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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 949 ***
+
+
+
+
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS SUBMARINE BOAT
+
+or
+
+Under the Ocean for Sunken Treasure
+
+
+by
+
+VICTOR APPLETON
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+     I  News of a Treasure Wreck
+    II  Finishing the Submarine
+   III  Mr. Berg Is Astonished
+    IV  Tom Is Imprisoned
+     V  Mr. Berg Is Suspicious
+    VI  Turning the Tables
+   VII  Mr. Damon Will Go
+  VIII  Another Treasure Expedition
+    IX  Captain Weston's Advent
+     X  Trial of the Submarine
+    XI  On the Ocean Bed
+   XII  For a Breath of Air
+  XIII  Off for the Treasure
+   XIV  In the Diving Suits
+    XV  At the Tropical Island
+   XVI  "We'll Race You For It!"
+  XVII  The Race
+ XVIII  The Electric Gun
+   XIX  Captured
+    XX  Doomed to Death
+   XXI  The Escape
+  XXII  At the Wreck
+ XXIII  Attacked by Sharks
+  XXIV  Ramming the Wreck
+   XXV  Home with the Gold
+
+
+
+
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS SUBMARINE BOAT
+
+
+
+
+Chapter One
+
+News of a Treasure Wreck
+
+
+There was a rushing, whizzing, throbbing noise in the air.  A great
+body, like that of some immense bird, sailed along, casting a grotesque
+shadow on the ground below.  An elderly man, who was seated on the
+porch of a large house, started to his feet in alarm.
+
+"Gracious goodness! What was that, Mrs. Baggert?" he called to a
+motherly-looking woman who stood in the doorway.  "What happened?"
+
+"Nothing much, Mr. Swift," was the calm reply "I think that was Tom and
+Mr. Sharp in their airship, that's all. I didn't see it, but the noise
+sounded like that of the Red Cloud."
+
+"Of course! To be sure!" exclaimed Mr. Barton Swift, the well-known
+inventor, as he started down the path in order to get a good view of
+the air, unobstructed by the trees. "Yes, there they are," he added.
+"That's the airship, but I didn't expect them back so soon. They must
+have made good time from Shopton. I wonder if anything can be the
+matter that they hurried so?"
+
+He gazed aloft toward where a queerly-shaped machine was circling about
+nearly five hundred feet in the air, for the craft, after swooping down
+close to the house, had ascended and was now hovering just above the
+line of breakers that marked the New Jersey seacoast, where Mr. Swift
+had taken up a temporary residence.
+
+"Don't begin worrying, Mr. Swift," advised Mrs. Baggert, the
+housekeeper. "You've got too much to do, if you get that new boat done,
+to worry."
+
+"That's so. I must not worry. But I wish Tom and Mr. Sharp would land,
+for I want to talk to them."
+
+As if the occupants of the airship had heard the words of the aged
+inventor, they headed their craft toward earth. The combined aeroplane
+and dirigible balloon, a most wonderful traveler of the air, swung
+around, and then, with the deflection rudders slanted downward, came on
+with a rush.  When near the landing place, just at the side of the
+house, the motor was stopped, and the gas, with a hissing noise, rushed
+into the red aluminum container. This immediately made the ship more
+buoyant and it landed almost as gently as a feather.
+
+No sooner had the wheels which formed the lower part of the craft
+touched the ground than there leaped from the cabin of the Red Cloud a
+young man.
+
+"Well, dad!" he exclaimed. "Here we are again, safe and sound. Made a
+record, too. Touched ninety miles an hour at times--didn't we, Mr.
+Sharp?"
+
+"That's what," agreed a tall, thin, dark-complexioned man, who followed
+Tom Swift more leisurely in his exit from the cabin. Mr. Sharp, a
+veteran aeronaut, stopped to fasten guy ropes from the airship to
+strong stakes driven into the ground.
+
+"And we'd have done better, only we struck a hard wind against us about
+two miles up in the air, which delayed us," went on Tom. "Did you hear
+us coming, dad?"
+
+"Yes, and it startled him," put in Mrs. Baggert. "I guess he wasn't
+expecting you."
+
+"Oh, well, I shouldn't have been so alarmed, only I was thinking deeply
+about a certain change I am going to make in the submarine, Tom. I was
+day-dreaming, I think, when your ship whizzed through the air. But tell
+me, did you find everything all right at Shopton? No signs of any of
+those scoundrels of the Happy Harry gang having been around?" and Mr.
+Swift looked anxiously at his son.
+
+"Not a sign, dad," replied Tom quickly. "Everything was all right. We
+brought the things you wanted. They're in the airship. Oh, but it was a
+fine trip. I'd like to take another right out to sea."
+
+"Not now, Tom," said his father. "I want you to help me.  And I need
+Mr. Sharp's help, too. Get the things out of the car, and we'll go to
+the shop."
+
+"First I think we'd better put the airship away," advised Mr. Sharp. "I
+don't just like the looks of the weather, and, besides, if we leave the
+ship exposed we'll be sure to have a crowd around sooner or later, and
+we don't want that."
+
+"No, indeed," remarked the aged inventor hastily. "I don't want people
+prying around the submarine shed. By all means put the airship away,
+and then come into the shop."
+
+In spite of its great size the aeroplane was easily wheeled along by
+Tom and Mr. Sharp, for the gas in the container made it so buoyant that
+it barely touched the earth. A little more of the powerful vapor and
+the Red Cloud would have risen by itself. In a few minutes the
+wonderful craft, of which my readers have been told in detail in a
+previous volume, was safely housed in a large tent, which was securely
+fastened.
+
+Mr. Sharp and Tom, carrying some bundles which they had taken from the
+car, or cabin, of the craft, went toward a large shed, which adjoined
+the house that Mr. Swift had hired for the season at the seashore. They
+found the lad's father standing before a great shape, which loomed up
+dimly in the semi-darkness of the building. It was like an immense
+cylinder, pointed at either end, and here and there were openings,
+covered with thick glass, like immense, bulging eyes. From the number
+of tools and machinery all about the place, and from the appearance of
+the great cylinder itself, it was easy to see that it was only partly
+completed.
+
+"Well, how goes it, dad?" asked the youth, as he deposited his bundle
+on a bench. "Do you think you can make it work?"
+
+"I think so, Tom. The positive and negative plates are giving me
+considerable trouble, though. But I guess we can solve the problem. Did
+you bring me the galvanometer?"
+
+"Yes, and all the other things," and the young inventor proceeded to
+take the articles from the bundles he carried.
+
+Mr. Swift looked them over carefully, while Tom walked about examining
+the submarine, for such was the queer craft that was contained in the
+shed.  He noted that some progress had been made on it since he had
+left the seacoast several days before to make a trip to Shopton, in New
+York State, where the Swift home was located, after some tools and
+apparatus that his father wanted to obtain from his workshop there.
+
+"You and Mr. Jackson have put on several new plates," observed the lad
+after a pause.
+
+"Yes," admitted his father. "Garret and I weren't idle, were we,
+Garret?" and he nodded to the aged engineer, who had been in his employ
+for many years.
+
+"No; and I guess we'll soon have her in the water, Tom, now that you
+and Mr. Sharp are here to help us," replied Garret Jackson.
+
+"We ought to have Mr. Damon here to bless the submarine and his liver
+and collar buttons a few times," put in Mr. Sharp, who brought in
+another bundle. He referred to an eccentric individual who had recently
+made an airship voyage with himself and Tom, Mr. Damon's peculiarity
+being to use continually such expressions as: "Bless my soul! Bless my
+liver!"
+
+"Well, I'll be glad when we can make a trial trip," went on Tom. "I've
+traveled pretty fast on land with my motorcycle, and we certainly have
+hummed through the air. Now I want to see how it feels to scoot along
+under water."
+
+"Well, if everything goes well we'll be in position to make a trial
+trip inside of a month," remarked the aged inventor. "Look here, Mr.
+Sharp, I made a change in the steering gear, which I'd like you and Tom
+to consider."
+
+The three walked around to the rear of the odd-looking structure, if an
+object shaped like a cigar can be said to have a front and rear, and
+the inventor, his son, and the aeronaut were soon deep in a discussion
+of the technicalities connected with under-water navigation.
+
+A little later they went into the house, in response to a summons from
+the supper bell, vigorously rung by Mrs. Baggert. She was not fond of
+waiting with meals, and even the most serious problem of mechanics was,
+in her estimation, as nothing compared with having the soup get cold,
+or the possibility of not having the meat done to a turn.
+
+The meal was interspersed with remarks about the recent airship flight
+of Tom and Mr. Sharp, and discussions about the new submarine. This
+talk went on even after the table was cleared off and the three had
+adjourned to the sitting-room. There Mr. Swift brought out pencil and
+paper, and soon he and Mr. Sharp were engrossed in calculating the
+pressure per square inch of sea water at a depth of three miles.
+
+"Do you intend to go as deep as that?" asked Tom, looking up from a
+paper he was reading.
+
+"Possibly," replied his father; and his son resumed his perusal of the
+sheet.
+
+"Now," went on the inventor to the aeronaut, "I have another plan. In
+addition to the positive and negative plates which will form our motive
+power, I am going to install forward and aft propellers, to use in case
+of accident."
+
+"I say, dad! Did you see this?" suddenly exclaimed Tom, getting up from
+his chair, and holding his finger on a certain place in the page of the
+paper.
+
+"Did I see what?" asked Mr. Swift.
+
+"Why, this account of the sinking of the treasure ship."
+
+"Treasure ship? No. Where?"
+
+"Listen," went on Tom. "I'll read it: 'Further advices from Montevideo,
+Uruguay, South America, state that all hope has been given up of
+recovering the steamship Boldero, which foundered and went down off
+that coast in the recent gale.  Not only has all hope been abandoned of
+raising the vessel, but it is feared that no part of the three hundred
+thousand dollars in gold bullion which she carried will ever be
+recovered. Expert divers who were taken to the scene of the wreck state
+that the depth of water, and the many currents existing there, due to a
+submerged shoal, preclude any possibility of getting at the hull. The
+bullion, it is believed, was to have been used to further the interests
+of a certain revolutionary faction, but it seems likely that they will
+have to look elsewhere for the sinews of war.  Besides the bullion the
+ship also carried several cases of rifles, it is stated, and other
+valuable cargo. The crew and what few passengers the Boldero carried
+were, contrary to the first reports, all saved by taking to the boats.
+It appears that some of the ship's plates were sprung by the stress in
+which she labored in a storm, and she filled and sank gradually.'
+There! what do you think of that, dad?" cried Tom as he finished.
+
+"What do I think of it? Why, I think it's too bad for the
+revolutionists, Tom, of course."
+
+"No; I mean about the treasure being still on board the ship. What
+about that?"
+
+"Well, it's likely to stay there, if the divers can't get at it. Now,
+Mr. Sharp, about the propellers--"
+
+"Wait, dad!" cried Tom earnestly.
+
+"Why, Tom, what's the matter?" asked Mr. Swift in some surprise.
+
+"How soon before we can finish our submarine?" went on Tom, not
+answering the question.
+
+"About a month. Why?"
+
+"Why? Dad, why can't we have a try for that treasure? It ought to be
+comparatively easy to find that sunken ship off the coast of Uruguay.
+In our submarine we can get close up to it, and in the new diving suits
+you invented we can get at that gold bullion. Three hundred thousand
+dollars! Think of it, dad! Three hundred thousand dollars! We could
+easily claim all of it, since the owners have abandoned it, but we
+would be satisfied with half. Let's hurry up, finish the submarine, and
+have a try for it."
+
+"But, Tom, you forget that I am to enter my new ship in the trials for
+the prize offered by the United States Government."
+
+"How much is the prize if you win it?" asked Tom.
+
+"Fifty thousand dollars."
+
+"Well, here's a chance to make three times that much at least, and
+maybe more. Dad, let the Government prize go, and try for the treasure.
+Will you?"
+
+Tom looked eagerly at his father, his eyes shining with anticipation.
+Mr. Swift was not a quick thinker, but the idea his son had proposed
+made an impression on him. He reached out his hand for the paper in
+which the young inventor had seen the account of the sunken treasure.
+Slowly he read it through. Then he passed it to Mr. Sharp.
+
+"What do you think of it?" he asked of the aeronaut.
+
+"There's a possibility," remarked the balloonist "We might try for it.
+We can easily go three miles down, and it doesn't lie as deeply as
+that, if this account is true. Yes, we might try for it. But we'd have
+to omit the Government contests."
+
+"Will you, dad?" asked Tom again.
+
+Mr. Swift considered a moment longer.
+
+"Yes, Tom, I will," he finally decided. "Going after the treasure will
+be likely to afford us a better test of the submarine than would any
+Government tests. We'll try to locate the sunken Boldero."
+
+"Hurrah!" cried the lad, taking the paper from Mr. Sharp and waving it
+in the air. "That's the stuff!  Now for a search for the submarine
+treasure!"
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Two
+
+Finishing the Submarine
+
+
+"What's the matter?" cried Mrs. Baggert, the housekeeper, hurrying in
+from the kitchen, where she was washing the dishes. "Have you seen some
+of those scoundrels who robbed you, Mr. Swift? If you have, the police
+down here ought to--"
+
+"No, it's nothing like that," explained Mr. Swift. "Tom has merely
+discovered in the paper an account of a sunken treasure ship, and he
+wants us to go after it, down under the ocean."
+
+"Oh, dear! Some more of Captain Kidd's hidden hoard, I suppose?"
