thousand-step climb.
+
+The man who had fallen, apparently an Englishman, middle aged, well
+dressed for that country, and with a red, passionate face, sat up and
+scowled at Jack.
+
+"Wot the bloomin' mischief did ye do thot f'r?" he asked.
+
+"To stop you," replied Jack.
+
+"You're bloody roight ye stopped me!" cried the other, trying to get
+on his feet. "An' now I'll be stoppin' of ye!"
+
+Jack placed his hand on the man's shoulder and pushed him back to the
+ground.
+
+"Rest yourself," he said.
+
+"You just wait, you bounder!" threatened the Englishman.
+
+"What's it all about?" asked Jack, as Hans arose and cautiously
+approached.
+
+"Don't let that bloody robber get away!" shouted the Englishman,
+trying once more to get up.
+
+Jack presented his automatic, which he would not have used under any
+circumstances, unless his life was actually in danger.
+
+"Keep quiet," he said.
+
+"I'll have your head for this!" bawled the other.
+
+"What is it, Hans?" asked Jack, paying no attention to the threat of
+the angry Englishman.
+
+"I'll tell you what it is!" cried the Englishman. "That Dutch bounder
+stole from my safe. I chased him up here an' you took occasion to
+hinterfere, worse luck. Who are you, anyhow?"
+
+"Did you steal anything from him, Hans?" asked Jack.
+
+Hans shook his head.
+
+Then explanations settled the trouble. A man from the submarine had
+met another at the trader's store. Hans, in his anxiety to hear what
+was being said, had crawled in behind a counter, near the safe, and
+had been discovered there.
+
+The event had created no little excitement in the town, for the chase
+through the street had been witnessed by and participated in by about
+half the population. To satisfy the Englishman, Hans was searched, and
+nothing found. Then Ned asked him a question:
+
+"Where did the submarine people go?"
+
+"Back to their boat," was the prompt reply.
+
+"And the man who met them there?"
+
+"He went with them."
+
+"Where did the latter come from?"
+
+"From Hongkong, he said."
+
+"How long ago?"
+
+"Something over a week."
+
+"He was waiting for the submarine?"
+
+"I think so."
+
+"What, if anything, did the submarine land?"
+
+"Nothing at all."
+
+"You are certain of that?"
+
+"Oh, yes, of course. The submarine man brought some sealed papers with
+him, and the discussion was all about them. The submarine man wanted
+money, I guess, and the other wouldn't give it."
+
+"So the submarine people still have the papers?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"But the other man went on board?"
+
+"Yes, that is the way of it."
+
+"Do you know who that Hongkong man is?"
+
+"He is an Englishman."
+
+"Now," said Jack, "I wish you would come down to the beach with me. I
+have a friend there I want you to talk with."
+
+The Englishman, seeing that something interesting was in the air, went
+without objection, but when they reached the beach they saw Ned making
+for the Sea Lion in the boat. And just before he reached her, they saw
+the conning tower disappear beneath the surface of the water.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+JIMMIE DEMANDS A MEDAL
+
+
+
+Jimmie's first thought, as he saw the flattened head of the sea
+monster sliding upward toward his helmet, was that he had encountered
+the original sea serpent. There seemed to be a coil about the boy's
+leg, and he dropped down lower to see what the chances were for
+cutting it away with his weapon.
+
+The prospects did not seem favorable, for his steel bar, while very
+sharp at the point, was not intended for chopping work. He could
+pierce the body of the reptile, but could not weaken its strength so
+that the coil would drop away.
+
+It was when he dropped down that the spasmodic jerks on the line were
+given. The sea monster had included the line in his coil, and it drew
+as the boy bent lower.
+
+The air-hose seemed to be clear, but Jimmie was afraid that the
+flounderings of the serpent might break it. The horror was certain to
+do some thrashing about when he felt the keen edge of the steel.
+
+The only way was to strike some vital spot. That would end the combat
+at once. The serpent's head lowered with the boy, as if he had great
+curiosity to find out exactly what sort of a being it was that had
+invaded his kingdom.
+
+The boy was cheered by the thought that the submarine had stopped,
+although he did not realize at the time that the signal had been given
+by the action of his enemy. If the boat had continued on her course,
+the air-hose and the lifting line must both have been broken in a
+short time, as the boy's progress was stopped by the great weight of
+his terrifying foe. Then the end would have come instantly.
+
+The coil about the leg was drawing tighter now, and the boy was in
+considerable pain. Also the coils were ascending as the head of the
+sea monster swung around.
+
+It was not only the pain and the deadly danger that brought a
+momentary shiver to the boy. It was the fact that the repulsive body
+of the serpent was winding closer and closer about him.
+
+He seemed to feel the slimy skin of the deep sea terror slipping
+through his waterproof suit, although his common sense told him that
+such could not be the case. He even thought he scented the sickening
+odor which he had now and then experienced in the Central Park Zoo. He
+knew, too, that this was purely imaginary, but the horror of a
+nightmare was on him, and for only an instant he lost his nerve.
+
+Once more the head swung around and the boy presented his weapon and
+struck with all his might. The needle-like point entered the throat of
+the serpent and passed through just at the back of the long, spotted
+head.
+
+There was a great switching in the water for an instant, and then the
+coils loosened. The blow, as Jimmie afterwards discovered, had broken
+the spinal cord.
+
+While not yet dead, the serpent was incapable of moving the lower part
+of his body. With a sense of loathing he pulled at the coils until he
+was clear of them.
+
+The water where he stood was now taking on a faint reddish hue, and
+Jimmie hastened away. At first, weakened and shaken as he was by the
+disgusting encounter, he determined to return to the submarine, then
+the thought of what his chums would say to him if he gave up caused
+him to proceed in the direction of the Shark.
+
+He moved over the level bottom, looking for lines which would indicate
+that the Shark people were out watching the movements of their rival,
+but found none. When he came to the end of his line he signaled for
+the submarine to go ahead.
+
+In this manner, by slow degrees, and always keeping his eyes out for
+creatures similar to the one he had vanquished, he advanced until he
+saw the bulk of the Shark only a short distance away. Then he called
+for a stop.
+
+He remained there some moments, watching the Shark lift to the
+surface. Then a dark object passed shoreward, and the boy was certain
+that a boat had been sent to the little wharf.
+
+"I guess that will be about all," he thought. "I've secured the
+information Ned wants, and may as well go back."
+
+To tell the truth, he was delighted at the thought of getting out of
+the water again. His encounter with the serpent had considerably
+lessened his enthusiasm for deep-sea work.
+
+The Sea Lion dropped down when Jimmie gave the signal, and he was soon
+in the water chamber, where he found Frank in sea dress. The two were
+out of the water in a short time, with the chamber empty again.
+
+"What did you do that for?" asked Jimmie, as soon as the helmets were
+removed.
+
+"Do what?" asked Frank, with a smile.
+
+"Drop down and wait for me in the water chamber."
+
+"Did you notice the color of the water?" asked Frank.
+
+"Yes, down there, but up here--say," he added, "the blood of that
+champion sea serpent never got to the surface, did it?"
+
+"Just enough of it to cause me to think a shark was making a meal down
+there," replied Frank.
+
+Jimmie told the story of the encounter, laughing at the peril which
+was past, but Frank looked grave.
+
+"We'll have to be more careful how we wander about on the bottom of
+the sea," he said. "It was just luck that brought you out alive. You
+might wound a serpent a hundred times with that steel bar and never
+again strike a vital spot."
+
+"Then," Jimmie laughed, "when we get back to New York you put in a
+claim for a Carnegie medal for me! It would look fine on the front of
+me hat." "I'll have Ned make you a medal out of a fish's fin," laughed
+Frank.
+
+"All right!" cried Jimmie. "It will be all right, just so it is a
+medal."
+
+Then Jimmie told of what he had seen in the vicinity of the Shark, and
+Frank complimented him on his courage and good judgment in keeping
+down until he had secured the desired information.
+
+"We know now,' he said, "that the Shark people are communicating with
+the shore. Perhaps Ned and Jack will learn just what they are doing
+there. If they do, we shall know just what course to pursue."
+
+"What's the answer?" asked the little fellow.
+
+"Why, if the Shark people dispose of the documents--if there were any
+documents in the plunder--we'll have to chase after the men who take
+them. The gold doesn't count."
+
+"Yes," laughed Jimmie, "and I suppose we'll leave the Sea Lion and go
+over the mountains in an open boat! I'm goin' to stick to the little
+old Sea Lion."
+
+"Well," Frank remarked, after a short wait, "we must get back to the
+spot where Ned left us."
+
+"Never thought of that!" Jimmie cried. "He may be yelling his head off
+because he can't come on board."
+
+The boys lost no time in getting back to the first position, and then
+lifted to the surface. The conning tower, as before, was out of sight
+of anyone on the bay, the point of land intervening.
+
+As the time passed the boys became anxious about Ned and Jack. They
+might have returned while the Sea Lion was away, they thought, and
+gone into the interior thinking that some accident had happened to the
+submarine.
+
+"Anyway," Jimmie declared, "Ned told us to move along as my line gave
+out, and he must know that we'd come back to pick him up."
+
+While the lads speculated on the possible outcome of the visit to the
+shore there came a sharp collision which keeled the Sea Lion over to
+port. Both were active in an instant.
+
+"That's the Shark!" exclaimed Jimmie.
+
+"It must be," Frank agreed.
+
+Jimmie hastened to the stern and looked out of the plate glass panel
+there.
+
+"What do you see?" asked Frank, nervously.
+
+"It is the Shark, all right," was the reply, "and she is backing off.
+She may be going to ram us."
+
+"Then it's us for the bottom," cried Frank.
+
+"Why the bottom?" asked Jimmie.
+
+Frank did not answer for a moment. He was still standing back of the
+little fellow and looking over his shoulder, out of the glass panel.
+
+"Because," he said, "the Shark takes chances in bumping us at a
+considerable depth. She is higher than we are, and her prow sits a
+great deal above our vulnerable parts. If she strikes us when we are
+nestling on the bottom, her blow will glance off."
+
+"If she knows it, then," Jimmie said, "she won't follow us down. What
+will she do?"
+
+"Chase herself off."
+
+"I hope so!" cried Jimmie.
+
+"It beats the Old Scratch why Ned and Jack don't come," Frank said,
+presently. "I'm afraid something has happened to them."
+
+"There is no use of their staying ashore," Jimmie said, "for I found
+out what Ned wanted to know. He asked me to find out if the Shark
+communicated with the shore, and I did it. He ought to know I wouldn't
+fall down on a little thing like that," the boy added, with a grin.
+"I'm the only original snake charmer!"
+
+While this sharp exchange of ideas had been going on, Frank had been
+working the various levers which controlled the altitude of the
+submarine, and the gauge showed that she was close to the bottom as
+the last word was spoken.