+ventured the housekeeper. "Don't you bother with it, Mr. Swift. I had a
+cousin once, and he got set in the notion that he knew where that
+pirate's treasure was. He spent all the money he had and all he could
+borrow digging for it, and he never found a penny. Don't waste your
+time on such foolishness. It's bad enough to be building airships and
+submarines without going after treasure."  Mrs. Baggert spoke with the
+freedom of an old friend rather than a hired housekeeper, but she had
+been in the family ever since Tom's mother died, when he was a baby,
+and she had many privileges.
+
+"Oh, this isn't any of Kidd's treasure," Tom assured her.  "If we get
+it, Mrs. Baggert, I'll buy you a diamond ring."
+
+"Humph!" she exclaimed, as Tom began to hug her in boyish fashion. "I
+guess I'll have to buy all the diamond rings I want, if I have to
+depend on your treasure for them," and she went back to the kitchen.
+
+"Well," went on Mr. Swift after a pause, "if we are going into the
+treasure-hunting business, Tom, we'll have to get right to work. In the
+first place, we must find out more about this ship, and just where it
+was sunk."
+
+"I can do that part," said Mr. Sharp. "I know some sea captains, and
+they can put me on the track of locating the exact spot. In fact, it
+might not be a bad idea to take an expert navigator with us. I can
+manage in the air all right, but I confess that working out a location
+under water is beyond me."
+
+"Yes, an old sea captain wouldn't be a bad idea, by any means,"
+conceded Mr. Swift. "Well, if you'll attend to that detail, Mr. Sharp,
+Tom, Mr. Jackson and I will finish the submarine. Most of the work is
+done, however, and it only remains to install the engine and motors.
+Now, in regard to the negative and positive electric plates, I'd like
+your opinion, Tom."
+
+For Tom Swift was an inventor, second in ability only to his father,
+and his advice was often sought by his parent on matters of electrical
+construction, for the lad had made a specialty of that branch of
+science.
+
+While father and son were deep in a discussion of the apparatus of the
+submarine, there will be an opportunity to make the reader a little
+better acquainted with them. Those of you who have read the previous
+volumes of this series do not need to be told who Tom Swift is. Others,
+however, may be glad to have a proper introduction to him.
+
+Tom Swift lived with his father, Barton Swift, in the village of
+Shopton, New York. The Swift home was on the outskirts of the town, and
+the large house was surrounded by a number of machine shops, in which
+father and son, aided by Garret Jackson, the engineer, did their
+experimental and constructive work. Their house was not far from Lake
+Carlopa, a fairly large body of water, on which Tom often speeded his
+motor-boat.
+
+In the first volume of this series, entitled "Tom Swift and His
+Motor-Cycle," it was told how he became acquainted with Mr. Wakefield
+Damon, who suffered an accident while riding one of the speedy
+machines. The accident disgusted Mr. Damon with motor-cycles, and Tom
+secured it for a low price. He had many adventures on it, chief among
+which was being knocked senseless and robbed of a valuable patent model
+belonging to his father, which he was taking to Albany. The attack was
+committed by a gang known as the Happy Harry gang, who were acting at
+the instigation of a syndicate of rich men, who wanted to secure
+control of a certain patent turbine engine which Mr. Swift had invented.
+
+Tom set out in pursuit of the thieves, after recovering from their
+attack, and had a strenuous time before he located them.
+
+In the second volume, entitled "Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat," there
+was related our hero's adventures in a fine craft which was recovered
+from the thieves and sold at auction. There was a mystery connected
+with the boat, and for a long time Tom could not solve it. He was
+aided, however, by his chum, Ned Newton, who worked in the Shopton
+Bank, and also by Mr. Damon and Eradicate Sampson, an aged colored
+whitewasher, who formed quite an attachment for Tom.
+
+In his motor-boat Tom had more than one race with Andy Foger, a rich
+lad of Shopton, who was a sort of bully. He had red hair and squinty
+eyes, and was as mean in character as he was in looks. He and his
+cronies, Sam Snedecker and Pete Bailey, made trouble for Tom, chiefly
+because Tom managed to beat Andy twice in boat races.
+
+It was while in his motor-boat, Arrow, that Tom formed the acquaintance
+of John Sharp, a veteran balloonist. While coming down Lake Carlopa on
+the way to the Swift home, which had been entered by thieves, Tom, his
+father and Ned Newton, saw a balloon on fire over the lake. Hanging
+from a trapeze on it was Mr. Sharp, who had made an ascension from a
+fair ground. By hard work on the part of Tom and his friends the
+aeronaut was saved, and took up his residence with the Swifts.
+
+His advent was most auspicious, for Tom and his father were then
+engaged in perfecting an airship, and Mr. Sharp was able to lend them
+his skill, so that the craft was soon constructed.
+
+In the third volume, called "Tom Swift and His Airship," there was set
+down the doings of the young inventor, Mr. Sharp and Mr. Damon on a
+trip above the clouds. They undertook it merely for pleasure, but they
+encountered considerable danger, before they completed it, for they
+nearly fell into a blazing forest once, and were later fired at by a
+crowd of excited people. This last act was to effect their capture, for
+they were taken for a gang of bank robbers, and this was due directly
+to Andy Foger.
+
+The morning after Tom and his friends started on their trip in the air,
+the Shopton Bank was found to have been looted of seventy-five thousand
+dollars. Andy Foger at once told the police that Tom Swift had taken
+the money, and when asked how he knew this, he said he had seen Tom
+hanging around the bank the night before the vault was burst open, and
+that the young inventor had some burglar tools in his possession.
+Warrants were at once sworn out for Tom and Mr. Damon, who was also
+accused of being one of the robbers, and a reward of five thousand
+dollars was offered.
+
+Tom, Mr. Damon and Mr. Sharp sailed on, all unaware of this, and unable
+to account for being fired upon, until they accidentally read in the
+paper an account of their supposed misdeeds. They lost no time in
+starting back home, and on the way got on the track of the real bank
+robbers, who were members of the Happy Harry gang.
+
+How the robbers were captured in an exciting raid, how Tom recovered
+most of the stolen money, and how he gave Andy Foger a deserved
+thrashing for giving a false clue was told of, and there was an account
+of a race in which the Red Cloud (as the airship was called) took part,
+as well as details of how Tom and his friends secured the reward, which
+Andy Foger hoped to collect.
+
+Those of you who care to know how the Red Cloud was constructed, and
+how she behaved in the air, even during accidents and when struck by
+lightning, may learn by reading the third volume, for the airship was
+one of the most successful ever constructed.
+
+When the craft was finished, and the navigators were ready to start on
+their first long trip, Mr. Swift was asked to go with them. He
+declined, but would not tell why, until Tom, pressing him for an
+answer, learned that his father was planning a submarine boat, which he
+hoped to enter in some trials for Government prizes. Mr. Swift remained
+at home to work on this submarine, while his son and Mr. Sharp were
+sailing above the clouds.
+
+On their return, however, and after the bank mystery had been cleared
+up, Tom and Mr. Sharp, aided Mr. Swift in completing the submarine,
+until, when the present story opens, it needed but little additional
+work to make the craft ready for the water.
+
+Of course it had to be built near the sea, as it would have been
+impossible to transport it overland from Shopton.  So, before the keel
+was laid, Mr. Swift rented a large cottage at a seaside place on the
+New Jersey coast and there, after erecting a large shed, the work on
+the Advance, as the under-water ship was called, was begun.
+
+It was soon to be launched in a large creek that extended in from the
+ocean and had plenty of water at high tide. Tom and Mr. Sharp made
+several trips back and forth from Shopton in their airship, to see that
+all was safe at home and occasionally to get needed tools and supplies
+from the shops, for not all the apparatus could be moved from Shopton
+to the coast.
+
+It was when returning from one of these trips that Tom brought with him
+the paper containing an account of the wreck of the Boldero and the
+sinking of the treasure she carried.
+
+Until late that night the three fortune-hunters discussed various
+matters.
+
+"We'll hurry work on the ship," said Mr. Swift at length.  "Tom, I
+wonder if your friend, Mr. Damon, would care to try how it seems under
+water? He stood the air trip fairly well."
+
+"I'll write and ask him," answered the lad. "I'm sure he'll go."
+
+Securing, a few days later, the assistance of two mechanics, whom he
+knew he could trust, for as yet the construction of the Advance was a
+secret, Mr. Swift prepared to rush work on the submarine, and for the
+next three weeks there were busy times in the shed next to the seaside
+cottage. So busy, in fact, were Tom and Mr. Sharp, that they only found
+opportunity for one trip in the airship, and that was to get some
+supplies from the shops at home.
+
+"Well," remarked Mr. Swift one night, at the close of a hard day's
+work, "another week will see our craft completed.  Then we will put it
+in the water and see how it floats, and whether it submerges as I hope
+it does. But come on, Tom. I want to lock up. I'm very tired to-night."
+
+"All right, dad," answered the young inventor coming from the darkened
+rear of the shop. "I just want to--"
+
+He paused suddenly, and appeared to be listening. Then he moved softly
+back to where he had come from.
+
+"What's the matter?" asked his father in a whisper.  "What's up, Tom?"
+
+The lad did not answer Mr. Swift, with a worried look on his face,
+followed his son. Mr. Sharp stood in the door of the shop.
+
+"I thought I heard some one moving around back here," went on Tom
+quietly.
+
+"Some one in this shop!" exclaimed the aged inventor excitedly. "Some
+one trying to steal my ideas again! Mr. Sharp, come here! Bring that
+rifle! We'll teach these scoundrels a lesson!"
+
+Tom quickly darted back to the extreme rear of the building. There was
+a scuffle, and the next minute Tom cried out:
+
+"What are you doing here?"
+
+"Ha! I beg your pardon," replied a voice. "I am looking for Mr. Barton
+Swift."
+
+"My father," remarked Tom. "But that's a queer place to look for him.
+He's up front. Father, here's a man who wishes to see you," he called.
+
+"Yes, I strolled in, and seeing no one about I went to the rear of the
+place," the voice went on. "I hope I haven't transgressed."
+
+"We were busy on the other side of the shop, I guess," replied Tom, and
+he looked suspiciously at the man who emerged from the darkness into
+the light from a window. "I beg your pardon for grabbing you the way I
+did," went on the lad, "but I thought you were one of a gang of men
+we've been having trouble with."
+
+"Oh, that's all right," continued the man easily. "I know Mr. Swift,
+and I think he will remember me. Ah, Mr. Swift, how do you do?" he
+added quickly, catching sight of Tom's father, who, with Mr. Sharp, was
+coming to meet the lad.
+
+"Addison Berg!" exclaimed the aged inventor as he saw the man's face
+more plainly. "What are you doing here?"
+
+"I came to see you," replied the man. "May I have a talk with you
+privately?"
+
+"I--I suppose so," assented Mr. Swift nervously. "Come into the house."
+
+Mr. Berg left Tom's side and advanced to where Mr. Swift was standing.
+Together the two emerged from the now fast darkening shop and went
+toward the house.
+
+"Who is he?" asked Mr. Sharp of the young inventor in a whisper.
+
+"I don't know," replied the lad; "but, whoever he is, dad seems afraid
+of him. I'm going to keep my eyes open."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Three
+
+Mr. Berg is Astonished
+
+
+Following his father and the stranger whom the aged inventor had
+addressed as Mr. Berg, Tom and Mr. Sharp entered the house, the lad
+having first made sure that Garret Jackson was on guard in the shop
+that contained the submarine.
+
+"Now," said Mr. Swift to the newcomer, "I am at your service. What is
+it you wish?"
+
+"In the first place, let me apologize for having startled you and your
+friends," began the man. "I had no idea of sneaking into your workshop,
+but I had just arrived here, and seeing the doors open I went in. I
+heard no one about, and I wandered to the back of the place. There I
+happened to stumble over a board--"
+
+"And I heard you," interrupted Tom.
+
+"Is this one of your employees?" asked Mr. Berg in rather frigid tones.
+
+"That is my son," replied Mr. Swift.
+
+"Oh, I beg your pardon." The man's manner changed quickly.  "Well, I
+guess you did hear me, young man. I didn't intend to bark my shins the
+way I did, either. You must have taken me for a burglar or a sneak
+thief."
+
+"I have been very much bothered by a gang of unscrupulous men," said
+Mr. Swift, "and I suppose Tom thought it was some of them sneaking
+around again."
+
+"That's what I did," added the lad. "I wasn't going to have any one
+steal the secret of the submarine if I could help it."
+
+"Quite right! Quite right!" exclaimed Mr. Berg. "But my purpose was an
+open one. As you know, Mr. Swift, I represent the firm of Bentley &
+Eagert, builders of submarine boats and torpedoes. They heard that you
+were constructing a craft to take part in the competitive prize tests
+of the United States Government, and they asked me to come and see you
+to learn when your ship would be ready. Ours is completed, but we
+recognize that it will be for the best interests of all concerned if
+there are a number of contestants, and my firm did not want to send in
+their entry until they knew that you were about finished with your
+ship. How about it? Are you ready to compete?"
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Swift slowly. "We are about ready. My craft needs a few
+finishing touches, and then it will be ready to launch."
+
+"Then we may expect a good contest on your part," suggested Mr. Berg.
+
+"Well," began the aged inventor, "I don't know about that."
+
+"What's that?" exclaimed Mr. Berg.
+
+"I said I wasn't quite sure that we would compete," went on Mr. Swift.
+"You see, when I first got this idea for a submarine boat I had it in
+mind to try for the Government prize of fifty thousand dollars."
+
+"That's what we want, too," interrupted Mr. Berg with a smile.
+
+"But," went on Tom's father, "since then certain matters have come up,
+and I think, on the whole, that we'll not compete for the prize after
+all."
+
+"Not compete for the prize?" almost shouted the agent for Bentley &
+Eagert. "Why, the idea! You ought to compete. It is good for the trade.
+We think we have a very fine craft, and probably we would beat you in
+the tests, but--"
+
+"I wouldn't be too sure of that," put in Tom. "You have only seen the
+outside of our boat. The inside is better yet."
+
+"Ah, I have no doubt of that," spoke Mr. Berg, "but we have been at the
+business longer than you have, and have had more experience. Still we
+welcome competition. But I am very much surprised that you are not
+going to compete for the prize, Mr. Swift. Very much surprised, indeed!
+You see, I came down from Philadelphia to arrange so that we could both
+enter our ships at the same time. I understand there is another firm of
+submarine boat builders who are going to try for the prize, and I want
+to arrange a date that will be satisfactory to all. I am greatly
+astonished that you are not going to compete."
+
+"Well, we were going to," said Mr. Swift, "only we have changed our
+minds, that's all. My son and I have other plans."
+
+"May I ask what they are?" questioned Mr. Berg.
+
+"You may," exclaimed Tom quickly; "but I don't believe we can tell you.
+They're a secret," he added more cordially.
+
+"Oh, I see," retorted Mr. Berg. "Well, of course I don't wish to
+penetrate any of your secrets, but I hoped we could contest together
+for the Government prize. It is worth trying for I assure you--fifty
+thousand dollars. Besides, there is the possibility of selling a number
+of submarines to the United States. It's a fine prize."
+
+"But the one we are after is a bigger one," cried Tom impetuously, and
+the moment he had spoken he wished he could recall the words.
+
+"Eh? What's that?" exclaimed Mr. Berg. "You don't mean to say another
+government has offered a larger prize? If I had known that I would not
+have let my firm enter into the competition for the bonus offered by
+the United States.  Please tell me."
+
+"I'm sorry," went on Tom more soberly. "I shouldn't have spoken. Mr.
+Berg, the plans of my father and myself are such that we can't reveal
+them now. We are going to try for a prize, but not in competition with
+you. It's an entirely different matter."
+
+"Well, I guess you'll find that the firm of Bentley & Eagert are
+capable of trying for any prizes that are offered," boasted the agent.
+"We may be competitors yet."
+
+"I don't believe so," replied Mr. Swift.
+
+"We may," repeated Mr. Berg. "And if we do, please remember that we
+will show no mercy. Our boats are the best."
+
+"And may the best boat win," interjected Mr. Sharp.  "That's all we
+ask. A fair field and no favors."
+
+"Of course," spoke the agent coldly. "Is this another son of yours?" he
+asked.
+
+"No but a good friend," replied the aged inventor. "No, Mr. Berg, we
+won't compete this time. You may tell your firm so."
+
+"Very good," was the other's stiff reply. "Then I will bid you good
+night. We shall carry off the Government prize, but permit me to add
+that I am very much astonished, very much indeed, that you do not try
+for the prize. From what I have seen of your submarine you have a very
+good one, almost as good, in some respects, as ours.  I bid you good
+night," and with a bow the man left the room and hurried away from the
+house.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Four
+
+Tom is Imprisoned
+
+
+"Well, I must say he's a cool one," remarked Tom, as the echoes of Mr.
+Berg's steps died away. "The idea of thinking his boat better than
+ours! I don't like that man, dad. I'm suspicious of him. Do you think
+he came here to steal some of our ideas?"
+
+"No, I hardly believe so, my son. But how did you discover him?"
+
+"Just as you saw, dad. I heard a noise and went back there to
+investigate. I found him sneaking around, looking at the electric
+propeller plates. I went to grab him just as he stumbled over a board.
+At first I thought it was one of the old gang. I'm almost sure he was
+trying to discover something."
+
+"No, Tom. The firm he works for are good business men, and they would
+not countenance anything like that. They are heartless competitors,
+however, and if they saw a legitimate chance to get ahead of me and
+take advantage, they would do it. But they would not sneak in to steal
+my ideas. I feel sure of that. Besides, they have a certain type of
+submarine which they think is the best ever invented, and they would
+hardly change at this late day. They feel sure of winning the
+Government prize, and I'm just as glad we're not going to have a
+contest."
+
+"Do you think our boat is better than theirs?"
+
+"Much better, in many respects."
+
+"I don't like that man Berg, though," went on Tom.
+
+"Nor do I," added his father. "There is something strange about him.
+He was very anxious that I should compete.  Probably he thought his
+firm's boat would go so far ahead of ours that they would get an extra
+bonus. But I'm glad he didn't see our new method of propulsion. That is
+the principal improvement in the Advance over other types of
+submarines. Well, another week and we will be ready for the test."
+
+"Have you known Mr. Berg long, dad?"
+
+"Not very. I met him in Washington when I was in the patent office. He
+was taking out papers on a submarine for his firm at the same time I
+got mine for the Advance. It is rather curious that he should come all
+the way here from Philadelphia, merely to see if I was going to
+compete. There is something strange about it, something that I can't
+understand."
+
+The time was to come when Mr. Swift and his son were to get at the
+bottom of Mr. Berg's reasons, and they learned to their sorrow that he
+had penetrated some of their secrets.
+
+Before going to bed that night Tom and Mr. Sharp paid a visit to the
+shed where the submarine was resting on the ways, ready for launching.
+They found Mr. Jackson on guard and the engineer said that no one had
+been around. Nor was anything found disturbed.
+
+"It certainly is a great machine," remarked the lad as he looked up at
+the cigar-shaped bulk towering over his head.  "Dad has outdone himself
+this trip."
+
+"It looks all right," commented Mr. Sharp. "Whether it will work is
+another question."
+
+"Yes, we can't tell until it's in the water," conceded Tom. "But I
+hope it does. Dad has spent much time and money on it."
+
+The Advance was, as her name indicated, much in advance of previous
+submarines. There was not so much difference in outward construction as
+there was in the means of propulsion and in the manner in which the
+interior and the machinery were arranged.
+
+The submarine planned by Mr. Swift and Tom jointly, and constructed by
+them, with the aid of Mr. Sharp and Mr. Jackson, was shaped like a
+Cigar, over one hundred feet long and twenty feet in diameter at the
+thickest part. It was divided into many compartments, all water-tight,
+so that if one or even three were flooded the ship would still be
+useable.
+
+Buoyancy was provided for by having several tanks for the introduction
+of compressed air, and there was an emergency arrangement so that a
+collapsible aluminum container could be distended and filled with a
+powerful gas. This was to be used if, by any means, the ship was
+disabled on the bottom of the ocean. The container could be expanded
+and filled, and would send the Advance to the surface.
+
+Another peculiar feature was that the engine-room, dynamos and other
+apparatus were all contained amidships. This gave stability to the
+craft, and also enabled the same engine to operate both shafts and
+propellers, as well as both the negative forward electrical plates, and
+the positive rear ones.
+
+These plates were a new idea in submarine construction, and were the
+outcome of an idea of Mr. Swift, with some suggestions from his son.
+
+The aged inventor did not want to depend on the usual screw propellers
+for his craft, nor did he want to use a jet of compressed air, shooting
+out from a rear tube, nor yet a jet of water, by means of which the
+creature called the squid shoots himself along. Mr. Swift planned to
+send the Advance along under water by means of electricity.
+
+Certain peculiar plates were built at the forward and aft blunt noses
+of the submarine. Into the forward plate a negative charge of
+electricity was sent, and into the one at the rear a positive charge,
+just as one end of a horseshoe magnet is positive and will repel the
+north end of a compass needle, while the other pole of a magnet is
+negative and will attract it. In electricity like repels like, while
+negative and positive have a mutual attraction for each other.
+
+Mr. Swift figured out that if he could send a powerful current of
+negative electricity into the forward plate it would pull the boat
+along, for water is a good conductor of electricity, while if a
+positive charge was sent into the rear plate it would serve to push the
+submarine along, and he would thus get a pulling and pushing motion,
+just as a forward and aft propeller works on some ferry boats.
+
+But the inventor did not depend on these plates alone.  There were
+auxiliary forward and aft propellers of the regular type, so that if
+the electrical plates did not work, or got out of order, the screws
+would serve to send the Advance along.
+
+There was much machinery in the submarine. There were gasolene motors,
+since space was too cramped to allow the carrying of coal for boilers.
+There were dynamos, motors and powerful pumps. Some of these were for
+air, and some for water. To sink the submarine below the surface large
+tanks were filled with water. To insure a more sudden descent,
+deflecting rudders were also used, similar to those on an airship.
+There were also special air pumps, and one for the powerful gas, which
+was manufactured on board.
+
+Forward from the engine-room was a cabin, where meals could be served,
+and where the travelers could remain in the daytime. There was also a
+small cooking galley, or kitchen, there. Back of the engine-room were
+the sleeping quarters and the storerooms. The submarine was steered
+from the forward compartment, and here were also levers, wheels and
+valves that controlled all the machinery, while a number of dials
+showed in which direction they were going, how deep they were, and at
+what speed they were moving, as well as what the ocean pressure was.
+
+On top, forward, was a small conning, or observation tower, with
+auxiliary and steering and controlling apparatus there. This was to be
+used when the ship was moving along on the surface of the ocean, or
+merely with the deck awash.  There was a small flat deck surrounding
+the conning tower and this was available when the craft was on the
+surface.
+
+There was provision made for leaving the ship when it was on the bed of
+the ocean. When it was desired to do this the occupants put on diving
+suits, which were provided with portable oxygen tanks. Then they
+entered a chamber into which water was admitted until it was equal in
+pressure to that outside. Then a steel door was opened, and they could
+step out. To re-enter the ship the operation was reversed.  This was
+not a new feature. In fact, many submarines to-day use it.
+
+At certain places there were thick bull's-eye windows, by means of
+which the under-water travelers could look out into the ocean through
+which they were moving. As a defense against the attacks of submarine
+monsters there was a steel, pointed ram, like a big harpoon. There were
+also a bow and a stern electrical gun, of which more will be told later.
+
+In addition to ample sleeping accommodations, there were many
+conveniences aboard the Advance. Plenty of fresh water could be
+carried, and there was an apparatus for distilling more from the sea
+water that surrounded the travelers.  Compressed air was carried in
+large tanks, and oxygen could be made as needed. In short, nothing that
+could add to the comfort or safety of the travelers had been omitted.
+There was a powerful crane and windlass, which had been installed when
+Mr. Swift thought his boat might be bought by the Government. This was
+to be used for raising wrecks or recovering objects from the bottom of
+the ocean. Ample stores and provisions were to be carried and, once the
+travelers were shut up in the Advance, they could exist for a month
+below the surface, providing no accident occurred.
+
+All these things Tom and Mr. Sharp thought of as they looked over the
+ship before turning in for the night. The craft was made immensely
+strong to withstand powerful pressure at the bottom of the ocean. The
+submarine could penetrate to a depth of about three miles. Below that
+it was dangerous to go, as the awful force would crush the plates,
+powerful as they were.
+
+"Well, we'll rush things to-morrow and the next day," observed Tom as
+he prepared to leave the building. "Then we'll soon see if it works."
+
+For the next week there were busy times in the shop near the ocean.
+Great secrecy was maintained, and though curiosity seekers did stroll
+along now and then, they received little satisfaction. At first Mr.
+Swift thought that the visit of Mr. Berg would have unpleasant results,
+for he feared that the agent would talk about the craft, of which he
+had so unexpectedly gotten a sight. But nothing seemed to follow from
+his chance inspection, and it was forgotten.
+
+It was one evening, about a week later, that Tom was alone in the shop.
+The two mechanics that had been hired to help out in the rush had been
+let go, and the ship needed but a few adjustments to make it ready for
+the sea.
+
+"I think I'll just take another look at the water tank valves," said
+Tom to himself as he prepared to enter the big compartments which
+received the water ballast. "I want to be sure they work properly and
+quickly. We've got to depend on them to make us sink when we want to,
+and, what's more important, to rise to the surface in a hurry. I've got
+time enough to look them over before dad and Mr. Sharp get back."
+
+Tom entered the starboard tank by means of an emergency sliding door
+between the big compartments and the main part of the ship. This was
+closed by a worm and screw gear, and once the ship was in the water
+would seldom be used.
+
+The young inventor proceeded with his task, carefully inspecting the
+valves by the light of a lantern he carried.  The apparatus seemed to
+be all right, and Tom was about to leave when a peculiar noise
+attracted his attention. It was the sound of metal scraping on metal,
+and the lad's quick and well-trained ear told him it was somewhere
+about the ship.
+
+He turned to leave the tank, but as he wheeled around his light flashed
+on a solid wall of steel back of him. The emergency outlet had been
+closed! He was a prisoner in the water compartment, and he knew, from
+past experience, that shout as he would, his voice could not be heard
+ten feet away. His father and Mr. Sharp, as he was aware, had gone to a
+nearby city for some tools, and Mr. Jackson, the engineer, was
+temporarily away. Mrs. Baggert, in the house, could not hear his cries.
+
+"I'm locked in!" cried Tom aloud. "The worm gear must have shut of
+itself. But I don't see how that could be. I've got to get out mighty
+soon, though, or I'll smother. This tank is airtight, and it won't take
+me long to breath up all the oxygen there is here. I must get that
+slide open."
+
+He sought to grasp the steel plate that closed the emergency opening.
+His fingers slipped over the smooth, polished surface. He was
+hermetically sealed up--a captive!  Blankly he set his lantern down and
+leaned hopelessly against the wall of the tank.
+
+"I've got to get out," he murmured.
+
+As if in answer to him he heard a voice on the outside, crying:
+
+"There, Tom Swift! I guess I've gotten even with you now!  Maybe next
+time you won't take a reward away from me, and lick me into the
+bargain. I've got you shut up good and tight, and you'll stay there
+until I get ready to let you out."