+
+Jimmie turned away from the panel and caught hold of a railing which
+ran along in front.
+
+"Look out for the bumps!" he cried!
+
+Then there came a shock which threw both boys off their feet. The
+staunch craft shivered for an instant, then righted, swaying just a
+little under the heavy pressure of the depth she was in.
+
+Frank sprang to the delicate machinery which controlled the air supply
+and the lights. No harm seemed to have been done to them.
+
+"The Shark can't do that again!" Jimmie said, with a sigh of relief.
+"We're on the bottom now, and her prow would slip over our back. The
+only mischief she would do would be to knock off our conning tower,
+and that would not disable us."
+
+"Can you see her now?" asked Frank.
+
+"Sure," replied the boy. "Her lights are on."
+
+"What is she doing?"
+
+"Rolling on the bottom. Say, 'bo, I believe she hurt herself when she
+tried to soak us."
+
+The ex-newsboy moved away from the panel and Frank took his place as
+lookout.
+
+"She's crippled, all right," the latter said, after a moment's
+inspection of their rival, "but I can't see what's the matter."
+
+"Course you can't. The hurt's on the inside."
+
+"Anyway, she doesn't seem to be able to move. I know she is trying to
+get off by the way the water changes around her stern."
+
+"Bump her!" advised Jimmie.
+
+"I reckon that would settle her," Frank replied, "but I'm not in the
+pirate business just now."
+
+The boys watched the Shark for half an hour or more, and then saw her
+move slowly away.
+
+"She's going toward Hongkong," Frank said, "and we may as well bid her
+good-by."
+
+"Not!" exclaimed Jimmie. "We've got to follow her."
+
+"And leave Ned and Jack?"
+
+Jimmie's jaw fell. This was something he had not thought of. The boys
+were still on the island--might be in great peril.
+
+"Well, jump up to the surface," the lad said, then, "and I'll go to
+the island and see what's up."
+
+"Fine chance you'd stand!" laughed Frank.
+
+"Bet I can go ashore an' find a Boy Scout!" returned Jimmie. "We've
+found 'em in every part of the world."
+
+The Shark was still in view, her lights creating faint mists under the
+water, but the boys did not consider her a formidable opponent now, so
+they lifted to the top of the ocean.
+
+Jimmie was first out on the conning tower. The sun was still shining
+brightly and the water lay as quiet as the surface of a pond on a
+still day.
+
+When the boy turned to the white line of sand at the rim of the sea he
+saw Ned and Jack standing there with two others. He waved his hat and
+Jack swung back from where he stood.
+
+"Guess they've found some one worth talking with," Frank remarked,
+stepping up on the conning tower.
+
+"Guess they have," responded Jimmie, "but there's some one creeping up
+to 'em from the thicket," he added, lifting his glasses. "Look out,
+boys!" he shouted, waving one hand frantically. "Look out! There's
+some one makin' a sneak on you!"
+
+"They don't catch what you say!" Frank exclaimed. "Look there!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+A BOY SCOUT WITH A "PUNCH"
+
+
+
+When Ned saw the conning tower of the submarine drop out of sight he
+rowed over to the spot where she had gone down and tried to look into
+the depths of the sea.
+
+The water was fairly clear, and he could see two great bulks below
+instead of one. He knew then what was taking place.
+
+"The Shark is bent on murder," he mused. "Perhaps they wouldn't be so
+ready to sink the Sea Lion if they knew that the manager of the whole
+rotten business was a prisoner on her."
+
+He could not see clearly, of course, but he waited and watched for
+some moments. Then the Shark crashed with the Sea Lion and fell off,
+apparently crippled.
+
+"So that's the reason Frank dropped to the bottom!" thought Ned. "He
+knew the Shark couldn't get a good crack at the Sea Lion when she lay
+on the bottom. Wonder if the Shark is injured seriously?"
+
+He watched until the Shark turned to the east, curving around the
+point of land which she had passed to the attack, then turned toward
+the shore. Jack was still there, and he must find him before
+nightfall.
+
+Much to his surprise, he saw Jack, Hans and the Englishman, Hamblin by
+name, watching him from the beach. He waved his hat and shouted to
+them, wondering all the time where Jack had picked up his
+acquaintances. In five minutes he was on the beach.
+
+"Is this the boy you wanted me to talk with?" asked Hamblin, as Ned
+drew up his boat and approached the group.
+
+"The same," laughed Jack, "only you mustn't call him a boy! He's a big
+man in his own country."
+
+Hamblin eyed Ned critically for a minute and extended his hand. Ned
+laughed as he took it.
+
+"I've met you before!" he said.
+
+"In a cheap lodging house on the Bowery," said Hamblin. "You were
+looking for a man who had robbed a bank an' made a run for it."
+
+"Exactly," Ned said.
+
+"An' the bloomin' moocher was in the next room to mine, an' you got
+him. I was bloody well glad to get the five p'un' note you tipped me
+then. Stone broke I was."
+
+"You earned it," Ned replied.
+
+"It put me on me legs again," Hamblin went on. "An' I took ship an'
+come out to this blasted country. I wish I was on the Bowery again,
+blast me eyes if I don't."
+
+"What are you doing here?" asked Ned.
+
+"Runnin' a bloomin' store an' scrappin' with the Chinks," was the
+reply. "It's a bally bad game, out here."
+
+"Rotten!" echoed Hans.
+
+Hamblin made a break for the German.
+
+"You thief!" he shouted.
+
+"Hold on," cried Jack, "let me tell you about it," and he proceeded to
+inform the Englishman of the exact situation of affairs.
+
+"I thought he was a bloomin' moocher," said Hamblin, in a moment. "He
+acted like one."
+
+"Who is he?" asked Ned of Jack, pointing toward Hans, who now sat on
+the sand with his knees hunched up in his hands.
+
+"That's Hans," laughed Jack.
+
+Hans threw out his hand in Boy Scout salute.
+
+"Owl Padrol, Philadelphia!" he said.
+
+"Looks like an Owl, eh?" asked Jack.
+
+"He is an Owl!" roared the Englishman. "He works for me, an' he wants
+to sleep all day an' sit up all the bloomin' night. He's an Owl all
+but the wise look."
+
+"You loaver!" cried Hans, well knowing that Hamblin would not be
+permitted to attack him again. "You starf mine pelly! You put bugs to
+sleep in mine ped! How should the nights get me sleep when the ped is
+one processions of pugs?"
+
+Jack now called Ned aside and told him of the meeting of the
+conspirators at the Hamblin store, of the sealed packet, and of the
+seeming quarrel, as described by Hans. Ned turned to the Englishman.
+
+"They met there by appointment," he asked, "the man from the Shark and
+the man who waited for him?"
+
+"Yes, by appointment."
+
+"It was about papers?"
+
+"Yes, and gold."
+
+"Where did the man who waited here come from?"
+
+"Some point in China."
+
+Jack gave a low whistle.
+
+"China!" he cried. "I wouldn't have believed it."
+
+"Did you know either of the men who met there--ever see either of them
+before?" asked Ned, then.
+
+"One of them--a Captain Moore, formerly of the United States Navy,"
+was the astonishing reply.
+
+"Where had you seen him?" asked Ned, motioning to Jack to remain
+silent.
+
+"He first came here on a man-of-war about six months ago."
+
+"Well, the documents were taken back on board the Shark, then?" asked
+Ned.
+
+"Yes, I think so."
+
+"You don't know what the packet contained?"
+
+"Papers, they said."
+
+"Then it's all right!" Jack cried. "We can now bunch our hits! The
+papers and the men we want are on board the Shark. All we've got to do
+is to catch the Shark!"
+
+Just then the Sea Lion rose out of the ocean and they saw Frank and
+Jimmie waving to them.
+
+"So they're all right," Ned said. "A moment ago the Shark was ramming
+them!"
+
+"Why don't we go on board, then?" demanded Jack. "If there's going to
+be a fight on the bottom I want to be in on it. Bet your sweet life I
+do! Hurry on board!"
+
+"Look a liddle oudt!" cried Hans at this moment. "They say with their
+hats unt hands somedings. Look a liddle oudt!"
+
+Ned did "look a liddle oudt" just then, and saw Captain Moore and a
+dozen or more natives crowding through the thicket, the Captain
+carrying a revolver in a threatening manner.
+
+"Stand quiet," the ex-naval officer said. "I don't intend to harm any
+of you. Especially you, Mr. Hamblin. I only want to know where my son
+Arthur is."
+
+"I haven't got your son!" blustered Hamblin.
+
+"Make me a search!" cried Hans.
+
+"I'm not talking to you two," snarled the Captain. "I'm directing my
+talk to this sneak," pointing a shaking finger at Ned, whose muscles
+drew under the insult.
+
+Hans flushed and started forward, but the natives closed about the ex-
+naval officer.
+
+"Where is my son?" demanded Moore, flourishing his gun nervously.
+
+"Where did you see him last?" asked Ned.
+
+"That is neither here nor there," the Captain replied. "I want to know
+what you have done with him."
+
+"You sent him on a dangerous mission--a mission of murder," Ned said,
+presently.
+
+"I don't know what you are talking about."
+
+"You sent him to wreck the Sea Lion."
+
+"That is not true. I have not been on board the Shark."
+
+"Well, some one sent him. Anyway, he came on board the Sea Lion and
+got caught. Now, what would you have done under the circumstances? You
+would have given him a banquet, I presume, if he had tried to murder
+you and got caught at it."
+
+"I don't care what he has done," stormed the Captain. "I want to know
+where he is now."
+
+"He's at the bottom of the sea!" Jack cut in.
+
+The Captain staggered and turned a white face to the speaker. Ned was
+about to explain by saying that young Moore was at the bottom of the
+sea in the Sea Lion when Moore sprang toward him.
+
+"You murdered him!" shouted the enraged Captain. "You murdered him,
+and I'll have your life."
+
+He lifted his pistol and fired, but the bullet went whistling through
+the air instead of finding the mark intended for it. Hans, seeing the
+peril Ned was in, had stepped forward and landed a knock-out blow on
+the Captain's jaw.
+
+"You loaver!" he shouted, standing over him.
+
+The natives rushed forward as the Captain fell, uttering a jargon
+which no one understood save the trader. Hamblin saw the danger in the
+threatening looks of the fellows and sprang for the gun, which had
+dropped from Moore's hand.
+
+He reached it not a second too soon, for a brawny native was already
+snatching at it. The fellow seized the trader's wrist as he lifted the
+weapon and uttered a few words in a menacing tone.
+
+This was enough for Hans, who stood close by, rubbing the bruised
+knuckles of his right hand. He struck out again, throwing the whole
+weight of his body into the blow. The native went down and the others
+drew away from the group about him.