+
+"Andy Foger!" gasped Tom. "Andy Foger sneaked in here and turned the
+gear. But how did he get to this part of the coast? Andy Foger, you let
+me out!" shouted the young inventor; and as Andy's mocking laugh came
+to him faintly through the steel sides of the submarine, the imprisoned
+lad beat desperately with his hands on the smooth sides of the tank,
+vainly wondering how his enemy had discovered him.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Five
+
+Mr. Berg is Suspicious
+
+
+Not for long did the young inventor endeavor to break his way out of
+the water-ballast tank by striking the heavy sides of it. Tom realized
+that this was worse than useless.  He listened intently, but could hear
+nothing. Even the retreating footsteps of Andy Foger were inaudible.
+
+"This certainly is a pickle!" exclaimed Tom aloud. "I can't understand
+how he ever got here. He must have traced us after we went to Shopton
+in the airship the last time.  Then he sneaked in here. Probably he saw
+me enter, but how could he know enough to work the worm gear and close
+the door? Andy has had some experience with machinery, though, and one
+of the vaults in the bank where his father is a director closed just
+like this tank. That's very likely how he learned about it. But I've
+got to do something else besides thinking of that sneak, Andy. I've got
+to get out of here. Let's see if I can work the gear from inside."
+
+Before he started, almost, Tom knew that it would be impossible. The
+tank was made to close from the interior of the submarine, and the
+heavy door, built to withstand the pressure of tons of water, could not
+be forced except by the proper means.
+
+"No use trying that," concluded the lad, after a tiring attempt to
+force back the sliding door with his hands. "I've got to call for help."
+
+He shouted until the vibrations in the confined space made his ears
+ring, and the mere exertion of raising his voice to the highest pitch
+made his heart beat quickly. Yet there came no response. He hardly
+expected that there would be any, for with his father and Mr. Sharp
+away, the engineer absent on an errand, and Mrs. Baggert in the house
+some distance off, there was no one to hear his calls for help, even if
+they had been capable of penetrating farther than the extent of the
+shed, where the under-water craft had been constructed.
+
+"I've got to wait until some of them come out here," thought Tom.
+"They'll be sure to release me and make a search. Then it will be easy
+enough to call to them and tell them where I am, once they are inside
+the shed. But--" He paused, for a horrible fear came over him. "Suppose
+they should come--too late?" The tank was airtight. There was enough
+air in it to last for some time, but, sooner or later, it would no
+longer support life. Already, Tom thought, it seemed oppressive, though
+probably that was his imagination.
+
+"I must get out!" he repeated frantically. "I'll die in here soon."
+
+Again he tried to shove back the steel door. Then he repeated his cries
+until he was weary. No one answered him.  He fancied once he could hear
+footsteps in the shed, and thought, perhaps, it was Andy, come back to
+gloat over him.  Then Tom knew the red-haired coward would not dare
+venture back. We must do Andy the justice to say that he never realized
+that he was endangering Tom's life. The bully had no idea the tank was
+airtight when he closed it. He had seen Tom enter and a sudden whim
+came to him to revenge himself.
+
+But that did not help the young inventor any. There was no doubt about
+it now--the air was becoming close. Tom had been imprisoned nearly two
+hours, and as he was a healthy, strong lad, he required plenty of
+oxygen. There was certainly less than there had been in the tank. His
+head began to buzz, and there was a ringing in his ears.
+
+Once more he fell upon his knees, and his fingers sought the small
+projections of the gear on the inside of the door. He could no more
+budge the mechanism than a child could open a burglar-proof vault.
+
+"It's no use," he moaned, and he sprawled at full length on the floor
+of the tank, for there the air was purer. As he did so his fingers
+touched something. He started as they closed around the handle of a big
+monkey wrench. It was one he had brought into the place with him.
+Imbued with new hope he struck a match and lighted his lantern, which
+he had allowed to go out as it burned up too much of the oxygen. By the
+gleam of it he looked to see if there were any bolts or nuts he could
+loosen with the wrench, in order to slide the door back. It needed but
+a glance to show him the futility of this.
+
+"It's no go," he murmured, and he let the wrench fall to the floor.
+There was a ringing, clanging sound, and as it smote his ears Tom
+sprang up with an exclamation.
+
+"That's the thing!" he cried. "I wonder I didn't think of it before. I
+can signal for help by pounding on the sides of the tank with the
+wrench. The blows will carry a good deal farther than my voice would."
+Every one knows how far the noise of a boiler shop, with hammers
+falling on steel plates, can be heard; much farther than can a human
+voice.
+
+Tom began a lusty tattoo on the metal sides of the tank.  At first he
+merely rattled out blow after blow, and then, as another thought came
+to him, he adopted a certain plan. Some time previous, when he and Mr.
+Sharp had planned their trip in the air, the two had adopted a code of
+signals. As it was difficult in a high wind to shout from one end of
+the airship to the other, the young inventor would sometimes pound on
+the pipe which ran from the pilot house of the Red Cloud to the
+engine-room. By a combination of numbers, simple messages could be
+conveyed. The code included a call for help. Forty-seven was the
+number, but there had never been any occasion to use it.
+
+Tom remembered this now. At once he ceased his indiscriminate
+hammering, and began to beat out regularly--one, two, three, four--then
+a pause, and seven blows would be given. Over and over again he rang
+out this number--forty seven--the call for help.
+
+"If Mr. Sharp only comes back he will hear that, even in the house,"
+thought poor Tom "Maybe Garret or Mrs. Baggert will hear it, too, but
+they won't know what it means.  They'll think I'm just working on the
+submarine."
+
+It seemed several hours to Tom that he pounded out that cry for aid,
+but, as he afterward learned, it was only a little over an hour. Signal
+after signal he sent vibrating from the steel sides of the tank. When
+one arm tired he would use the other. He grew weary, his head was
+aching, and there was a ringing in his ears; a ringing that seemed as
+if ten thousand bells were jangling out their peals, and he could
+barely distinguish his own pounding.
+
+Signal after signal he sounded. It was becoming like a dream to him,
+when suddenly, as he paused for a rest, he heard his name called
+faintly, as if far away.
+
+"Tom! Tom! Where are you?"
+
+It was the voice of Mr. Sharp. Then followed the tones of the aged
+inventor.
+
+"My poor boy! Tom, are you still alive?"
+
+"Yes, dad! In the starboard tank!" the lad gasped out, and then he lost
+his senses. When he revived he was lying on a pile of bagging in the
+submarine shop, and his father and the aeronaut were bending over him.
+
+"Are you all right, Tom?" asked Mr. Swift.
+
+"Yes--I--I guess so," was the hesitating answer. "Yes," the lad added,
+as the fresh air cleared his head. "I'll be all right pretty soon. Have
+you seen Andy Foger?"
+
+"Did he shut you in there?" demanded Mr. Swift.
+
+Tom nodded.
+
+"I'll have him arrested!" declared Mr. Swift. "I'll go to town as soon
+as you're in good shape again and notify the police."
+
+"No, don't," pleaded Tom. "I'll take care of Andy myself.  I don't
+really believe he knew how serious it was. I'll settle with him later,
+though."
+
+"Well, it came mighty near being serious," remarked Mr. Sharp grimly.
+"Your father and I came back a little sooner than we expected, and as
+soon as I got near the house I heard your signal. I knew what it was in
+a moment. There were Mrs. Baggert and Garret talking away, and when I
+asked them why they didn't answer your call they said they thought you
+were merely tinkering with the machinery. But I knew better. It's the
+first time we ever had a use for 'forty-seven,' Tom."
+
+"And I hope it will be the last," replied the young inventor with a
+faint smile. "But I'd like to know what Andy Foger is doing in this
+neighborhood."
+
+Tom was soon himself again and able to go to the house, where he found
+Mrs. Baggert brewing a big basin of catnip tea, under the impression
+that it would in some way be good for him. She could not forgive
+herself for not having answered his signal, and as for Mr. Jackson, he
+had started for a doctor as soon as he learned that Tom was shut up in
+the tank. The services of the medical man were canceled by telephone,
+as there was no need for him, and the engineer came back to the house.
+
+Tom was fully himself the next day, and aided his father and Mr. Sharp
+in putting the finishing touches to the Advance. It was found that some
+alteration was required in the auxiliary propellers, and this, much to
+the regret of the young inventor, would necessitate postponing the
+trial a few days.
+
+"But we'll have her in the water next Friday," promised Mr. Swift.
+
+"Aren't you superstitious about Friday?" asked the balloonist.
+
+"Not a bit of it," replied the aged inventor. "Tom," he added, "I wish
+you would go in the house and get me the roll of blueprints you'll find
+on my desk."
+
+As the lad neared the cottage he saw, standing in front of the place, a
+small automobile. A man had just descended from it, and it needed but a
+glance to show that he was Mr. Addison Berg.
+
+"Ah, good morning, Mr. Swift," greeted Mr. Berg. "I wish to see your
+father, but as I don't wish to lay myself open to suspicions by
+entering the shop, perhaps you will ask him to step here."
+
+"Certainly," answered the lad, wondering why the agent had returned.
+Getting the blueprints, and asking Mr. Berg to sit down on the porch,
+Tom delivered the message.
+
+"You come back with me, Tom," said his father. "I want you to be a
+witness to what he says. I'm not going to get into trouble with these
+people."
+
+Mr. Berg came to the point at once.
+
+"Mr. Swift," he said, "I wish you would reconsider your determination
+not to enter the Government trials. I'd like to see you compete. So
+would my firm."
+
+"There is no use going over that again," replied the aged inventor. "I
+have another object in view now than trying for the Government prize.
+What it is I can't say, but it may develop in time--if we are
+successful," and he looked at his son, smiling the while.
+
+Mr. Berg tried to argue, but it was of no avail. Then he changed his
+manner, and said:
+
+"Well, since you won't, you won't, I suppose. I'll go back and report
+to my firm.  Have you anything special to do this morning?" he went on
+to Tom.
+
+"Well, I can always find something to keep me busy," replied the lad,
+"but as for anything special--"
+
+"I thought perhaps you'd like to go for a trip in my auto," interrupted
+Mr. Berg. "I had asked a young man who is stopping at the same hotel
+where I am to accompany me, but he has unexpectedly left, and I don't
+like to go alone. His name was--let me see. I have a wretched memory
+for names, but it was something like Roger or Moger."
+
+"Foger!" cried Tom. "Was it Andy Foger?"
+
+"Yes, that was it. Why, do you know him?" asked Mr. Berg in some
+surprise.
+
+"I should say so," replied Tom. "He was the cause of what might have
+resulted in something serious for me," and the lad explained about
+being imprisoned in the tank.
+
+"You don't tell me!" cried Mr. Berg. "I had no idea he was that kind of
+a lad. You see, his father is one of the directors of the firm by whom
+I am employed. Andy came from home to spend a few weeks at the seaside,
+and stopped at the same hotel that I did. He went off yesterday
+afternoon, and I haven't seen him since, though he promised to go for a
+ride with me. He must have come over here and entered your shop
+unobserved. I remember now he asked me where the submarine was being
+built that was going to compete with our firm's, and I told him. I
+didn't think he was that kind of a lad. Well, since he's probably gone
+back home, perhaps you will come for a ride with me, Tom."
+
+"I'm afraid I can't go, thank you," answered the lad. "We are very busy
+getting our submarine in shape for a trial.  But I can imagine why Andy
+left so hurriedly. He probably learned that a doctor had been summoned
+for me, though, as it happened, I didn't need one. But Andy probably
+got frightened at what he had done, and left. I'll make him more sorry,
+when I meet him."
+
+"Don't blame you a bit," commented Mr. Berg. "Well, I must be getting
+back."
+
+He hastened out to his auto, while Tom and his father watched the agent.
+
+"Tom, never trust that man," advised the aged inventor solemnly.
+
+"Just what I was about to remark," said his son. "Well, let's get back
+to work. Queer that he should come here again, and it's queer about
+Andy Foger."
+
+Father and son returned to the machine shop, while Mr. Berg puffed away
+in his auto. A little later, Tom having occasion to go to a building
+near the boundary line of the cottage property which his father had
+hired for the season, saw, through the hedge that bordered it, an
+automobile standing in the road. A second glance showed him that it was
+Mr. Berg's machine. Something had gone wrong with it, and the agent had
+alighted to make an adjustment.
+
+The young inventor was close to the man, though the latter was unaware
+of his presence.
+
+"Hang it all!" Tom heard Mr. Berg exclaim to himself. "I wonder what
+they can be up to? They won't enter the Government contests, and they
+won't say why. I believe they're up to some game, and I've got to find
+out what it is. I wonder if I couldn't use this Foger chap?"
+
+"He seems to have it in for this Tom Swift," Mr. Berg went on, still
+talking to himself, though not so low but that Tom could hear him. "I
+think I'll try it. I'll get Andy Foger to sneak around and find out
+what the game is. He'll do it, I know."
+
+By this time the auto was in working order again, and the agent took
+his seat and started off.
+
+"So that's how matters lie, eh?" thought Tom. "Well, Mr. Berg, we'll be
+doubly on the lookout for you after this. As for Andy Foger, I think
+I'll make him wish he'd never locked me in that tank. So you expect to
+find out our 'game,' eh, Mr. Berg? Well, when you do know it, I think
+it will astonish you. I only hope you don't learn what it is until we
+get at that sunken treasure, though."
+
+But alas for Tom's hopes. Mr. Berg did learn of the object of the
+treasure-seekers, and sought to defeat them, as we shall learn as our
+story proceeds.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Six
+
+Turning the Tables
+
+
+When the young inventor informed his father what he had overheard Mr.
+Berg saying, the aged inventor was not as much worried as his son
+anticipated.
+
+"All we'll have to do, Tom," he said, "is to keep quiet about where we
+are going. Once we have the Advance afloat, and try her out, we can
+start on our voyage for the South American Coast and search for the
+sunken treasure. When we begin our voyage under water I defy any one to
+tell where we are going, or what our plans are. No, I don't believe we
+need worry about Mr. Berg, though he probably means mischief."
+
+"Well, I'm going to keep my eyes open for him and Andy Foger," declared
+Tom.
+
+The days that followed were filled with work. Not only were there many
+unexpected things to do about the submarine, but Mr. Sharp was kept
+busy making inquiries about the sunken treasure ship. These inquiries
+had to be made carefully, as the adventurers did not want their plans
+talked of, and nothing circulates more quickly than rumors of an
+expedition after treasure of any kind.
+
+"What about the old sea captain you were going to get to go with us?"
+asked Mr. Swift of the balloonist one afternoon.  "Have you succeeded
+in finding one yet?"
+
+"Yes; I am in communication with a man I think will be just the person
+for us. His name is Captain Alden Weston, and he has sailed all over
+the world. He has also taken part in more than one revolution, and, in
+fact, is a soldier of fortune. I do not know him personally, but a
+friend of mine knows him, and says he will serve us faithfully. I have
+written to him, and he will be here in a few days."
+
+"That's good. Now about the location of the wreck itself.  Have you
+been able to learn any more details?"
+
+"Well, not many. You see, the Boldero was abandoned in a storm, and the
+captain did not take very careful observations. As nearly as it can be
+figured out the treasure ship went to the bottom in latitude forty-five
+degrees south, and longitude twenty-seven east from Washington. That's
+a pretty indefinite location, but I hope, once we get off the Uruguay
+coast, we can better it. We can anchor or lay outside the harbor, and
+in the small boat we carry go ashore and possibly gain more details.
+For it was at Montevideo that the shipwrecked passengers and sailors
+landed."
+
+"Does Captain Weston know our object?" inquired Tom.
+
+"No, and I don't propose to tell him until we are ready to start,"
+replied Mr. Sharp. "I don't know just how he'll consider a submarine
+trip after treasure, but if I spring it on him suddenly he's less
+likely to back out. Oh, I think he'll go."
+
+Somewhat unexpectedly the next day it was discovered that certain tools
+and appliances were needed for the submarine, and they had been left in
+the house at Shopton, where Eradicate Sampson was in charge as
+caretaker during the absence of Mr. Swift and his son and the
+housekeeper.
+
+"Well, I suppose we'll have to go back after them," remarked Tom.
+"We'll take the airship, dad, and make a two-days' trip of it. Is there
+anything else you want?"
+
+"Well, you might bring a bundle of papers you'll find in the lower
+right hand drawer of my desk. They contain some memoranda I need."
+
+Tom and Mr. Sharp had become so used to traveling in the airship that
+it seemed no novelty to them, though they attracted much attention
+wherever they went. They soon had the Red Cloud in readiness for a
+flight, and rising in the air above the shop that contained the
+powerful submarine, a craft utterly different in type from the
+aeroplane, the nose of the airship was pointed toward Shopton.
+
+They made a good flight and landed near the big shed where the bird of
+the air was kept. It was early evening when they got to the Swift
+homestead, and Eradicate Sampson was glad to see them.
+
+Eradicate was a good cook, and soon had a meal ready for the travelers.
+Then, while Mr. Sharp selected the tools and other things needed, and
+put them in the airship ready for the start back the next morning, Tom
+concluded he would take a stroll into Shopton, to see if he could see
+his friend, Ned Newton. It was early evening, and the close of a
+beautiful day, a sharp shower in the morning having cooled the air.
+
+Tom was greeted by a number of acquaintances as he strolled along, for,
+since the episode of the bank robbery, when he had so unexpectedly
+returned with the thieves and the cash, the lad was better known than
+ever.
+
+"I guess Ned must be home," thought our hero as he looked in vain for
+his chum among the throng on the streets. "I've got time to take a
+stroll down to his house."
+
+Tom was about to cross the street when he was startled by the sound of
+an automobile horn loudly blown just at his side. Then a voice called:
+
+"Hey, there! Git out of the way if you don't want to be run over!"
+
+He looked up, and saw a car careening along. At the wheel was the
+red-haired bully, Andy Foger, and in the tonneau were Sam Snedecker and
+Pete Bailey.
+
+"Git out of the way," added Sam, and he grinned maliciously at Tom.
+
+The latter stepped back, well out of the path of the car, which was not
+moving very fast. Just in front of Tom was a puddle of muddy water.
+There was no necessity for Andy steering into it, but he saw his
+opportunity, and a moment later one of the big pneumatic tires had
+plunged into the dirty fluid, spattering it all over Tom, some even
+going as high as his face.
+
+"Ha! ha!" laughed Andy. "Maybe you'll get out of my way next time, Tom
+Swift."
+
+The young inventor was almost speechless from righteous anger. He wiped
+the mud from his face, glanced down at his clothes, which were all but
+ruined, and called out:
+
+"Hold on there, Andy Foger! I want to see you!" for he thought of the
+time when Andy had shut him in the tank.
+
+"Ta! ta!" shouted Pete Bailey.
+
+"See you later," added Sam.
+
+"Better go home and take a bath, and then sail away in your submarine,"
+went on Andy. "I'll bet it will sink."
+
+Before Tom could reply the auto had turned a corner.  Disgusted and
+angry, he tried to sop up some of the muddy water with his
+handkerchief. While thus engaged he heard his name called, and looked
+up to see Ned Newton.
+
+"What's the matter? Fall down?" asked his chum.
+
+"Andy Foger," replied Tom.
+
+"That's enough," retorted Ned. "I can guess the rest.  We'll have to
+tar and feather him some day, and ride him out of town on a rail. I'd
+kick him myself, only his father is a director in the bank where I
+work, and I'd be fired if I did. Can't afford any such pleasure. But
+some day I'll give Andy a good trouncing, and then resign before they
+can discharge me. But I'll be looking for another job before I do that.
+Come on to my house, Tom, and I'll help you clean up."
+
+Tom was a little more presentable when he left his chum's residence,
+after spending the evening there, but he was still burning for revenge
+against Andy and his cronies. He had half a notion to go to Andy's
+house and tell Mr. Foger how nearly serious the bully's prank at the
+submarine had been, but he concluded that Mr. Foger could only uphold
+his son. "No, I'll settle with him myself," decided Tom.
+
+Bidding Eradicate keep a watchful eye about the house, and leaving word
+for Mr. Damon to be sure to come to the coast if he again called at the
+Shopton house, Tom and Mr. Sharp prepared to make their return trip
+early the next morning.
+
+The gas tank was filled and the Red Cloud arose in the air. Then, with
+the propellers moving at moderate speed, the nose of the craft was
+pointed toward the New Jersey coast.
+
+A few miles out from Shopton, finding there was a contrary wind in the
+upper regions where they were traveling, Mr. Sharp descended several
+hundred feet. They were moving over a sparsely settled part of the
+country, and looking down, Tom saw, speeding along a highway, an
+automobile.
+
+"I wonder who's in it?" he remarked, taking down a telescope and
+peering over the window ledge of the cabin.  The next moment he uttered
+a startled exclamation.
+
+"Andy  Foger, Sam  Snedecker and Pete Bailey!" he cried.  "Oh, I wish I
+had a bucket of water to empty on them."
+
+"I know a better way to get even with them than that," said Mr. Sharp.
+
+"How?" asked Tom eagerly.
+
+"I'll show you," replied the balloonist. "It's a trick I once played on
+a fellow who did me an injury. Here, you steer for a minute until I get
+the thing fixed, then I'll take charge."
+
+Mr. Sharp went to the storeroom and came back with a long, stout rope
+and a small anchor of four prongs. It was carried to be used in
+emergencies, but so far had never been called into requisition.
+Fastening the grapple to the cable, the balloonist said:
+
+"Now, Tom, they haven't seen you. You stand in the stern and pay out
+the rope. I'll steer the airship, and what I want you to do is to catch
+the anchor in the rear of their car. Then I'll show you some fun."
+
+Tom followed instructions. Slowly he lowered the rope with the dangling
+grapple. The airship was also sent down, as the cable was not quite
+long enough to reach the earth from the height at which they were. The
+engine was run at slow speed, so that the noise would not attract the
+attention of the three cronies who were speeding along, all unconscious
+of the craft in the air over their heads. The Red Cloud was moving in
+the same direction as was the automobile.
+
+The anchor was now close to the rear of Andy's car.  Suddenly it caught
+on the tonneau and Tom called that fact to Mr. Sharp.
+
+"Fasten the rope at the cleat," directed the balloonist.
+
+Tom did so, and a moment later the aeronaut sent the airship up by
+turning more gas into the container. At the same time he reversed the
+engine and the Red Cloud began pulling the touring car backward, also
+lifting the rear wheels clear from the earth.
+
+A startled cry from the occupants of the machine told Tom and his
+friend that Andy and his cronies were aware something was wrong. A
+moment later Andy, looking up, saw the airship hovering in the air
+above him. Then he saw the rope fast to his auto. The airship was not
+rising now, or the auto would have been turned over, but it was slowly
+pulling it backward, in spite of the fact that the motor of the car was
+still going.
+
+"Here! You let go of me!" cried Andy. "I'll have you arrested if you
+damage my car."
+
+"Come up here and cut the rope," called Tom leaning over and looking
+down. He could enjoy the bully's discomfiture.  As for Sam and Pete,
+they were much frightened, and cowered down on the floor of the tonneau.
+
+"Maybe you'll shut me in the tank again and splash mud on me!" shouted
+Tom.
+
+The rear wheels of the auto were lifted still higher from the ground,
+as Mr. Sharp turned on a little more gas. Andy was not proof against
+this.
+
+"Oh! oh!" he cried. "Please let me down, Tom. I'm awful sorry for what
+I did! I'll never do it again! Please, please let me down! Don't! You'll
+tip me over!"
+
+He had shut off his motor now, and was frantically clinging to the
+steering wheel.
+
+"Do you admit that you're a sneak and a coward?" asked Tom, "rubbing it
+in."
+
+"Yes, yes!  Oh, please let me down!"
+
+"Shall we?" asked Tom of Mr. Sharp.
+
+"Yes," replied the balloonist. "We can afford to lose the rope and
+anchor for the sake of turning the tables. Cut the cable."
+
+Tom saw what was intended. Using a little hatchet, he severed the rope
+with a single blow. With a crash that could be heard up in the air
+where the Red Cloud hovered, the rear wheels of the auto dropped to the
+ground. Then came two loud reports.
+
+"Both tires busted!" commented Mr. Sharp dryly, and Tom, looking down,
+saw the trio of lads ruefully contemplating the collapsed rubber of the
+rear wheels. The tables had been effectually turned on Andy Foger. His
+auto was disabled, and the airship, with a graceful sweep, mounted
+higher and higher, continuing on its way to the coast.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Seven
+
+Mr. Damon Will Go
+
+
+"Well, I guess they've had their lesson," remarked Tom, as he took an
+observation through the telescope and saw Andy and his cronies hard at
+work trying to repair the ruptured tires. "That certainly was a corking
+good trick."
+
+"Yes," admitted Mr. Sharp modestly. "I once did something similar, only
+it was a horse and wagon instead of an auto.  But let's try for another
+speed record. The conditions are just right."
+
+They arrived at the coast much sooner than they had dared to hope, the
+Red Cloud proving herself a veritable wonder.
+
+The remainder of that day, and part of the next, was spent in working
+on the submarine.
+
+"We'll launch her day after to-morrow," declared Mr. Swift
+enthusiastically. "Then to see whether my calculations are right or
+wrong."
+
+"It won't be your fault if it doesn't work," said his son.  "You
+certainly have done your best."
+
+"And so have you and Mr. Sharp and the others, for that matter. Well, I
+have no doubt but that everything will be all right, Tom."
+
+"There!" exclaimed Mr. Sharp the next morning, as he was adjusting a
+certain gage. "I knew I'd forget something. That special brand of
+lubricating oil. I meant to bring it from Shopton, and I didn't."
+
+"Maybe I can get it in Atlantis," suggested Tom, naming the coast city
+nearest to them. "I'll take a walk over. It isn't far."
+
+"Will you? I'll be glad to have you," resumed the balloonist. "A gallon
+will be all we'll need."
+
+Tom was soon on his way. He had to walk, as the roads were too poor to
+permit him to use the motor-cycle, and the airship attracted too much
+attention to use on a short trip.  He was strolling along, when from
+the other side of a row of sand dunes, that lined the uncertain road to
+Atlantis, he heard some one speaking. At first the tones were not
+distinct, but as the lad drew nearer to the voice he heard an
+exclamation.
+
+"Bless my gold-headed cane! I believe I'm lost. He said it was out this
+way somewhere, but I don't see anything of it.  If I had that Eradicate
+Sampson here now I'd--bless my shoelaces I don't know what I would do
+to him."
+
+"Mr. Damon! Mr. Damon!" cried Tom. "Is that you?"
+
+"Me? Of course it's me! Who else would it be?" answered the voice. "But
+who are you. Why, bless my liver! If it isn't Tom Swift!" he cried.
+"Oh, but I'm glad to see you! I was afraid I was shipwrecked! Bless my
+gaiters, how are you, anyhow? How is your father? How is Mr. Sharp, and
+all the rest of them?"
+
+"Pretty well. And you?"
+
+"Me? Oh, I'm all right; only a trifle nervous. I called at your house
+in Shopton yesterday, and Eradicate told me, as well as he could, where
+you were located. I had nothing to do, so I thought I'd take a run down
+here. But what's this I hear about you? Are you going on a voyage?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"In the air? May I go along again? I certainly enjoyed my other trip in
+the Red Cloud. That is, all but the fire and being shot at. May I go?"