+
+"Great clip!" shouted Jack, as the trader threatened the natives with
+the gun. "You seem to be the White Man's Hope!"
+
+Hans rubbed the knuckles again and grinned, such a bland grin that
+both Ned and Jack burst into laughter.
+
+"You sure have a punch!" Jack went on. "Where did you get it?"
+
+"Py the verein just," was the reply.
+
+"You're all right, anyhow," Ned said.
+
+The trader was now addressing the natives in a language--if it was a
+language--which the boys could not at all understand. They noted the
+result of the talk with joy, however, for the black-skinned group
+turned toward the village and soon disappeared in the thicket, taking
+the knocked out fellow with them.
+
+Captain Moore now opened his eyes and staggered to his feet. His face
+was deadly pale and his eyes flashed like those of an enraged wolf.
+
+"You shall pay for this!" he shouted.
+
+"Jack did not finish his sentence when he told you that your son was
+at the bottom of the sea," Ned said, thinking that the deception had
+gone far enough. "He should have added that he was safe in the Sea
+Lion."
+
+"Then I demand his release!" shouted the other.
+
+"I can't bring him to you," Ned said, "but I'll take you where he is."
+
+"And if I refuse to go?"
+
+"You'll go just the same."
+
+"A prisoner?"
+
+"Certainly--a prisoner charged with piracy on the high seas."
+
+"You're a meddling fool!" roared the Captain.
+
+Ned paid no attention to the personal abuse of the angry man, but
+turned to Hamblin.
+
+"I want to talk with you," he said, "but I must get this man on board
+the Sea Lion first. You'll wait here?"
+
+Before the trader could reply, a shout came over the water from the
+submarine, and a column of smoke came out of the open hatch.
+
+"I guess you've got all the trouble on the Sea Lion you need there,"
+snarled Moore, "without taking me on board. Your ship's on fire!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+A DESPERATE PRISONER
+
+
+
+Just as the attention of Frank and Jimmie was called to the Captain
+and the natives advancing upon Ned and Jack from the thicket, they
+heard a great beating on a door or wall below. There was only one
+person in the submarine save themselves, and so they knew that it was
+the captive who was kicking up the row.
+
+"He knows something unusual has been going on," Jimmie observed, "and
+wants to turn whatever takes place to his own advantage. Suppose we go
+below and see what he's doing."
+
+"He's frightened half to death, I take it," Frank surmised. "The two
+bumps the Sea Lion got from the Shark must have given him the
+impression that we had collided with a rock or reef."
+
+"Serves him right," Jimmie replied. "He ought to be willing to take a
+little of his own medicine occasionally. He tried to kill us when he
+came on board."
+
+The pounding below continued, and the boys went down to the door of
+the room where young Moore was held captive. The noise came from
+within, sure enough.
+
+"What do you want?" demanded Frank, calling loudly so that his voice
+might penetrate the thick door.
+
+"Let me out!"
+
+"You've got your nerve!" answered Jimmie.
+
+"Let me out, please!" continued the prisoner.
+
+"Why?" asked Frank.
+
+"Open the door and you'll see," was the reply.
+
+Jimmie sniffed at the air in the larger apartment and pulled Frank by
+the arm.
+
+"Smell anything?" he asked.
+
+"Something does seem queer," the latter replied.
+
+In a second there was an unmistakable odor of burning cloth in the
+room, and the boys began hunting about for the source of it. The
+pounding on the door continued.
+
+"Open up!" young Moore shouted. "Open up if you don't want to lose
+your ship."
+
+"I'll bet the fire's in there," Jimmie ventured. "I'm goin' to open
+the door and find out."
+
+He turned the key, which was in the lock on the outside, and in a
+second the door was open. A burst of smoke shot out into the larger
+apartment.
+
+Through the thick veil of the smoke, in a corner of the room, the boys
+saw a spurt of flame. It was running along the floor, nipping at the
+fringe on an expensive rug.
+
+When the door was opened young Moore dashed out, as if desiring to
+pass the two boys before they got the smoke out of their eyes. Frank
+caught him by the arm and held him fast.
+
+By this time the large room where the boys stood was well filled with
+smoke, and Jimmie opened every avenue by which it might travel to the
+main hatch in the conning tower. In a few moments the interior of the
+submarine was comparatively free from smoke.
+
+Jimmie took a pail of water from the tap and tossed it on the creeping
+flame in the little room. It served its purpose and the danger was
+over. Frank, still holding Moore by the arm, pointed to a chair. The
+young fellow seemed to have no notion of taking the seat, however, for
+he made a dash for the hatch, which was wide open.
+
+In order to gain the staircase it was necessary for him to pass the
+place where Jimmie stood. As he came up to the boy he struck out with
+all his force and continued his flight--for a second.
+
+When the boy saw him getting by, he dropped to the floor and seized
+him by the ankles, with the result that both were rolling about in the
+rich rug in no time.
+
+"Go to it!" shouted Jimmie, as Moore tried to break away from him.
+"Catch him, Frank!" he continued, as the stronger man pulled away.
+
+It was quite a neat little battle, but in the end numbers won, and
+Moore was ornamented with the irons once more.
+
+"Why didn't you say the boat was on fire?" asked Frank. "You might
+have smothered in there."
+
+"Wish I had!" gritted Moore.
+
+"Go back and do it over again," Jimmie suggested. "You can have all
+the time you want!"
+
+"Why didn't you let us know at first?" insisted Frank.
+
+"Well, if you must know," the captive replied, "I was afraid you would
+extinguish the fire by flooding the room, if I told what the trouble
+was. Besides, I thought I could get away if you opened the door."
+
+"Did you set the fire?"
+
+"I was lighting a cigarette, and--"
+
+"That's enough," Frank said. "Any one who will smoke cigarettes
+deserves to be burned alive. Wish we had flooded the room after you
+got well scorched and left you in it."
+
+"You may wish so before you have done with me," threatened the other.
+"I'll get you yet--both of you."
+
+"Well, get back into the den," Frank commanded. "We have had about all
+the lip we can stand from you. You tried to murder Lieutenant Scott at
+Mare Island Navy Yard, you attempted our lives when you came to this
+boat, and now you set us on fire and attempt to run away. You've got a
+long account to settle, young man."
+
+"You can bluff now," Moore retorted, "but that is all you can do. My
+father is on the lookout for you and that wise guy you call Ned
+Nestor. When you go back, without the gold, he'll get you good and
+plenty. You know it! Now lock me up and go away, for I'm sick of the
+sight of your impudent faces."
+
+Jimmie forced the prisoner into his room and closed the door.
+
+"You'll have to make a supper off that smoke!" he called out through
+the keyhole. "You're too fly a guy to take food to."
+
+"I'll charge it up to you!" came back from the den.
+
+"Nervy chap!" Frank said, as the two boys hastened back to the conning
+tower to see what had become of Ned and Jack.
+
+"Cheekiest fellow I ever saw!" Jimmie added. "He really thinks he's
+goin' to give us the slip. He really believes we daren't do a thing to
+him. I'll show him!"
+
+When the boys came in sight of the beach again they saw Captain Moore
+threatening Ned with a revolver. Then they saw the Captain tumble over
+on the sand, with the German standing over him.
+
+"Gee!" Jimmie shouted. "Prize fight!"
+
+"Looks like it."
+
+There was silence in the conning tower for a second, then both boys
+shouted out their joy as they saw Ned and Jack getting the upper hand
+of Moore and the natives.
+
+"Now they'll soon be on board," Frank observed, "and we'll find out
+what they've been up to."
+
+"Bet they didn't find out any more than I did," Jimmie cried. "I'll
+bet they had a scrap too, and that's the only thing I wanted that I
+didn't get."
+
+"Wonder who that Dutch-looking fellow is?" Frank mused. "I believe Ned
+is putting him into the boat!"
+
+"I'll go a dollar to a doughnut that it's a Boy Scout!" laughed
+Jimmie. "Don't look the part, though, does he?"
+
+"Why do you think it is a Boy Scout?"
+
+"Because we've always found one. If we should go to the North Pole,
+we'd find one there--always busy an' ready to do a fellow a good turn,
+too. You know it!"
+
+"And that big fellow, with the paunch and the important look seems
+familiar to me," mused Frank. "Don't you recognize him?"
+
+"Sure," was the reply. "That is Captain Moore. Don't you remember the
+bluff he put up in the Black Bear clubroom before we left little old
+New York?"
+
+"I believe you are right."
+
+"Well, we'll soon know all about it," said the boy. "Ned is bringin'
+the Captain an' the Dutch guy off to us. Funny you'll see so many rare
+specimens when you hain't got no gun!"
+
+Hans grinned delightedly when he set foot on the conning tower of the
+submarine and glanced inquisitively into the interior. His round, baby
+blue eyes protruded in wonder as they fell on the comfortably
+furnished apartment below.
+
+"Jump down, Dutch!" Jimmie laughed. "There is where they make men out
+of Dutchmen. Don't be afraid."
+
+"Iss dot so?" grunted Hans. "Vell, if mens iss madt dere, vy dondt you
+go pelow?"
+
+"Good for you, Dutch!" cried Frank. "Hit him again. He's too fresh,
+anyway."
+
+"Where did you get it, Ned?" asked Jimmie. "You'll have to bake it
+when we get back to New York."
+
+"Better look out, lad," Ned replied, "this boy has the kick of a mule
+in his left. Let him alone."
+
+During this short by-play Captain Moore stood scowling on the conning
+tower, crowded close against the boys, for the platform was a small
+one. He now faced Ned angrily.
+
+"What is the proposition?" he demanded.
+
+"I have brought you here to see your son," Ned replied. "If you'll
+step down the stairs I'll show you where he is."
+
+"He ought to be at the bottom of the sea," Frank said, "for he tried
+to fire the boat."
+
+"I have no doubt that he resents his treatment," said Moore. "I,
+myself, would sink your craft this moment if it lay in my power."
+
+"No doubt of it," Ned said. "You've come to the end of your rope,
+though. All the mischief you can do now is to yourself."
+
+Moore snarled out some reply intended to be exasperating, but which
+made no impression on the boys, and set his feet to the stairs. The
+boys followed him, but the ex-naval officer reached the floor first,
+and, with a bound, reached the mechanism which gave forward motion to
+the submarine, the prow of which was turned toward the beach.
+
+Ned sprang forward, but the boat was already under motion. It was
+unquestionably the intention of the prisoner to wreck her on the
+beach, hoping to rescue his son and make his own escape in the
+confusion.
+
+Moore struck savagely at Ned as he attempted to draw him away from the
+lever, but missed. In a second Jimmie had his arms about those of the
+Captain and they went down together.
+
+Ned leaped to the lever and shut off the power. In three minutes more
+the Sea Lion must have been wrecked on the shelving shore. As it was
+she stopped within a few yards of the danger line.