+
+"We're going on a different sort of trip this time," said the youth.
+
+"Where?"
+
+"Under water."
+
+"Under water?  Bless my sponge bath! You don't mean it!"
+
+"Yes. Dad has completed the submarine he was working on when we were
+off in the airship, and it will be launched the day after to-morrow."
+
+"Oh, that's so. I'd forgotten about it. He's going to try for the
+Government prize, isn't he? But tell me more about it. Bless my
+scarf-pin, but I'm glad I met you! Going into town, I take it. Well, I
+just came from there, but I'll walk back with you. Do you think--is
+there any possibility--that I could go with you? Of course, I don't
+want to crowd you, but--"
+
+"Oh, there'll be plenty of room," replied the young inventor. "In fact,
+more room than we had in the airship. We were talking only the other
+day about the possibility of you going with us, but we didn't think
+you'd risk it."
+
+"Risk it? Bless my liver! Of course I'll risk it! It can't be as bad
+as sailing in the air. You can't fall, that's certain."
+
+"No; but maybe you can't rise," remarked Tom grimly.
+
+"Oh, we won't think of that. Of course, I'd like to go. I fully
+expected to be killed in the Red Cloud, but as I wasn't. I'm ready to
+take a chance in the water. On the whole, I think I prefer to be buried
+at sea, anyhow. Now, then, will you take me?"
+
+"I think I can safely promise," answered Tom with a smile at his
+friend's enthusiasm.
+
+The two were approaching the city, having walked along as they talked.
+There were still some sand dunes near the road, and they kept on the
+side of these, nearest the beach, where they could watch the breakers.
+
+"But you haven't told me where you are going," went on Mr. Damon, after
+blessing a few dozen objects. "Where do the Government trials take
+place?"
+
+"Well," replied the lad, "to be frank with you, we have abandoned our
+intention of trying for the Government prize."
+
+"Not going to try for it? Bless my slippers! Why not?  Isn't fifty
+thousand dollars worth striving for? And, with the kind of a submarine
+you say you have, you ought to be able to win."
+
+"Yes, probably we could win," admitted the young inventor, "but we are
+going to try for a better prize."
+
+"A better one? I don't understand."
+
+"Sunken treasure," explained Tom. "There's a ship sunk off the coast of
+Uruguay, with three hundred thousand dollars in gold bullion aboard.
+Dad and I are going to try to recover that in our submarine. We're
+going to start day after to-morrow, and, if you like, you may go along."
+
+"Go along! Of course I'll go along!" cried the eccentric man. "But I
+never heard of such a thing. Sunken treasure!  Three hundred thousand
+dollars in gold! My, what a lot of money! And to go after it in a
+submarine! It's as good as a story!"
+
+"Yes, we hope to recover all the treasure," said the lad.  "We ought to
+be able to claim at least half of it."
+
+"Bless my pocketbook!" cried Mr. Damon, but Tom did not hear him. At
+that instant his attention was attracted by seeing two men emerge from
+behind the sand dune near which he and Mr. Damon had halted
+momentarily, when the youth explained about the treasure. The man
+looked sharply at Tom.  A moment later the first man was joined by
+another, and at the sight of him our hero could not repress an
+exclamation of alarm. For the second man was none other than Addison
+Berg.
+
+The latter glanced quickly at Tom, and then, with a hasty word to his
+companion, the two swung around and made off in the opposite direction
+to that in which they had been walking.
+
+"What's the matter?" asked Mr. Damon, seeing the young inventor was
+strangely affected.
+
+"That--that man," stammered the lad.
+
+"You don't mean to tell me that was one the Happy Harry gang, do you?"
+
+"No. But one, or both of those men, may prove to be worse.  That second
+man was Addison Berg, and he's agent for a firm of submarine boat
+builders who are rivals of dad's. Berg has been trying to find out why
+we abandoned our intention of competing for the Government prize."
+
+"I hope you didn't tell him."
+
+"I didn't intend to," replied Tom, smiling grimly, "but I'm afraid I
+have, however. He certainly overheard what I said. I spoke too loud.
+Yes, he must have heard me. That's why he hurried off so."
+
+"Possibly no harm is done. You didn't give the location of the sunken
+ship."
+
+"No; but I guess from what I said it will be easy enough to find. Well,
+if we're going to have a fight for the possession of that sunken gold,
+I'm ready for it. The Advance is well equipped for a battle. I must
+tell dad of this. It's my fault."
+
+"And partly mine, for asking you such leading questions in a public
+place," declared Mr. Damon. "Bless my coat-tails, but I'm sorry! Maybe,
+after all, those men were so interested in what they themselves were
+saying that they didn't understand what you said."
+
+But if there had been any doubts on this score they would have been
+dissolved had Tom and his friend been able to see the actions of Mr.
+Berg and his companion a little later.  The plans of the
+treasure-hunters had been revealed to their ears.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Eight
+
+Another Treasure Expedition
+
+
+While Tom and Mr. Damon continued on to Atlantis after the oil, the
+young inventor lamenting from time to time that his remarks about the
+real destination of the Advance had been overheard by Mr. Berg, the
+latter and his companion were hastening back along the path that ran on
+one side of the sand dunes.
+
+"What's your hurry?" asked Mr. Maxwell, who was with the submarine
+agent. "You turned around as if you were shot when you saw that man and
+the lad. There didn't appear to be any cause for such a hurry. From
+what I could hear they were talking about a submarine. You're in the
+same business. You might be friends."
+
+"Yes, we might," admitted Mr. Berg with a peculiar smile; "but, unless
+I'm very much mistaken, we're going to be rivals."
+
+"Rivals? What do you mean?"
+
+"I can't tell you now. Perhaps I may later. But if you don't mind, walk
+a little faster, please. I want to get to a long-distance telephone."
+
+"What for?"
+
+"I have just overheard something that I wish to communicate to my
+employers, Bentley & Eagert."
+
+"Overheard something? I don't see what it could be, unless that lad--"
+
+"You'll learn in good time," went on the submarine agent.  "But I must
+telephone at once."
+
+A little later the two men had reached a trolley line that ran into
+Atlantis, and they arrived at the city before Mr. Damon and Tom got
+there, as the latter had to go by a circuitous route. Mr. Berg lost no
+time in calling up his firm by telephone.
+
+"I have had another talk with Mr. Swift," he reported to Mr. Bentley,
+who came to the instrument in Philadelphia.
+
+"Well, what does he say?" was the impatient question. "I can't
+understand his not wanting to try for the Government prize. It is
+astonishing. You said you were going to discover the reason, Mr Berg,
+but you haven't done so."
+
+"I have."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"Well, the reason Mr. Swift and his son don't care to try for the fifty
+thousand dollar prize is that they are after one of three hundred
+thousand dollars."
+
+"Three hundred thousand dollars!" cried Mr. Bentley. "What government
+is going to offer such a prize as that for submarines, when they are
+getting almost as common as airships? We ought to have a try for that
+ourselves. What government is it?"
+
+"No government at all. But I think we ought to have a try for it, Mr.
+Bentley."
+
+"Explain."
+
+"Well, I have just learned, most accidentally, that the Swifts are
+going after sunken treasure--three hundred thousand dollars in gold
+bullion."
+
+"Sunken treasure? Where?
+
+"I don't know exactly, but off the coast of Uruguay," and Mr. Berg
+rapidly related what he had overheard Tom tell Mr. Damon. Mr. Bentley
+was much excited and impatient for more details, but his agent could
+not give them to him.
+
+"Well," concluded the senior member of the firm of submarine boat
+builders, "if the Swifts are going after treasure, so can we. Come to
+Philadelphia at once, Mr. Berg, and we'll talk this matter over. There
+is no time to lose.  We can afford to forego the Government prize for
+the chance of getting a much larger one. We have as much right to
+search for the sunken gold as the Swifts have. Come here at once, and
+we will make our plans."
+
+"All right," agreed the agent with a smile as he hung up the receiver.
+"I guess," he murmured to himself, "that you won't be so high and
+mighty with me after this, Tom Swift.  We'll see who has the best boat,
+after all. We'll have a contest and a competition, but not for a
+government prize.  It will be for the sunken gold."
+
+It was easy to see that Mr. Berg was much pleased with himself.
+
+Meanwhile, Tom and Mr. Damon had reached Atlantis, and had purchased
+the oil. They started back, but Tom took a street leading toward the
+center of the place, instead of striking for the beach path, along
+which they had come.
+
+"Where are you going?" asked Mr. Damon.
+
+"I want to see if that Andy Foger has come back here," replied the lad,
+and he told of having been shut in the tank by the bully.
+
+"I've never properly punished him for that trick," he went on, "though
+we did manage to burst his auto tires. I'm curious to know how he knew
+enough to turn that gear and shut the tank door. He must have been
+loitering near the shop, seen me go in the submarine alone, watched his
+chance and sneaked in after me. But I'd like to get a complete
+explanation, and if I once got hold of Andy I could make him talk," and
+Tom clenched his fist in a manner that augured no good for the
+squint-eyed lad. "He was stopping at the same hotel with Mr. Berg, and
+he hurried away after the trick he played on me. I next saw him in
+Shopton, but I thought perhaps he might have come back here. I'm going
+to inquire at the hotel," he added.
+
+Andy's name was not on the register since his hasty flight, however,
+and Tom, after inquiring from the clerk and learning that Mr. Berg was
+still a guest at the hostelry, rejoined Mr. Damon.
+
+"Bless my hat!" exclaimed that eccentric individual as they started
+back to the lonely beach where the submarine was awaiting her advent
+into the water. "The more I think of the trip I'm going to take, the
+more I like it."
+
+"I hope you will," remarked Tom. "It will be a new experience for all
+of us. There's only one thing worrying me, and that is about Mr. Berg
+having overheard what I said."
+
+"Oh, don't worry about that. Can't we slip away and leave no trace in
+the water?"
+
+"I hope so, but I must tell dad and Mr. Sharp about what happened."
+
+The aged inventor was not a little alarmed at what his son related, but
+he agreed with Mr. Damon, whom he heartily welcomed, that little was to
+be apprehended from Berg and his employers.
+
+"They know we're after a sunken wreck, but that's all they do know,"
+said Tom's father. "We are only waiting for the arrival of Captain
+Alden Weston, and then we will go. Even if Bentley & Eagert make a try
+for the treasure we'll have the start of them, and this will be a case
+of first come, first served. Don't worry, Tom. I'm glad you're going,
+Mr Damon. Come, I will show you our submarine."
+
+As father and son, with their guest, were going to the machine shop,
+Mr. Sharp met them. He had a letter in his hand.
+
+"Good news!" the balloonist cried. "Captain Weston will be with us
+to-morrow. He will arrive at the Beach Hotel in Atlantis, and wants one
+of us to meet him there. He has considerable information about the
+wreck."
+
+"The Beach Hotel," murmured Tom. "That is where Mr. Berg is stopping. I
+hope he doesn't worm any of our secret from Captain Weston," and it was
+with a feeling of uneasiness that the young inventor continued after
+his father and Mr. Damon to where the submarine was.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Nine
+
+Captain Weston's Advent
+
+
+"Bless my water ballast, but that certainly is a fine boat!" cried Mr.
+Damon, when he had been shown over the new craft.  "I think I shall
+feel even safer in that than in the Red Cloud."
+
+"Oh, don't go back on the airship!" exclaimed Mr Sharp. "I was counting
+on taking you on another trip."
+
+"Well, maybe after we get back from under the ocean," agreed Mr. Damon.
+"I particularly like the cabin arrangements of the Advance. I think I
+shall enjoy myself."
+
+He would be hard to please who could not take pleasure from a trip in
+the submarine. The cabin was particularly fine, and the sleeping
+arrangements were good.
+
+More supplies could be carried than was possible on the airship, and
+there was more room in which to cook and serve food. Mr. Damon was fond
+of good living, and the kitchen pleased him as much as anything else.
+
+Early the next morning Tom set out for Atlantis, to meet Captain Weston
+at the hotel. The young inventor inquired of the clerk whether the
+seafaring man had arrived, and was told that he had come the previous
+evening.
+
+"Is he in his room?" asked Tom.
+
+"No," answered the clerk with a peculiar grin. "He's an odd character.
+Wouldn't go to bed last night until we had every window in his room
+open, though it was blowing quite hard, and likely to storm. The
+captain said he was used to plenty of fresh air. Well, I guess he got
+it, all right."
+
+"Where is he now?" asked the youth, wondering what sort of an
+individual he was to meet.
+
+"Oh, he was up before sunrise, so some of the scrubwomen told me. They
+met him coming from his room, and he went right down to the beach with
+a big telescope he always carries with him. He hasn't come back yet.
+Probably he's down on the sand."
+
+"Hasn't he had breakfast?"
+
+"No. He left word he didn't want to eat until about four bells,
+whatever time that is."
+
+"It's ten o'clock," replied Tom, who had been studying up on sea terms
+lately. "Eight bells is eight o'clock in the morning, or four in the
+afternoon or eight at night, according to the time of day. Then there's
+one bell for every half hour, so four bells this morning would be ten
+o'clock in this watch, I suppose."
+
+"Oh, that's the way it goes, eh?" asked the clerk. "I never could get
+it through my head. What is twelve o'clock noon?"
+
+"That's eight bells, too; so is twelve o'clock midnight.  Eight bells
+is as high as they go on a ship. But I guess I'll go down and see if I
+can meet the captain. It will soon be ten o'clock, or four bells, and
+he must be hungry for breakfast. By the way, is that Mr. Berg still
+here?"
+
+"No; he went away early this morning. He and Captain Weston seemed to
+strike up quite an acquaintance, the night clerk told me. They sat and
+smoked together until long after midnight, or eight bells," and the
+clerk smiled as he glanced down at the big diamond ring on his little
+finger.