+
+"You're a pair of murderers!" said Ned, coolly, as he seized Moore by
+the throat and flung him into the room where his son was incarcerated.
+
+Young Moore's face appeared at the door as his father was forced in,
+and angry words between the two followed as the door was closed.
+
+"There'll be a social session in there now," laughed Ned. "Each one
+will blame the other for the predicament they are in!"
+
+"Let 'em fight it out," Jimmie advised, rubbing a bruise on his arm,
+which had been somewhat injured in the fall.
+
+Hans was now gazing about the boat with something more than curiosity
+in his eyes. He had observed how quickly the submarine had responded
+to a touch of the lever, and was actually wondering if he wasn't on
+board one of the magic ships he had read of in the nursery.
+
+"Sit down outside this door and see that nothing more happens in the
+kick line," Ned directed, thinking to give the uneasy youth something
+to occupy his mind. "If they get the door open, give them one of those
+left-hand jolts."
+
+With another glance about the German sat down contentedly. Then Ned
+went to the stern and looked out of the glass panel.
+
+"Is the Shark still in sight?" asked Frank. "Look out to the east and
+you'll see her if she's anywhere about."
+
+"I'm afraid she's too far away by this time," Ned replied.
+
+"Then we'd better be moving!" Frank said. "I'll take the boat and go
+after Jack, then we'll be off."
+
+"Don't lose any time," advised Ned.
+
+Frank, accompanied by Jimmie, was off in the rowboat in short order,
+and before long Jack was on board.
+
+"Hamblin, the trader, wants to talk with you, Ned," he said as he came
+down into the cabin.
+
+"He'll have to wait until we catch the Shark," Ned said. "I'm afraid
+we have lost too much time now."
+
+Jack's report had shown him that the sealed packet was still on the
+Shark, and it was his purpose to keep after the submarine until he
+caught up with her. Just what would take place then he did not know,
+but he was willing to take great risks in order to get hold of the
+packet.
+
+He did not know what it contained, but he did know that it was claimed
+by the enemies of his government, that it held papers which, if
+brought out, might smash several international treaties. His own
+belief was that the packet would establish the fair dealing of the
+Washington officials, but this was only a matter of opinion.
+
+While the Sea Lion was dropping down and getting under way he talked
+the matter over with Frank. That young man was inclined to be rather
+pessimistic over the matter.
+
+"If the papers in the packet are of the sort you think they are," he
+declared, "they will destroy them before they will permit you to get
+hold of them."
+
+"They might do so only for the fact that this is a money-loving world
+we are living in," Ned declared, with a smile. "Those papers, whatever
+they are, are worth a lot of cash to some one, and they will not be
+destroyed."
+
+The submarine was soon moving swiftly through the water, only a few
+yards from the sandy bottom. The general direction was east, toward
+the harbor of Hongkong.
+
+Just before the night fell Jack, who was on the lookout in front,
+peering through the glass panel, declared that the Shark, or some
+other submarine, was in sight.
+
+"She's crippled, too," he cried. "She advances a few paces and then
+stops. They are having all kinds of trouble with her. Just lie still a
+short time, and you'll see her mounting to the surface."
+
+The Sea Lion was brought to a halt, and the boys watched the dark bulk
+ahead with all their eyes. Their own boat was dark, but directly
+lights flared out ahead.
+
+"There she goes to the top!" Jimmie cried.
+
+"And there," exclaimed Frank, "is a signal from Hans which shows that
+there's something doing with the prisoners!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+A BLUFF THAT DIDN'T WORK
+
+
+
+Leaving the prow, Ned hastened down a little passage and came out in
+the room where Hans sat, grinning, before a door behind which there
+was a great commotion. The pounding was incessant, and the voices of
+the prisoners came clearly through the solid panels.
+
+"Open!" cried the voice of Captain Moore. "There's danger ahead for
+you. Open the door."
+
+"Little he cares for our hides!" Jimmie commented. "If there was any
+danger he'd be the last one to warn us."
+
+"Just a crack," pleaded Moore. "Just a crack, and I'll tell you what
+you are facing."
+
+Ned opened the door a trifle and saw Moore's face there, looking
+almost frantic in the strong light.
+
+"Well?" Ned asked.
+
+"There's death for us all if you go ahead," the Captain declared.
+"Stop where you are."
+
+"Soh!" grunted the German.
+
+"Oh, I'm not pretending that I care for your rascally lives," Moore
+went on, vindictively. "I'd kill you all this moment if it lay in my
+power to do so. I'm thinking of my own safety."
+
+"Well?" repeated Ned. "What is it?"
+
+"The boat you are chasing has dynamite on board, and a tube gun. If
+you go nearer, she'll blow you out of the water."
+
+"That's cheerful," Jimmie grinned. "Why didn't she do it before?"
+
+"Probably because she thought to get away. I've been watching her
+through the little port and I know that she is now waiting for you to
+come up and receive a dynamite ball."
+
+"It strikes me," Ned replied, "that she is halting because her running
+gear is out of whack. She rammed us not long ago and got the worst of
+it."
+
+Captain Moore thrust his head close to the little opening between the
+casing and the door and almost screamed:
+
+"Do you mean that she is crippled so that she can't get away from
+you?"
+
+"I said that I thought she had injured herself in trying to destroy
+the Sea Lion," was the reply.
+
+"Well, even if she can't get away," the Captain went on, with a change
+of expression, "she can blow you out of the water."
+
+"We'll have to take our chances on that," Ned replied.
+
+After some further talk, the boy entered the room where the prisoners
+were and closed the door, leaving Hans on guard outside. Captain Moore
+frowned as he seated himself by the port.
+
+"It is bad enough to be confined here without being obliged to endure
+your company," he said.
+
+"What a snake you would have made!" commented Ned. "I never saw a
+fellow loaded to the guards with venom as you are. Will you answer a
+few questions?"
+
+"Depends on what they are," was the reply.
+
+"If they will aid you, you will answer them, eh?"
+
+"Of course."
+
+"And if they will assist me, you won't?"
+
+The Captain nodded.
+
+"All right," laughed Ned. "Suppose the correct answers would help us
+both? What then?"
+
+"Oh, what's the use of all this nagging?" demanded the son. "If you
+have anything to say, say it, and get out."
+
+"And you're a pretty good imitation of this other snake," Ned said,
+glancing at the young fellow. "If you interfere in the talk again I'll
+put you in the dungeon and forget to feed you."
+
+Captain Moore motioned to his son to remain quiet.
+
+"This cheap Bowery boy has the upper hand now," he said. "Wait until
+conditions are reversed."
+
+"Captain," began Ned, paying no attention to the venom of the other,
+"will you tell me what the packet that was rescued from the wreck by
+the pirates under your command contained?"
+
+"What packet?" demanded the Captain, surprise showing on his drawn
+features. "What packet do you refer to?"
+
+"The mysterious packet you came to this part of the world to obtain.
+You know very well what I mean."
+
+"We came, under contract, for the gold," was the reply.
+
+"Yet your boat went away and left most of it on the bottom after the
+packet was discovered."
+
+"She came to this harbor after supplies."
+
+"And neglected to secure them!"
+
+"Well, there was trouble with the trader."
+
+"You met a Shark man, on the island?"
+
+"Of course. I came here to meet him, to receive a report as to the
+success of the expedition."
+
+"You received such a report?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You were told that the gold had been found intact?"
+
+"That is not for discussion here."
+
+"You were astonished when your son did not make his appearance?"
+
+"Frankly, yes."
+
+"You expected that he would bring you the report?"
+
+"Yes; he was in charge of the Shark."
+
+"If he had been in charge when the man landed, he would have given you
+the packet?"
+
+"If he had had a packet, or anything else taken from the wreck, he
+would have turned it over to me."
+
+"But the man you met refused to do so?"
+
+"How do you know what took place?"
+
+"That is immaterial, so long as I do know. Tell, me, what was the
+difficulty at the store--money?"
+
+The Captain did not answer.
+
+"Now," Ned went on, "you stated a moment ago that you came here under
+contract to get the gold. Who are your principals?"
+
+No reply was received.
+
+"What will the man now in charge of the Shark do with the packet he
+refused to deliver to you?" was the next question.
+
+"He will transfer it to me as soon as we meet again."
+
+"You are sure of that?"
+
+"Reasonably sure."
+
+"Then what will you do with it?"
+
+"Anything given to me will be turned over to my principals."
+
+"But, suppose the contents of the packet are not favorable to your
+side of the case? Suppose they clear the United States Government of
+suspicion?"
+
+Captain Moore gave a quick start of amazement.
+
+"I don't know what you are talking about," he said.
+
+"In that case," Ned went on, "I presume you will destroy the papers?
+If you can't entangle the Government that fed you so long in some
+trouble, you won't play."
+
+"You've been reading some of the red-covered detective stories, and
+think you're a sleuth!" snarled the Captain.
+
+"You may as well tell me all about it," Ned urged.
+
+"I have told you all I know about the condition of the wreck."
+
+"And the packet?"
+
+"There was a long envelope, but I did not see what it contained."
+
+"Yet you came here to make sure that it should not get out of your
+hands unless it would aid you in your treachery?"
+
+The prisoner was silent.
+
+"Why didn't you obtain a knowledge of its contents?"
+
+"The man who held it refused to make delivery."
+
+"In other words, he demanded more money than you were authorized to
+pay him?"
+
+"I have nothing to say about that."
+
+"He took the packet back to the Shark?"
+
+"Of course."
+
+"And made an appointment to meet you at Hongkong?"
+
+"It does not matter to you what our arrangement is."
+
+"Oh, yes it does, for I'm telling you now that the appointment will
+never be kept."
+
+"You don't know what peril you are in this minute," snarled the other.
+"There are bombs under your keel now!"
+
+Ned did not like the tone of satisfaction in which the words were
+spoken. The Shark had passed slowly over the spot where the Sea Lion
+now lay, and torpedoes and bombs might have been laid.
+
+"Thank you for the hint," he finally said. "I'll go out and see about
+it."
+
+"When you want further information," frowned the Captain, with a
+scornful laugh, "come in and I'll give it to you--just as I have on
+this occasion."
+
+"No trouble to show goods!" broke in the son.
+
+Ned opened the door and motioned to Hans and Jack, who were just
+outside, watching and listening to such few words as came through the
+heavy panels of the door.
+
+"Take this impertinent young murderer to the den," he said, as Hans
+and Jack stepped up, "and leave him there in darkness. Don't feed him
+until I give the word."
+
+The young man's struggles only increased the violence which was used
+in his removal. The boys would have killed the man who had attempted
+the lives of all the crew if they had been directed to do so.
+
+Then Ned turned back to the Captain, now foaming with rage and calling
+to his son to remain docile until his turn should come.
+
+"You pride yourself on having put me off without any information
+whatever," the boy said. "You advise me to come again and meet with
+the same treatment. Now, let me tell you, for your information, that I
+came in here to get answers to only two questions."
+
+"Did you get them?"
+
+"Indeed I did," was the reply.
+
+The Captain looked disgusted.
+
+"What were they?" he asked.
+
+"I wanted to know if the man who landed from the Shark had the packet,
+and if he took it back on board with him. You gave me the information
+I sought. You even told me that the packet had not been opened when
+you saw it."
+
+The Captain stormed up and down the little room in a towering rage.
+
+"If I could turn a lever now and blow us all into eternity," he
+shouted, "I would do it!"
+
+"Your mind seems to run on blowing up somebody."
+
+Moore gritted his teeth and made no reply.
+
+Ned locked him in again and went out to Frank, who was in charge of
+the boat.
+
+"Get her over to the west a few yards," he said. "Our friend the
+Captain says the Shark is sowing torpedoes along here, and we can't
+afford to be blown up just now."
+
+"The Shark is at the surface now," Frank said. "Anybody on the
+bottom?"
+
+"Not so far as I can see, but it is pretty thick down here."
+
+"Why not go to the surface?" asked Jack.
+
+"Yes; she knows we are here, all right," Frank added.
+
+"Well, keep to the bottom until you change position, then come to the
+top and keep dark. Not a light in sight, understand, and the tower up
+just high enough to keep out the water."
+
+"What are you going to do?" asked Frank.
+
+"I want to get aboard the Shark," was the cool reply.
+
+"Yes; I see you doing it," Frank said.
+
+"I can only try," was the reply. "The boat is headed for Hongkong,
+where she is to deliver the packet we want. She is to deliver it to
+Captain Moore on the payment of a certain sum of money, but if the
+Captain is not there she will turn it over to whoever has the price.
+We can't allow that."
+
+"Of course not; but how are you going to get on board the Shark? If
+you don't watch out you'll be served as you served young Moore."
+
+"The minute the Shark strikes Hongkong," Ned replied, "we will have a
+thousand places to search for those papers. Before she lands, we have
+only one."
+
+"You are always right!" cried Frank. "When are you going to make the
+attempt?"
+
+"That depends. In the meantime, we must get to the surface and in a
+position where we cannot be seen. If she thinks we have gone away, so
+much the better."
+
+"I guess our little picnic isn't over with yet!" laughed Frank. "Are
+you going to take me on board with you?"
+
+"I'll be lucky if I can take myself on board," was the reply.
+
+By this time the Sea Lion was some distance from the Shark, and the
+hatch in the conning tower was open. It was a clear, starlit night,
+and there would be a moon later on.
+
+There seemed to be great confusion on board the Shark. The boat was
+brilliantly lighted, and the conning tower stood high above the water.
+The ports on the side toward the Sea Lion were open, as if to admit
+the pure, cool air of the night.
+
+"I believe there's something the matter with her air supply," Ned said
+to Frank as the two stood together on the tower. "The ramming she gave
+us must have done her a lot of mischief. Looks like she was stuck
+there until help comes."
+
+"The help she ought to have is right here," Frank replied. "I'd like
+to get that crew on board a man-of-war."
+
+"We have the real criminals," Ned replied.
+
+The boys watched the Shark for a long time. They could see people
+moving about on the inside, and occasionally a group assembled on the
+conning platform, which was much larger than that of the Sea Lion.
+
+"I believe some one is going down in a water suit," Ned said,
+presently. "The water chamber is on the other side, but she lists as
+if a weight was pulling at her."
+
+"Listen!" Frank cautioned. "There's the machinery working. That would
+be the lowering apparatus. Some one is going down, all right. Now,
+what for?"
+
+Ten minutes passed, and then the waters surged about the Sea Lion, and
+a great roar and rumble came with the waves which swept into the open
+hatch. The Shark, too, rocked on the crest of a great wave.
+
+"Dynamite below!" Ned said. "Will there be more than one?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+BAD FOR THE SEA CREATURES
+
+
+
+As Ned spoke there came another upheaval of water, and a louder roar
+from the sea. The Shark and the Sea Lion both swayed perilously. Ned
+and Frank closed their hatch and clung to the railing around the
+conning tower platform.
+
+"Those are torpedoes, all right," Frank said.
+
+"But I don't understand--"
+
+Ned cut the sentence short as a third reverberation came from beneath
+the water.
+
+"They think we are down there yet!" Frank said. "I wonder how the man
+who went down came to make such a mistake?"
+
+"Cheerful sort of people to fight!" Ned said. "Every man on that boat
+is a murderer at heart."
+
+A pounding on the under side of the hatch was now heard, and Jimmie's
+face showed when it was lifted.
+
+"Say," the little fellow said, "Captain Moore wants to speak to you,
+Ned. These here earthquake shocks have got him goin'. He acts like a
+crazy man."
+
+Ned paid no attention to the request.
+
+"He wants to say that he told me so," Ned said to Jimmie. "Go back and
+tell him that he ought not to be afraid of his friends on board the
+Shark."
+
+"Gee!" the little fellow replied. "If he don't behave himself, I'll
+turn the hose on him. He ought to have a salt water bath, anyway. For
+a long time he's been tryin' to give us one!"
+
+"Let him alone," Ned ordered.
+
+This second upheaval of the water had swung the Shark around so that
+the door to the water chamber was in view from the Sea Lion. The boys
+saw that it was open, probably left in that way for the return of the
+man who had gone down in the water suit.
+
+The light, shining from the main cabin, filtered through the chamber,
+which was, of course, under water, only a few inches of the conning
+tower of the submarine now being above the surface.
+
+"Can they shut that door from the cabin?" Frank asked.
+
+"I presume so," Ned replied. "They ought to be able to shut the door
+and empty the room as well."
+
+"That can't be done on the Sea Lion," Frank said.
+
+"No, but that is a detail that was overlooked in the construction of
+the boat. I was just learning to run the craft, and did not observe
+the deficiency."
+
+"Well," Frank went on, "they are closing the door, but they are not
+doing a good job at it. Say," he added, grasping Ned's arm, "I'll bet
+the machinery connecting with the door from the cabin is broken!"
+
+"Then the man who is down below will have to come up and do the
+opening after he gets up, and after he shuts the outer door and
+exhausts the water."
+
+"I don't believe the outer door can be closed."
+
+"What I'm interested in just now," Ned said, "is whether the diver is
+still alive. If he was anywhere near where the torpedoes exploded he
+is dead."
+
+"And the Shark can't close her water chamber! I see a chance, Ned,"
+Frank exclaimed. "Suppose I drop out and enter that water chamber?"
+
+"What for?" asked Ned.
+
+"Why, they would think I was the other fellow and let me in."
+
+"With your line and hose unconnected with the mechanism inside?" asked
+Ned.
+
+"Never thought of that."
+
+"The only way for us to get into that boat," Ned went on, "is to get
+in from the top."
+
+"But how?"
+
+"That's just what I'm trying to study out."
+
+"I presume the man who went down is there for good," Frank suggested.
+
+"He probably went down to see why the torpedoes didn't go off and got
+caught," Ned replied.
+
+"Perhaps the Shark will go down to see about it directly," the other
+ventured.
+
+"I hardly think she could lift again with that water chamber door open
+and the chamber full of water," Ned went on. "It is my opinion that
+they will remain on top."
+
+"I should think she'd be afraid of the traps she set for us, anyway. I
+wish she would get caught in one of them."
+
+"Not while she has that mysterious packet on board," smiled Ned. "We
+have traveled a long way to get that."
+
+No more submarine explosions came, and the boys sat on the dark
+conning tower until nearly midnight, watching the people on the Shark
+flying about, evidently laboring under great excitement.
+
+The diver had not returned. The machinery was evidently out of order
+and the Shark might as well have tied to the bottom for all the speed
+she could make.
+
+"I'm afraid some ship friendly to these pirates will come along," Ned
+said, after a long silence. "I think I'd better go aboard the Shark
+and find out what she intends doing."
+
+"I see you doing it!"
+
+"I can only try."
+
+"And try only once," Frank muttered.
+
+"I think they are ready for a compromise by this time."
+
+"Well, then, I'll go with you," Frank decided.
+
+"Get up the boat, then."
+
+Jack and Jimmie were not inclined to favor the scheme, but they
+assisted in launching the boat and stood with half-frightened faces
+while Ned and Frank stepped into her.
+
+Just as they were pushing off, Hans made his appearance on the little
+platform, his china-blue eyes filled with excitement.
+
+"Mine friendts," he said, "vot iss if I goes py the poat?"
+
+"No more room," said Frank.
+
+"Now, you hold on," Jimmie called out. "You know what sort of a left
+hand punch this baby has? Well, then, you may need him when you get
+over to the Shark. See?"
+
+"That might be," Frank muttered, looking inquiringly at Ned.
+
+"Then let him come along," the latter said, so Hans entered the boat
+and took up the oars. "Rows like a steam engine!" Jimmie observed as
+the boat sped away. "That Dutchman is stronger than a mule."
+
+It was still and lonely on the Sea Lion after the departure of the
+boys. The lights of the Shark were in sight, but they did not bring
+cheerful thoughts. The boys sat on the railing of the conning tower
+and waited in no little anxiety.
+
+Occasionally the pounding of the prisoners reached their ears, but
+they paid little attention to it.
+
+"They are suffering the tortures of the lost," Jack said. "Every
+minute they think they're going to the bottom. Let them take their
+medicine!"
+
+"I wish they were going to the bottom," Jimmie responded. "When we see
+snakes like they are we ought never to let them get away from us. If
+we don't get bitten, some one else will."
+
+Jack rested his chin on his palms and regarded the boy quizzically for
+a moment.
+
+"How do you like it, as far as you've got?" he asked, then.
+
+Jimmie looked down into the interior of the submarine, out over the
+sea, sparkling in the moonlight, then up to the heavens, bright with
+stars. Presently he answered:
+
+"I don't like it."
+
+"Why not?" "We ain't havin' any fun. We've been down in that old hold
+for a long time, and haven't got anywhere. I'd rather take a trip
+through South America, or through China. I want the ground under my
+feet part of the time, anyway."
+
+"It seems to me that it is getting stale and unprofitable," Jack
+admitted. "Suppose we get up power and drift up closer to the Shark.
+Then we can at least see what's going on."
+
+"All right, 'bo!" cried Jimmie, starting down the stairs.
+
+"Well," called Jack, "don't be in such a hurry! We want to make sure
+that Ned has attracted the attention of the Shark people before we
+move. If they see us moving up on them before Ned gets a chance to
+talk with them, they may do something rash to the boys."