+
+"They did?" fairly exploded Tom, for he had visions of what the wily
+Mr. Berg might worm out of the simple captain.
+
+"Yes. Why, isn't the captain a proper man to make friends with?" and
+the clerk looked at Tom curiously.
+
+"Oh, yes, of course," was the hasty answer. "I guess I'll go and see if
+I can find him--the captain, I mean."
+
+Tom hardly knew what to think. He wished his father, or Mr. Sharp, had
+thought to warn Captain Weston against talking of the wreck. It might
+be too late now.
+
+The young inventor hurried to the beach, which was not far from the
+hotel. He saw a solitary figure pacing up and down, and from the fact
+that the man stopped, every now and then, and gazed seaward through a
+large telescope, the lad concluded it was the captain for whom he was
+in search. He approached, his footsteps making no sound on the sand.
+The man was still gazing through the glass.
+
+"Captain Weston?" spoke Tom.
+
+Without a show of haste, though the voice must have startled him, the
+captain turned. Slowly he lowered the telescope, and then he replied
+softly:
+
+"That's my name. Who are you, if I may ask?"
+
+Tom was struck, more than by anything else, by the gentle voice of the
+seaman. He had prepared himself, from the description of Mr. Sharp, to
+meet a gruff, bewhiskered individual, with a voice like a crosscut saw,
+and a rolling gait. Instead he saw a man of medium size, with a smooth
+face, merry blue eyes, and the softest voice and gentlest manner
+imaginable. Tom was very much disappointed. He had looked for a regular
+sea-dog, and he met a landsman, as he said afterward. But it was not
+long before our hero changed his mind regarding Captain Weston.
+
+"I'm Tom Swift," the owner of that name said, "and I have been sent to
+show you the way to where our ship is ready to launch." The young
+inventor refrained from mentioning submarine, as it was the wish of Mr
+Sharp to disclose this feature of the voyage to the sailor himself.
+
+"Ha, I thought as much," resumed the captain quietly.  "It's a fine
+day, if I may be permitted to say so," and he seemed to hesitate, as if
+there was some doubt whether or not he might make that observation.
+
+"It certainly is," agreed the lad. Then, with a smile he added: "It is
+nearly four bells."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed the captain, also smiling, but even his manner of
+saying "Ha!" was less demonstrative than that of most persons. "I
+believe I am getting hungry, if I may be allowed the remark," and again
+he seemed asking Tom's pardon for mentioning the fact.
+
+"Perhaps you will come back to the cabin and have a little breakfast
+with me," he went on. "I don't know what sort of a galley or cook they
+have aboard the Beach Hotel, but it can't be much worse than some I've
+tackled."
+
+"No, thank you," answered the youth. "I've had my breakfast. But I'll
+wait for you, and then I'd like to get back. Dad and Mr. Sharp are
+anxious to meet you."
+
+"And I am anxious to meet them, if you don't mind me mentioning it,"
+was the reply, as the captain once more put the spyglass to his eye and
+took an observation. "Not many sails in sight this morning," he added.
+"But the weather is fine, and we ought to get off in good shape to hunt
+for the treasure about which Mr. Sharp wrote me. I believe we are going
+after treasure," he said; "that is, if you don't mind talking about it."
+
+"Not in the least," replied Tom quickly, thinking this a good
+opportunity for broaching a subject that was worrying him. "Did you
+meet a Mr. Berg here last night, Captain Weston?" he went on.
+
+"Yes. Mr. Berg and I had quite a talk. He is a well-informed man."
+
+"Did he mention the sunken treasure?" asked the lad, eager to find out
+if his suspicions were true.
+
+"Yes, he did, if you'll excuse me putting it so plainly," answered the
+seaman, as if Tom might be offended at so direct a reply. But the young
+inventor was soon to learn that this was only an odd habit with the
+seaman.
+
+"Did he want to know where the wreck of the Boldero was located?"
+continued the lad. "That is, did he try to discover if you knew
+anything about it?"
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Weston, "he did. He pumped me, if you are acquainted
+with that term, and are not offended by it. You see, when I arrived
+here I made inquiries as to where your father's place was located. Mr.
+Berg overheard me, and introduced himself as agent for a shipbuilding
+concern. He was very friendly, and when he said he knew you and your
+parent, I thought he was all right."
+
+Tom's heart sank. His worst fears were to be realized, he thought.
+
+"Yes, he and I talked considerable, if I may be permitted to say so,"
+went on the captain. "He seemed to know about the wreck of the Boldero,
+and that she had three hundred thousand dollars in gold aboard. The
+only thing he didn't know was where the wreck was located. He knew it
+was off Uruguay somewhere, but just where he couldn't say. So he asked
+me if I knew, since he must have concluded that I was going with you on
+the gold-hunting expedition."
+
+"And you do know, don't you?" asked Tom eagerly.
+
+"Well, I have it pretty accurately charted out, if you will allow me
+that expression," was the calm answer. "I took pains to look it up at
+the request of Mr. Sharp."
+
+"And he wanted to worm that information out of you?" inquired the youth
+excitedly.
+
+"Yes, I'm afraid he did."
+
+"Did you give him the location?"
+
+"Well," remarked the captain, as he took another observation before
+closing up the telescope, "you see, while we were talking, I happened
+to drop a copy of a map I'd made, showing the location of the wreck.
+Mr. Berg picked it up to hand to me, and he looked at it."
+
+"Oh!" cried Tom. "Then he knows just where the treasure is, and he may
+get to it ahead of us. It's too bad."
+
+"Yes," continued the seaman calmly, "Mr. Berg picked up that map, and
+he looked very closely at the latitude and longitude I had marked as
+the location of the wreck."
+
+"Then he won't have any trouble finding it," murmured our hero.
+
+"Eh? What's that?" asked the captain, "if I may be permitted to request
+you to repeat what you said."
+
+"I say he won't have any trouble locating the sunken Boldero," repeated
+Tom.
+
+"Oh, but I think he will, if he depends on that map," was the
+unexpected reply. "You see," explained Mr. Weston, "I'm not so simple
+as I look. I sensed what Mr. Berg was after, the minute he began to
+talk to me. So I fixed up a little game on him. The map which I dropped
+on purpose, not accidentally, where he would see it, did have the
+location of the wreck marked. Only it didn't happen to be the right
+location. It was about five hundred miles out of the way, and I rather
+guess if Mr. Berg and his friends go there for treasure they'll find
+considerable depth of water and quite a lonesome spot. Oh, no, I'm not
+as easy as I look, if you don't mind me mentioning that fact; and when
+a scoundrel sets out to get the best of me, I generally try to turn the
+tables on him. I've seen such men as Mr. Berg before. I'm afraid, I'm
+very much afraid, the sight he had of the fake map I made won't do him
+much good. Well, I declare, it's past four bells. Let's go to
+breakfast, if you don't mind me asking you," and with that the captain
+started off up the beach, Tom following, his ideas all a whirl at the
+unlooked-for outcome of the interview.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Ten
+
+Trial of the Submarine
+
+
+Tom felt such a relief at hearing of Captain Weston's ruse that his
+appetite, sharpened by an early breakfast and the sea air, came to him
+with a rush, and he had a second morning meal with the odd sea captain,
+who chuckled heartily when he thought of how Mr Berg had been deceived.
+
+"Yes," resumed Captain Weston, over his bacon and eggs, "I sized him up
+for a slick article as soon as I laid eyes on him. But he evidently
+misjudged me, if I may be permitted that term. Oh, well, we may meet
+again, after we secure the treasure, and then I can show him the real
+map of the location of the wreck."
+
+"Then you have it?" inquired the lad eagerly.
+
+Captain Weston nodded, before hiding his face behind a large cup of
+coffee; his third, by the way.
+
+"Let me see it?" asked Tom quickly. The captain set down his cup. He
+looked carefully about the hotel dining-room.  There were several
+guests, who, like himself, were having a late breakfast.
+
+"It's a good plan," the sailor said slowly, "when you're going into
+unknown waters, and don't want to leave a wake for the other fellow to
+follow, to keep your charts locked up. If it's all the same to you," he
+added diffidently, "I'd rather wait until we get to where your father
+and Mr. Sharp are before displaying the real map. I've no objection to
+showing you the one Mr. Berg saw," and again he chuckled.
+
+The young inventor blushed at his indiscretion. He felt that the news
+of the search for the treasure had leaked out through him, though he
+was the one to get on the trail of it by seeing the article in the
+paper. Now he had nearly been guilty of another break. He realized that
+he must be more cautious. The captain saw his confusion, and said:
+
+"I know how it is. You're eager to get under way. I don't blame you. I
+was the same myself when I was your age. But we'll soon be at your
+place, and then I'll tell you all I know. Sufficient now, to say that I
+believe I have located the wreck within a few miles. I got on the track
+of a sailor who had met one of the shipwrecked crew of the Boldero, and
+he gave me valuable information. Now tell me about the craft we are
+going in. A good deal depends on that."
+
+Tom hardly knew what to answer. He recalled what Mr. Sharp had said
+about not wanting to tell Captain Weston, until the last moment, that
+they were going in a submarine, for fear the old seaman (for he was old
+in point of service though not in years) might not care to risk an
+under-water trip. Therefore Tom hesitated. Seeing it, Captain Weston
+remarked quietly:
+
+"I mean, what type is your submarine? Does it go by compressed air, or
+water power?"
+
+"How do you know it's a submarine?" asked the young inventor quickly,
+and in some confusion.
+
+"Easy enough. When Mr. Berg thought he was pumping me, I was getting a
+lot of information from him. He told me about the submarine his firm
+was building, and, naturally, he mentioned yours. One thing led to
+another until I got a pretty good idea of your craft. What do you call
+it?"
+
+"The Advance."
+
+"Good name. I like it, if you don't mind speaking of it."
+
+"We were afraid you wouldn't like it," commented Tom.
+
+"What, the name?"
+
+"No, the idea of going in a submarine."
+
+"Oh," and Captain Weston laughed. "Well, it takes more than that to
+frighten me, if you'll excuse the expression.  I've always had a
+hankering to go under the surface, after so many years spent on top.
+Once or twice I came near going under, whether I wanted to or not, in
+wrecks, but I think I prefer your way. Now, if you're all done, and
+don't mind me speaking of it, I think we'll start for your place. We
+must hustle, for Berg may yet get on our trail, even if he has got the
+wrong route," and he laughed again.
+
+It was no small relief to Mr Swift and Mr. Sharp to learn that Captain
+Weston had no objections to a submarine, as they feared he might have.
+The captain, in his diffident manner, made friends at once with the
+treasure-hunters, and he and Mr. Damon struck up quite an acquaintance.
+Tom told of his meeting with the seaman, and the latter related, with
+much gusto, the story of how he had fooled Mr. Berg.
+
+"Well, perhaps you'd like to come and take a look at the craft that is
+to be our home while we're beneath the water," suggested Mr. Swift and
+the sailor assenting, the aged inventor, with much pride, assisted by
+Tom, pointed out on the Advance the features of interest. Captain
+Weston gave hearty approval, making one or two minor suggestions, which
+were carried out.
+
+"And so you launch her to-morrow," he concluded, when he had completed
+the inspection "Well, I hope it's a success, if I may be permitted to
+say so."
+
+There were busy times around the machine shop next day. So much secrecy
+had been maintained that none of the residents, or visitors to the
+coast resort, were aware that in their midst was such a wonderful craft
+as the submarine. The last touches were put on the under-water ship;
+the ways, leading from the shop to the creek, were well greased, and
+all was in readiness for the launching. The tide would soon be at
+flood, and then the boat would slide down the timbers (at least, that
+was the hope of all), and would float in the element meant to receive
+her. It was decided that no one should be aboard when the launching
+took place, as there was an element of risk attached, since it was not
+known just how buoyant the craft was. It was expected she would float,
+until the filled tanks took her to the bottom, but there was no telling.
+
+"It will be flood tide now in ten minutes," remarked Captain Weston
+quietly, looking at his watch. Then he took an observation through the
+telescope. "No hostile ships hanging in the offing," he reported. "All
+is favorable, if you don't mind me saying so," and he seemed afraid
+lest his remark might give offense.
+
+"Get ready," ordered Mr. Swift. "Tom, see that the ropes are all
+clear," for it had been decided to ease the Advance down into the water
+by means of strong cables and windlasses, as the creek was so narrow
+that the submarine, if launched in the usual way, would poke her nose
+into the opposite mud bank and stick there.
+
+"All clear," reported the young inventor.
+
+"High tide!" exclaimed the captain a moment later, snapping shut his
+watch.
+
+"Let go!" ordered Mr. Swift, and the various windlasses manned by the
+inventor, Tom and the others began to unwind their ropes. Slowly the
+ship slid along the greased ways.  Slowly she approached the water. How
+anxiously they all watched her! Nearer and nearer her blunt nose, with
+the electric propulsion plate and the auxiliary propeller, came to the
+creek, the waters of which were quiet now, awaiting the turn of the
+tide.
+
+Now little waves lapped the steel sides. It was the first contact of
+the Advance with her native element.
+
+"Pay out the rope faster!" cried Mr. Swift.
+
+The windlasses were turned more quickly. Foot by foot the craft slid
+along until, with a final rush, the stern left the ways and the
+submarine was afloat. Now would come the test. Would she ride on an
+even keel, or sink out of sight, or turn turtle? They all ran to the
+water's edge, Tom in the lead.
+
+"Hurrah!" suddenly yelled the lad, trying to stand on his head. "She
+floats! She's a success! Come on! Let's get aboard!"