+
+"Guess you are right," Jimmie admitted.
+
+"So far as I can see," Jack continued, "they are over there now. Do
+you hear that voice?"
+
+"Ned's, all right."
+
+The boys listened, but the voice came no more.
+
+"They've pulled him into the boat!" cried Jimmie. "Hurry up and get
+started!"
+
+When Jack went below to handle the motive power machinery he heard
+Captain Moore thumping on the door of his prison.
+
+"What do you want?" he demanded.
+
+"Come to the door."
+
+Jack did as requested, but did not open the door.
+
+"Now, what is it?" he asked.
+
+"Is that Nestor?"
+
+"It's Jack," was the reply.
+
+"Well, ask Nestor if he'll let both of us go if well give up the whole
+scheme. Will you?"
+
+"And the papers?"
+
+"I'll help him get the papers."
+
+"I'll tell him," said Jack.
+
+"Send for him at once," urged the Captain. "If we remain here much
+longer, we'll be blown out of water. You heard those explosions?"
+
+"They harmed no one but the sea creatures," Jack replied. "They were
+bad for them."
+
+"Where is Nestor?" was then asked.
+
+"Visiting on the Shark," was the reply.
+
+"If they've got him, he'll never come back," gritted the Captain.
+
+"But they haven't," said the boy. "We're going to run the Sea Lion
+over to the Shark now and help them entertain him."
+
+"You're a fool!" roared Moore. "Don't you tell them that we are on
+board--my son and myself."
+
+"Don't they know it?"
+
+"How should they know it? Don't you tell them. If you do they will
+raid your ship and get us."
+
+"So you've been playing some dirty trick on them, have you?" asked
+Jack. "Well, what about your meeting them at Hongkong?"
+
+"That was a lie."
+
+"You are out with them?"
+
+"They are out with me. They claim I am keeping them out of a lot of
+money. Don't tell them I am here."
+
+"In all your life"--asked Jack--"in all your life, did you ever do
+business with any man, woman, or child you didn't cheat and betray?
+You ought to be hanged."
+
+"If Nestor comes back, you send him here and I'll tell him the whole
+story if he'll let us go. And I'll tell him how to get the papers he
+is after. Will you see that he comes--if he gets back?"
+
+"I think it would do you more good," laughed Jack, "to have a talk
+with the people on the Shark."
+
+Ignoring the prisoner's further demands, Jack turned on the power and
+directed the Sea Lion toward the Shark. In a moment Jimmie called down
+through the hatchway:
+
+"Slow up, now, unless you want to bunt the other boat."
+
+Jack, accordingly, shut off the power and went up to the platform. The
+boat was still drifting ahead a trifle, and the boy went below again
+and dropped an anchor.
+
+If the advance of the submarine had attracted the attention of those
+on the Shark's conning tower they gave no evidence of the fact. The
+boat Ned had taken lay swinging on the easy sea close to the tower,
+with Frank and Hans sitting near the stern.
+
+Directly voices came from the other submarine. The first speaker was
+Ned, then a heavier voice exclaimed, angrily:
+
+"You have no right to suppose anything of the kind. We are here on
+legitimate business, and must not be interfered with."
+
+"What did you take from the wreck?" asked Ned.
+
+"What is it to you?" came the stronger voice. "You can't make any
+bluff work with me."
+
+"Then I may as well go back to my ship," Ned said.
+
+"Go back to your ship!" snapped the other. "Not if I know myself. You
+have come aboard without leave or license, and you'll stay until we
+get good and ready to let you go."
+
+The boys saw Hans and Frank spring for the platform, and then a shout
+of triumph came from half a dozen throats. Ned surely was in trouble.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+"MAKING A GOOD JOB OF IT."
+
+
+
+"I guess they've got Ned!" Jimmie cried, as the heavy hatch of the
+Shark closed with a slam. "If they have, we'll ram 'em to the bottom."
+
+"You just wait!" Jack advised. "There's a good deal of a racket going
+on over there. I guess Hans is putting his educated left into motion.
+Look at him!"
+
+There was indeed a great commotion on the platform. Presently the
+hatch was lifted and one of the contestants disappeared.
+
+"Do you mind that, now!" shouted Jimmie. "Ned has captured the boat
+for keeps! There! Now he's tellin' them where to head in at!"
+
+Through the still night air they heard Ned's voice:
+
+"You people down there know what I am here for. If the thing I want is
+destroyed you'll all be hanged for piracy. Understand?"
+
+Then the hatch was jammed down again, and Ned and Frank stepped into
+the rowboat, leaving Hans on the platform. Jimmie threw up his cap
+when the two boys stepped on the Sea Lion's platform.
+
+"You captured the bunch!" he yelled, "and you stole the boat. You sure
+made a good job of it."
+
+"What's the proposition?" asked Jack.
+
+"I thought I'd tow the old tub into a port where I can communicate
+with an American man-of-war," replied Ned.
+
+"This is luck!" Frank exclaimed. "Luck for us, and trouble for the
+pirates. I wonder if they've got much gold on board."
+
+"If they have," laughed Ned, "Hans will see that they don't get away
+with it. They're nailed down hard."
+
+"Talk about the luck of the British army!" roared Jack. "It is blind
+adversity to the luck of the Boy Scouts! Here we've got the pirates
+bunched! As soon as we communicate with a man-of-war, we'll turn 'em
+over to Uncle Sam and go back and get the gold."
+
+"The Shark," Frank observed, "was a derelict when we picked her up,
+wasn't she? She couldn't move a foot. Well, then, we're entitled to
+salvage. We'll put in a bill that will eat up the whole business!"
+
+"If we get her into port," Ned replied. "The old tub is in bad shape
+owing to the bunting she gave the Sea Lion. I'm afraid she'll go down
+before morning."
+
+"Cripes!" Jimmie broke out. "What will we do, then, with all them
+bold, bad men? We've got our penitentiary full now!"
+
+"And the prisoners are making all kinds of trouble, too," Jack added.
+"If the door wasn't good and strong, it'd be in splinters by this
+time. That young Moore is the worst."
+
+"We won't cross any bridges until we come to them," Ned remarked. "The
+Shark may last until we get to Hongkong. Anyway, I'm counting on quite
+a run before she goes down."
+
+"How many are there on board?" asked Jack.
+
+"Six, not counting Hans. I think we can accommodate them all on board
+the Sea Lion, if we have to."
+
+The Sea Lion towed the Shark all through the night, keeping to an
+easterly direction with the idea of going to Hongkong, something over
+150 miles away. All along the eastern coast of Kwang Tung, from the
+slender peninsula which separates the Gulf of Tongking from the China
+Sea to the bay which penetrates almost to Canton, there is a
+succession of little islands, so the submarine and her prize were
+always in sight of land.
+
+Just at dawn there came a cry from the platform of the Shark, and Hans
+was discovered waving his cap excitedly in the air.
+
+"Vater! Vater!" he cried. "Dis iss droubles! Make us off dis
+durdle--gwick!"
+
+"Sinking?" Ned called back.
+
+Further talk with the German informed Ned that water was seeping into
+the different compartments of the Shark, and that the inmates were
+already perched on tables and on the stairs leading to the platform.
+
+The boy attached the towing cable to a windlass on the platform of the
+Sea Lion, turned on the power, and the sinking craft soon lay
+alongside. She was indeed in a bad predicament. Another half hour
+would see the last of her.
+
+"Now," Ned said, "we don't know what those fellows will try to do when
+the hatch is lifted. I've known snakes to sting the hand that fed and
+warmed them. Anyway, we'll take no chances."
+
+Following his orders, the boys got out their automatic revolvers and
+ranged themselves on the platform. Then Ned lowered the rowboat,
+making a bridge between the two. The hulls of the boats met under
+water, but the platforms, owing to the bulge, were some little
+distance apart. The railings of the conning towers were not much above
+the surface.
+
+His arrangements for securing the prisoners without trouble completed,
+Ned went over to the Shark and lifted the hatch. He was greeted with a
+chorus of threats, supplications, and questions.
+
+"You'll get yours for sinking the Shark!" one shouted.
+
+"For God's sake let us out; we are drowning!" whined another.
+
+"What's the matter with the boat?" asked a third.
+
+"Listen," Ned said. "The Shark may go down in ten minutes, or she may
+float, under tow, for a long time. Anyway, you are better out of her.
+I'll take you all out if you promise to behave yourselves. Come out of
+the hatch one at a time and be searched for weapons. The man that
+carries a weapon of any kind on his person will be thrown back, to
+feed the fish. Do you understand?"
+
+They understood, and not even a penknife was found when search was
+made. Five of the rescued ones were plain seamen, with little
+knowledge of submarine work. The other was the captain of the Shark.
+Under the direction of young Moore he had attempted to make off with
+everything of value on the wreck, including the papers.
+
+This man was a fair type of marine officer, had, in fact, resigned
+from the United States service with Captain Moore. He was by no means
+an ill-looking man, but his snaky eyes and treacherous mouth told Ned
+to look out for him.
+
+He came out of the hatch last and was stepping onto the rowboat when
+Ned stopped him with a question:
+
+"Where are the papers?"
+
+"What papers?" snarled the other, Babcock by name.
+
+"The papers you took from the wreck."
+
+"They are below, soaked with water."
+
+"Get them!"
+
+"But--"
+
+"Get them! Quick!"
+
+"But they are afloat, and--"
+
+"Get them!"
+
+Babcock went down the staircase with murder in his eyes. He returned,
+in a moment, with a sealed packet, which was perfectly dry. Ned broke
+the seal and glanced at the sheets inside.
+
+The one which met his eyes first was headed:
+
+"General instructions, to be opened only when the demand for the coin
+is made."
+
+"Now" Ned went on," where are your sailing orders?"
+
+"Lost!" was the reply.
+
+"Get them!" Ned said, quietly.
+
+"They are--"
+
+"Get them," came again from the boy's lips.
+
+Again Babcock went into the submarine, now rapidly filling with water.
+He returned dripping with sea water, holding in his hand a water-tight
+tin box which was secured by a brass padlock.
+
+"You now have everything I held concerning the mission of the boat and
+the disposition of the gold," he said. "I suppose I may get out of the
+water now?"
+
+Ned stepped aside and Babcock passed over to the Sea Lion. Ned
+attached a buoy to the tower of the Shark and cut loose from her.
+
+"We'll let some of Uncle Sam's boats pick her up," he said. "I'm for
+Hongkong with these papers."
+
+The five sailors were not locked up, but were given the run of the
+cabin, the machine room only being closed against them.
+
+"I'm not going to have them mixing things down here," Jack, who was in
+charge that day, said.
+
+Babcock, however, was locked up with Captain Moore. When the door
+closed on the two men the boys heard them both talking at the same
+time, and their language was not at all complimentary to each other.
+
+"You're a blackmailer!" Moore yelled.
+
+"You're a liar!" was the reply.
+
+"Fight it out!" Jimmie shouted from the door.
+
+"Get to going and see who's to blame for this!"
+
+Then the voices quieted down, and no more words were heard.
+
+"Did you hear what they called each other?" asked Jack. "Well, I'm
+betting they are both right."
+
+Ned went to his cabin and opened the tin box. He lingered over what he
+found there until noon and then called Frank into conference with him.
+
+"There's a plot which involves officers at Canton," he said, "and we
+may as well bag the whole bunch."
+
+"Of course. We ought to make a good job of it, as Jimmie says."
+
+Ned examined his map and called Frank over to the table where it was
+spread out.
+
+"If we go to Canton," he said, "we'll have to run into the lake-like
+mouth of the Si River. Guess that's its name. It looks dim on the map.
+Fifty miles to the north the little stream on which Canton is situated
+runs into the larger stream.
+
+"We can run to that point and leave the Sea Lion while we go to
+Canton. I guess the prisoners won't object to a few days more of
+imprisonment. Anyway, we may meet a ship we can turn them over to."
+
+"They are objecting, right now, it seems," cried Frank, opening the
+door and looking out into the main cabin. "Hans is sitting on one of
+the sailors and Jack and Jimmie are holding the others back with their
+automatics."
+
+Both boys leaped out. The sailors, doubtless alarmed at the arrival of
+the leaders, sprang for the hatchway. The boys did not fire at them as
+they passed, and directly splashes in the sea told those on the stairs
+that the sailors had leaped into the water.
+
+Hans arose, scratching his head, and looked down on the man he had
+been sitting on. The fellow looked up into the lad's face with a queer
+expression in his eyes.
+
+"Vot iss?" demanded Hans. "Go py the odders if you schoose! Py
+schimminy, dose shark haf one feast!"
+
+"Not on your life!" cried the prisoner. "I'm not anxious to get away.
+I was shanghaied on the Shark, and it's glad I am to be out of that
+bum crowd."
+
+Jimmie, who had followed the sailors to the platform, now came back
+with the information that three of them had been picked up by a native
+canoe which had now disappeared from sight in a group of islands. The
+other, he said, had gone down.
+
+"How much do those sailors know?" asked Ned of the man Hans had taken
+prisoner.
+
+"They know a lot," was the reply. "They were all in together. What one
+knew, all knew, I guess. It is too bad they got away, for they had a
+definite plan to operate if there was trouble and any got away. They
+will lay in wait for you when you land."
+
+"They'll have to travel fast if they do!" Frank laughed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+ON THE EDGE OF DISASTER
+
+
+
+The Si River is not a river at all where its waters flow into the
+China Sea. It is a wide, salt-water inlet, a bay, a great delta, like
+that of the Amazon. This great bay is miles in width in places and
+extends at least fifty miles into the interior.
+
+Almost at the end, it is joined by a narrow little stream upon which
+Canton, the capital city of Kwang Tung, is situated. The city is
+something less than fifteen miles from the mouth of the river upon
+which it stands.
+
+It was for Canton that the boys were headed. Some of the papers Ned
+had found in the private box of Captain Babcock made reference to a
+place of meeting there which the boy desired to investigate. He was
+now convinced that the plot against the Government had been a vicious
+one, backed by people of influence and standing in the world of
+diplomacy. It would bring the case on which he was working to a very
+satisfactory finish if he could include in his report the story of a
+meeting of the conspirators.
+
+While the boy sat alone on the platform of the conning tower that
+evening the sailor who had remained on board the Sea Lion at the time
+of the escape of the others came to him. The fellow was an American,
+and seemed to be honest in his desire to assist Ned.
+
+"The men who escaped," he said, "will not lose track of the Sea Lion.
+There are men on shore who will send the news of what has taken place
+on faster than you can travel. Wherever you go they will be waiting
+for you, and they are a bad lot."
+
+"They have plenty of money behind them, I presume?" asked Ned.
+
+"They appear to have," was the reply.
+
+"Especially with the prospect of the loot from the wreck in mind," Ned
+suggested.
+
+"They didn't get much gold out of the wreck," explained the other.
+"They pulled the yellow boys out until they came to the sealed parcel,
+and then they made off."
+
+"They knew that we were on the ground, watching them?"
+
+"Oh, yes, but they had a plan for getting rid of you."
+
+"The plan young Moore attempted to carry out?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"That meant murder?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Ned was silent for a moment, thinking gratefully of the
+resourcefulness of the ex-newsboy. To this they all doubtless owed
+their lives. He promised himself that the lad should be properly
+remembered when the time of settlement with the Government came.
+
+"Do you know where the conspirators are to meet at Hongkong?" he then
+asked.
+
+"At Canton, I said," answered the other, with a twinkle in his eyes.
+"You thought to trip me?" he asked.
+
+Ned, in turn, smiled quietly. He had indeed been testing the man.
+
+"Well," he added, "do you know where they are to meet at Canton?"
+
+"Oh, I heard the name of the street, but it sounded more like the
+clatter of falling crockery than a name, so I don't remember it."
+
+"Perhaps a landmark was mentioned?"
+
+"Yes, come to think of it, there was. The place of meeting is in the
+rear of a curio shop next door to an English chop house. That ought to
+be easy to find."
+
+The visit to Canton promised to be a dangerous one, especially as the
+men who had escaped would send on word of what had taken place on the
+Shark. The fellows had been picked up by natives in canoes, and were
+probably at that time on the main land, within reach of a telegraph
+wire, or some other means of communication with Canton.
+
+While the boy studied over the matter Frank came on the platform and
+the seaman went below. Ned laid the proposition before the newcomer.
+
+"Well," Frank said, "you have the papers, you have the private orders
+of Captain Babcock, of the Shark, and you have the two main rascals,
+Captain Moore and his precious son. What more do you want?"
+
+"I want the foreigner who put up the job."
+
+"That does seem worth while," Frank mused.
+
+"It's this way," Ned went on. "The sealed packet doubtless contains
+instruction to one of the revolutionary leaders regarding the
+disposition of the money. You see, they were sure the rebels would be
+on hand to grab the shipment as soon as it left the ship. The loss was
+to fall on the Chinese government and the revolutionists were to
+profit by it.
+
+"The instructions make it look mighty bad for our Government, for the
+gold was drawn directly from the subtreasury the day it was shipped.
+It looked as if we were plotting against a friendly government."
+
+"I see."
+
+"But some one leaked. The story of the shipment got out, and the
+vessel was rammed one night by a steamer which has never been
+identified. The idea, of course, was to prevent the revolutionists
+getting the money, without telling what was known, or bringing the
+nation which butted into the case into prominence at all."
+
+"Then some nation friendly to the Emperor of China did that?"
+
+"I don't know. Anyway, the nation that did it bribed Captain Moore and
+Captain Babcock to get the gold--and to recover the sealed packet.
+With this in their hands, they might have made Uncle Sam a great deal
+of trouble."
+
+"I understand, and now you want to get the men who conspired with the
+Moores and Captain Babcock?"
+
+"That's the idea, not so much in the hope of bringing them to
+punishment as to locate the source of their inspiration."
+
+"Then, I reckon well have to go to Canton," Frank remarked. "We'll see
+the town then, anyway."
+
+The boy remained silent for a moment and then asked:
+
+"What can you do to the chief conspirators if you catch them?"
+
+"Nothing. I can only file my report with the government and drop out
+of the case."
+
+"And the Moores and Babcock?"
+
+"I'll turn them over to the first American man-of-war I meet."
+
+"And then go back after the gold?"
+
+"That depends on instructions."
+
+"That's the difficulty of working on diplomacy cases," said Frank. "We
+have to take all manner of risks, and then, sometimes, see the real
+rascals get off free--on account of international complications. I'd
+like to work on a real old detective case on the Bowery."
+
+Ned laughed softly but made no reply.
+
+The Sea Lion made slow time, for the crippled Shark--which still
+floated--rolled and tumbled heavily--in her wake and the sea was
+rougher than it had been before for many days. At last, however, she
+entered the long inlet leading up to Canton and cast anchor.
+
+"Ever been in these waters?" Ned asked of the American sailor.
+
+"Sure," was the reply. "That is why they shanghaied me in San
+Francisco."
+
+"How far can I go up?"
+
+"Clear to the mouth of the river."
+
+Proceeding leisurely, the Sea Lion passed up the inlet. It was early
+morning when she came to the mouth of the river. They had passed many
+vessels on the way, some native, some foreign, but had not been
+molested, though many curious eyes were turned toward the tow and the
+odd-shaped craft doing the pulling.
+
+When anchor was cast in a little bay at the mouth--a quiet little
+stretch of water sheltered by old warehouses which had been erected
+years before by native traders--Jack came running up the stairs to
+meet Ned.
+
+"Captain Moore," he said, "is weeping himself to death for lack of
+your sweet society. He's all running out under the door!"
+
+"Jack," Ned laughed, "if your imagination wasn't too strong, you'd do
+well writing fiction. As it is it is so strong that anything you might
+put on paper would not be believable. Anyway, I'll go and see what the
+Captain has on his mind."
+
+Captain Moore had fear on his mind. Ned saw that the second the door
+was open. His face was white as paper and his eyes roved about like
+those of a madman. "You are going on to Canton?" the Captain asked, in
+a trembling tone of voice.
+
+"I was thinking of it," Ned answered.
+
+"When?"
+
+"To-night."
+
+"And leave the submarine here?"
+
+"If I could take her with me," smiled Ned, "I would do so, but I'm
+afraid I can't."
+
+"This is no joking matter," snapped Moore.
+
+"I knew you would begin to look at the matter in that light before you
+had done with it."
+
+"You are going to the chop house in Canton?"
+
+"I hope to be able to find it."
+
+"Alone?"
+
+"Of course not."
+
+"Well," the Captain added, wiping his dry lips with the back of his
+hand, "do you know what will happen to the Sea Lion while you are
+gone?"
+
+"Nothing serious, I hope."
+
+"She will be blown up, and me with it!" almost screamed the Captain.
+"The power that is handling this matter would do more than that to get
+the papers you have secured out of the way, and to get rid of Babcock,
+my son, and myself."
+
+"They seek to murder you?"
+
+"I believe it."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"For two reasons. We know too much, and we failed."
+
+"You haven't named the power," suggested Ned.
+
+"I am unable to do so. I don't know. I have done all my work with a
+go-between."
+
+"I see," Ned said.
+
+"If you must go to Canton," the Captain went on, "first turn us over
+to the authorities here--to the American consul, if you please."
+
+"That would protect the boat?"
+
+"It would protect us."
+
+"For the present, yes."
+
+"And take the papers with you!"
+
+"Why?" laughed Ned, thoroughly amused.
+
+"Because that will draw the search off the boat."
+
+"Then you believe that I shall be watched and followed?"
+
+"Yes, and killed."
+
+"You're a cheerful sort of fellow!" laughed Ned.
+
+Jimmie now came to the door and announced a warship flying an American
+flag.
+
+"She's signaling you," he added.
+
+Ned was pretty glad to see the ship come to a halt lower down the
+inlet. She was not a large vessel, but she looked as big to Ned as all
+Manhattan island.
+
+In an hour he was on board the ship, in earnest conversation with the
+captain, who had been ordered by cable to look the Sea Lion up and
+report to Ned. In another hour the prisoners were on board the
+warship, and the Sea Lion was anchored under her guns.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+AN ENDING AND A BEGINNING
+
+
+
+Captain Harmon, of the warship Union, was a brave and capable officer.
+He understood at once the necessity for the trip to Canton. The
+conspirators must be identified. The United States Government must be
+informed as to the foreign power which had so nosed into her affairs.
+
+"The power that is doing this," the Captain said, "will resort to
+other tricks when this one fails. We want to know who she is. On the
+whole, I think, I'll go to Canton with you--with your permission, of
+course."
+
+"That's kind of you," Ned replied, pleased at the offer. "I can leave
+three of the boys on the Sea Lion and take one with me. I should be
+lost without that little rascal from the Bowery."
+
+"And I'll send a file of marines on board the Sea Lion," the captain
+continued. "That will make all safe there. Now, about the papers. You
+have the packet?"
+
+"Yes, of course."
+
+"What does it contain?"
+
+"Instructions which show the hand of private parties only. They
+completely exonerate our Government."
+
+"And the other parties?"
+
+"I regret that I must not mention names, sir."
+
+"Very well," laughed the Captain. "You have performed your mission
+well. The slanders must now cease. But one thing more remains to be
+done--the meddling nation must be identified, as I have already said.
+We must go to Canton."
+
+And so, leaving the Moores and Babcock safely locked in the den on
+board the Union and the important papers secure in the Captain's safe,
+Ned, accompanied by the Captain and Jimmie, set out for Canton by
+boat. The way was not long, and they arrived at noon, an early start
+having been secured.
+
+Ned was entirely at sea in the city, but Captain Harmon had been there
+a number of times, and the English chop house was soon found. Next
+door to it was the curio shop mentioned to Ned.
+
+The three lounged about the chop house nearly all the afternoon. The
+Captain was in plain clothes, and the trio seemed to be foreigners
+waiting for friends to come. After a long time Ned saw a man pass the
+chop house and turn into the curio shop who did not seem to be a
+Chinaman.
+
+"Jimmie," he said to the little fellow, "suppose you go in there and
+buy a dragon, or a silk coat, or a tin elephant. Anything to give you
+a notion as to what is going on in the shop." The lad was off in a
+moment, and then the Captain turned to Ned.
+
+"Why did you send the boy?" he asked.
+
+"Because we may both be wanted outside," was the reply.
+
+"You mean that others may come--others who should be followed and
+observed?"
+
+"That's the idea," Ned replied.
+
+Directly two more men, evidently not Chinamen, passed into the shop,
+then Jimmie came running out.
+
+"They're going into a back room," he said.
+
+Ned strolled into the shop, and in a moment the Captain followed.
+Jimmie remained at the door.
+
+The two worked gradually back to the door of the rear room, and Ned
+"accidentally" leaned against it. It was locked. With the impact of
+the boy's shoulder against the panels came a scraping of chairs on the
+floor of the room beyond.
+
+"You've stirred them up," whispered the Captain.
+
+Then some one called from the inside.
+
+"What do you want?"
+
+"A word with you," Ned replied.
+
+The shopkeeper now drew near and motioned the two away. When they did
+not obey he motioned toward the street, as if threatening to call
+assistance.
+
+"Who is it?" was now asked.
+
+"A messenger from Captain Henry Moore and his son," Ned answered, with
+a smile at the Captain.
+
+There was a long pause inside.
+
+"Where is he?" was asked.
+
+"A prisoner. He wished me to come here."
+
+Then the door was opened a trifle and the two saw inside. The
+shopkeeper, thinking that all was well, went back to the front of the
+shop.
+
+When the door swung open both Ned and the Captain threw themselves
+against it. It went back against the wall with a bang, and the two
+nearly fell to the floor.
+
+When they straightened up again they saw a servant standing between
+them and the still open doorway. At a round table in the back end of
+the apartment were three men--all Europeans.
+
+Ned stepped forward to address them, but Captain Harmon drew him back
+and motioned toward the door.
+
+"What do you want?" one of the three asked, in English. "Why this
+intrusion?"
+
+Then Ned observed the face of the speaker, for the light was strong
+upon it. It was a face he had often seen pictured in reports of
+diplomatic cases. It was the face of one of the keenest diplomats in
+the world.
+
+"I come from Captain Moore," Ned said, almost trembling at the thought
+of standing in the presence of the powerful man who had spoken.
+
+"Can you send him here?" was asked.
+
+"I'll try," was the reply.
+
+"Who is your friend?" asked the other, pointing to Captain Harmon.
+
+Ned turned toward the Captain and was amazed at the change which had
+taken place in his friend's appearance. The erect naval officer was no
+longer at his side. Instead, a shambling, bent figure stood there,
+with face bent to the floor.
+
+"A seaman who is on sick leave," Ned replied.
+
+"Well, step outside while we consider what to do in the matter," said
+the diplomat. "Chang!" he called.
+
+The shopkeeper appeared at the door.
+
+"Watch these fellows," came the orders. "Watch them, understand!"
+
+The words were spoken in French, a language which Ned understood
+something of. The boy glanced keenly toward the man who had answered
+to the name of Chang. He decided that he was not a Chinaman.
+
+The three stepped out into the shop together, Ned watching the seeming
+Chinaman closely. It was his idea that the fellow would give a signal
+which would call a score or more of mercenaries to his assistance. He
+believed that it was not the intention of the men in the rear room to
+let them leave the place.
+
+When the three neared the center of the shop the alleged Chinaman
+lifted a whistle to his lips, as if about to signal. Ned snatched the
+whistle away and seized the fellow by the throat.
+
+"Now, Captain," he whispered.
+
+The Captain, now his old self, sprang forward and the shopkeeper was
+soon tied fast, gagged, and laid behind one of the counters. Then the
+two walked calmly out of the place.
+
+Jimmie paused long enough to lean over the counter and make a face at
+the prisoner, then followed on.
+
+"You know the truth now?" asked Ned, as the two stopped on a street
+corner not far away.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"The name of the meddlesome power is no longer a mystery?"
+
+"Yes, I understand that, but what are we to do?"
+
+"Make our report."
+
+"Then you think the case is closed?" asked the Captain.
+
+"Well," replied Ned, "we have all the documents, and we have the name
+of the diplomat who was waiting for Moore. What more do you want?"
+
+"Rather a clean job of it," mused the Captain. "I wonder what the
+Washington people will say when the papers are laid before them; with
+the name of the man Moore was doing business with?"
+
+"What will be done about it?"
+
+"Nothing. All Uncle Sam can do is to block such games."
+
+"And the Moores and Babcock?"
+
+"They may be punished for attempting to wreck the Sea Lion."
+
+"I don't like diplomatic cases," Ned said. "The rascals usually get
+free of punishment."
+
+"Well," Captain Moore said, "suppose we go on board the Union while we
+can. As soon as the alleged shopkeeper is found behind the counter,
+there will be the dickens to pay. They will know that the identity of
+the big gun has been established, and every attempt to murder us will
+be made."
+
+"You think the man knew you?" asked Ned.
+
+"I don't know. You noticed how I changed my attitude all I could when
+he looked at me. I rather fancied he saw something military about me
+before that."
+
+"Then we may as well go aboard," Ned said.
+
+"You have made a wonderful success of the mission," the Captain said,
+that night. "You have done everything expected of you and more. Has it
+been easy?"
+
+"Well," was the reply, "we have been kept busy!"
+
+The Captain laughed and pointed to the shore of the inlet in which the
+Union lay.
+
+"There are people who want to come aboard!" he said. "See the
+commotion on shore?"
+
+"Shall you permit them to board?"
+
+"Decidedly not. I have cabled to Washington for instructions. Until
+they arrive I shall keep everybody off the boat."
+
+"That listens good to me," Ned said.
+
+Boats which seemed to have no business there prowled around the
+warship all night, and once a sneak was caught hanging to the forward
+chains. However, no one succeeded in getting aboard.
+
+In the morning the Captain came to Ned's cabin with a number of
+cablegrams, all from Washington.
+
+"I have orders for you," he said.
+
+Ned yawned and shook his head.
+
+"Not for a submarine trip," he said.
+
+"I am going north," the Captain said, "north through the China Sea,
+into the Yellow Sea, and so on to the Gulf of Pechili. Do you know
+where that is?"
+
+"It is the highway to Peking," laughed Ned. "I hope you are not going
+there."
+
+"Sure, and you are going with me."
+
+"What for?" asked the boy.
+
+"To find the two men who sat at the table with the diplomat at
+Canton," was the reply. "The Government wants them."
+
+"We might have taken them, a few hours ago," mused Ned.
+
+"Doubtful," said the Captain. "Besides, there is other work for you in
+the Imperial City. Your friends are going with us, and the Sea Lion is
+to be left here."
+
+"And the prisoners?"
+
+"They remain on board. In fact, the Government has a surprise for the
+conspirators. We may want Babcock and the Moores at Peking."
+
+"And you'll send the papers to Washington?"
+
+"Yes. Write your report, briefly, for they now know a lot about the
+wonderful success you have had."
+
+"But how are we to get from the coast to Peking?" asked Ned. "It is
+quite a trip, and the diplomats will be after us."
+
+"Motorcycles have been provided," was the reply, "and a flying
+squadron of my boys will go with you."
+
+"Whoopee!" yelled Jimmie, who entered the cabin just in time to hear
+the latter part of the talk. "Me for the Chink land! I'll go and tell
+Frank and Jack."
+
+The boy dashed off, and all preparations for the trip were made.
+
+That night the Union sailed out of the China Sea. The case of the
+missing papers was closed. The gold was still at the bottom of the
+sea, but that was not Ned's fault. He had followed orders. However,
+the gold could be taken out at any time. The discovery of the men who
+had conspired with the famous diplomat could not wait.
+
+What the boys did, the luck they had, and the adventures they met
+with, on the way from the coast to the Imperial City, will be told in
+the next volume of this series, "Boy Scouts on Motorcycles; or, With
+the Flying Squadron."
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, BOY SCOUTS IN A SUBMARINE ***
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