+
+For, true enough, the Advance was riding like a duck on the water. She
+had been proportioned just right, and her lines were perfect. She rode
+as majestically as did any ship destined to sail on the surface, and
+not intended to do double duty.
+
+"Come on, we must moor her to the pier," directed Mr. Sharp. "The tide
+will turn in a few minutes and take her out to sea."
+
+He and Tom entered a small boat, and soon the submarine was tied to a
+small dock that had been built for the purpose.
+
+"Now to try the engine," suggested Mr. Swift, who was almost trembling
+with eagerness; for the completion of the ship meant much to him.
+
+"One moment," begged Captain Weston. "If you don't mind, I'll take an
+observation," he went on, and he swept the horizon with his telescope.
+"All clear," he reported. "I think we may go aboard and make a trial
+trip."
+
+Little time was lost in entering the cabin and engine-room, Garret
+Jackson accompanying the party to aid with the machinery. It did not
+take long to start the motors, dynamos and the big gasolene engine that
+was the vital part of the craft. A little water was admitted to the
+tanks for ballast, since the food and other supplies were not yet on
+board. The Advance now floated with the deck aft of the conning tower
+showing about two feet above the surface of the creek. Mr. Swift and
+Tom entered the pilot house.
+
+"Start the engines," ordered the aged inventor, "and we'll try my new
+system of positive and negative electrical propulsion."
+
+There was a hum and whir in the body of the ship beneath the feet of
+Tom and his father. Captain Weston stood on the little deck near the
+conning tower.
+
+"All ready?" asked the youth through the speaking tube to Mr. Sharp and
+Mr. Jackson in the engine-room.
+
+"All ready," came the answer.
+
+Tom threw over the connecting lever, while his father grasped the
+steering wheel. The Advance shot forward, moving swiftly along, about
+half submerged.
+
+"She goes! She goes!" cried Tom.
+
+"She certainly does, if I may be permitted to say so," was the calm
+contribution of Captain Weston. "I congratulate you."
+
+Faster and faster went the new craft. Mr. Swift headed her toward the
+open sea, but stopped just before passing out of the creek, as he was
+not yet ready to venture into deep water.
+
+"I want to test the auxiliary propellers," he said. After a little
+longer trial of the electric propulsion plates, which were found to
+work satisfactorily, sending the submarine up and down the creek at a
+fast rate, the screws, such as are used on most submarines, were put
+into gear.  They did well, but were not equal to the plates, nor was so
+much expected of them.
+
+"I am perfectly satisfied," announced Mr. Swift as he once more headed
+the boat to sea. "I think, Captain Weston, you had better go below now."
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"Because I am going to completely submerge the craft. Tom, close the
+conning tower door. Perhaps you will come in here with us, Captain
+Weston, though it will be rather a tight fit."
+
+"Thank you, I will. I want to see how it feels to be in a pilot house
+under water."
+
+Tom closed the water-tight door of the conning tower. Word was sent
+through the tube to the engine-room that a more severe test of the ship
+was about to be made. The craft was now outside the line of breakers
+and in the open sea.
+
+"Is everything ready, Tom?" asked his father in a quiet voice.
+
+"Everything," replied the lad nervously, for the anticipation of being
+about to sink below the surface was telling on them all, even on the
+calm, old sea captain.
+
+"Then open the tanks and admit the water," ordered Mr. Swift.
+
+His son turned a valve and adjusted some levers. There was a hissing
+sound, and the Advance began sinking. She was about to dive beneath the
+surface of the ocean, and those aboard her were destined to go through
+a terrible experience before she rose again.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Eleven
+
+On the Ocean Bed
+
+
+Lower and lower sank the submarine. There was a swirling and foaming of
+the water as she went down, caused by the air bubbles which the craft
+carried with her in her descent.  Only the top of the conning tower was
+out of water now, the ocean having closed over the deck and the rounded
+back of the boat. Had any one been watching they would have imagined
+that an accident was taking place.
+
+In the pilot house, with its thick glass windows, Tom, his father and
+Captain Weston looked over the surface of the ocean, which every minute
+was coming nearer and nearer to them.
+
+"We'll be all under in a few seconds," spoke Tom in a solemn voice, as
+he listened to the water hissing into the tanks.
+
+"Yes, and then we can see what sort of progress we will make," added
+Mr. Swift. "Everything is going fine, though," he went on cheerfully.
+"I believe I have a good boat."
+
+"There is no doubt of it in my mind," remarked Captain Weston, and Tom
+felt a little disappointed that the sailor did not shout out some such
+expression as "Shiver my timbers!" or "Keel-haul the main braces,
+there, you lubber!" But Captain Weston was not that kind of a sailor,
+though his usually quiet demeanor could be quickly dropped on
+necessity, as Tom learned later.
+
+A few minutes more and the waters closed over the top of the conning
+tower. The Advance was completely submerged.  Through the thick glass
+windows of the pilot house the occupants looked out into the greenish
+water that swirled about them; but it could not enter. Then, as the
+boat went lower, the light from above gradually died out, and the
+semi-darkness gave place to gloom.
+
+"Turn on the electrics and the searchlight, Tom," directed his father.
+
+There was the click of a switch, and the conning tower was flooded with
+light. But as this had the effect of preventing the three from peering
+out into the water, just as one in a lighted room cannot look out into
+the night, Tom shut them off and switched on the great searchlight.
+This projected its powerful beams straight ahead and there, under the
+ocean, was a pathway of illumination for the treasure-seekers.
+
+"Fine!" cried Captain Weston, with more enthusiasm than he had yet
+manifested. "That's great, if you don't mind me mentioning it. How deep
+are we?"
+
+Tom glanced at a gage on the side of the pilot tower.
+
+"Only about sixty feet," he answered.
+
+"Then don't go any deeper!" cried the captain hastily. "I know these
+waters around here, and that's about all the depth you've got. You'll
+be on the bottom in a minute."
+
+"I intend to get on the bottom after a while," said Mr. Swift, "but not
+here. I want to try for a greater distance under water before I come to
+rest on the ocean's bed. But I think we are deep enough for a test.
+Tom, close the tank intake pipes and we'll see how the Advance will
+progress when fully submerged."
+
+The hissing stopped, and then, wishing to see how the motors and other
+machinery would work, the aged inventor and his son, accompanied by
+Captain Weston, descended from the conning tower, by means of an inner
+stairway, to the interior of the ship. The submarine could be steered
+and managed from below or above. She was now floating about sixty-five
+feet below the surface of the bay.
+
+"Well, how do you like it?" asked Tom of Mr. Damon, as he saw his
+friend in an easy chair in the living-room or main cabin of the craft,
+looking out of one of the plate-glass windows on the side.
+
+"Bless my spectacles, it's the most wonderful thing I ever dreamed of!"
+cried the queer character, as he peered at the mass of water before
+him. "To think that I'm away down under the surface, and yet as dry as
+a bone. Bless my necktie, but it's great! What are we going to do now?"
+
+"Go forward," replied the young inventor.
+
+"Perhaps I had better make an observation," suggested Captain Weston,
+taking his telescope from under his arm, where he had carried it since
+entering the craft, and opening it. "We may run afoul of something, if
+you don't mind me mentioning such a disagreeable subject." Then, as he
+thought of the impossibility of using his glass under water, he closed
+it.
+
+"I shall have little use for this here, I'm afraid," he remarked with a
+smile. "Well, there's some consolation.  We're not likely to meet many
+ships in this part of the ocean. Other vessels are fond enough of
+remaining on the surface. I fancy we shall have the depths to
+ourselves, unless we meet a Government submarine, and they are hardly
+able to go as deep as we can. No, I guess we won't run into anything
+and I can put this glass away."
+
+"Unless we run into Berg and his crowd," suggested Tom in a low voice.
+
+"Ha! ha!" laughed Captain Weston, for he did not want Mr. Swift to
+worry over the unscrupulous agent. "No, I don't believe we'll meet
+them, Tom. I guess Berg is trying to work out the longitude and
+latitude I gave him. I wish I could see his face when he realizes that
+he's been deceived by that fake map."
+
+"Well, I hope he doesn't discover it too soon and trail us," went on
+the lad. "But they're going to start the machinery now. I suppose you
+and I had better take charge of the steering of the craft. Dad will
+want to be in the engine-room."
+
+"All right," replied the captain, and he moved forward with the lad to
+a small compartment, shut off from the living-room, that served as a
+pilot house when the conning tower was not used. The same levers,
+wheels and valves were there as up above, and the submarine could be
+managed as well from there as from the other place.
+
+"Is everything all right?" asked Mr Swift as he went into the
+engine-room, where Garret Jackson and Mr. Sharp were busy with oil cans.
+
+"Everything," replied the balloonist. "Are you going to start now?"
+
+"Yes, we're deep enough for a speed trial. We'll go out to sea,
+however, and try for a lower depth record, as soon as there's enough
+water. Start the engine."
+
+A moment later the powerful electric currents were flowing into the
+forward and aft plates, and the Advance began to gather way, forging
+through the water.
+
+"Straight ahead, out to sea, Tom," called his father to him.
+
+"Aye, aye, sir," responded the youth.
+
+"Ha! Quite seaman-like, if you don't mind a reference to it," commented
+Captain Weston with a smile. "Mind your helm, boy, for you don't want
+to poke her nose into a mud bank, or run up on a shoal."
+
+"Suppose you steer?" suggested the lad. "I'd rather take lessons for a
+while."
+
+"All right. Perhaps it will be safer. I know these waters from the top,
+though I can't say as much for the bottom.  However, I know where the
+shoals are."
+
+The powerful searchlight was turned, so as to send its beams along the
+path which the submarine was to follow, and then, as she gathered
+speed, she shot ahead, gliding through the waters like a fish.
+
+Mr. Damon divided his time between the forward pilot-room, the
+living-apartment, and the place where Mr. Swift, Garret Jackson and Mr.
+Sharp were working over the engines. Every few minutes he would bless
+some part of himself, his clothing, or the ship. Finally the old man
+settled down to look through the plate-glass windows in the main
+apartment.
+
+On and on went the submarine. She behaved perfectly, and was under
+excellent control. Some times Tom, at the request of his father, would
+send her toward the surface by means of the deflecting rudder. Then she
+would dive to the bottom again. Once, as a test, she was sent obliquely
+to the surface, her tower just emerging, and then she darted downward
+again, like a porpoise that had come up to roll over, and suddenly
+concluded to seek the depths. In fact, had any one seen the maneuver
+they would have imagined the craft was a big fish disporting itself.
+
+Captain Weston remained at Tom's side, giving him instructions, and
+watching the compass in order to direct the steering so as to avoid
+collisions. For an hour or more the craft was sent almost straight
+ahead at medium speed.  Then Mr. Swift, joining his son and the
+captain, remarked:
+
+"How about depth of water here, Captain Weston?"
+
+"You've got more than a mile."
+
+"Good! Then I'm going down to the bottom of the sea! Tom, fill the
+tanks still more.
+
+"Aye, aye, sir," answered the lad gaily. "Now for a new experience!"
+
+"And use the deflecting rudder, also," advised his father.  "That will
+hasten matters."
+
+Five minutes later there was a slight jar noticeable.
+
+"Bless my soul! What's that?" cried Mr. Damon. "Have we hit something?"
+
+"Yes," answered Tom with a smile.
+
+"What, for gracious sake?"
+
+"The bottom of the sea. We're on the bed of the ocean."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Twelve
+
+For a Breath of Air
+
+
+They could hardly realize it, yet the depth-gage told the story. It
+registered a distance below the surface of the ocean of five thousand
+seven hundred feet--a little over a mile. The Advance had actually come
+to rest on the bottom of the Atlantic.
+
+"Hurrah!" cried Tom. "Let's get on the diving suits, dad, and walk
+about on land under water for a change."
+
+"No," said Mr. Swift soberly. "We will hardly have time for that now.
+Besides, the suits are not yet fitted with the automatic air-tanks, and
+we can't use them. There are still some things to do before we start on
+our treasure cruise.  But I want to see how the plates are standing
+this pressure."
+
+The Advance was made with a triple hull, the spaces between the layers
+of plates being filled with a secret material, capable of withstanding
+enormous pressure, as were also the plates themselves. Mr. Swift, aided
+by Mr. Jackson and Captain Weston, made a thorough examination, and
+found that not a drop of water had leaked in, nor was there the least
+sign that any of the plates had given way under the terrific strain.
+
+"She's as tight as a drum, if you will allow me to make that
+comparison," remarked Captain Weston modestly. "I couldn't ask for a
+dryer ship."
+
+"Well, let's take a look around by means the searchlight and the
+observation windows, and then we'll go back," suggested Mr. Swift. "It
+will take about two days to get the stores and provisions aboard and
+rig up the diving suits; then we will start for the sunken treasure."
+
+There were several powerful searchlights on the Advance, so arranged
+that the bow, stern or either side could be illuminated independently.
+There were also observation windows near each light.
+
+In turn the powerful rays were cast first at the bow and then aft. In
+the gleams could be seen the sandy bed of the ocean, covered with
+shells of various kinds. Great crabs walked around on their long,
+jointed legs, and Tom saw some lobsters that would have brought joy to
+the heart of a fisherman.
+
+"Look at the big fish!" cried Mr. Damon suddenly, and he pointed to
+some dark, shadowy forms that swam up to the glass windows, evidently
+puzzled by the light.
+
+"Porpoises," declared Captain Weston briefly, "a whole school of them."
+
+The fish seemed suddenly to multiply, and soon those in the submarine
+felt curious tremors running through the whole craft.
+
+"The fish are rubbing up against it," cried Tom. "They must think we
+came down here to allow them to scratch their backs on the steel
+plates."
+
+For some time they remained on the bottom, watching the wonderful sight
+of the fishes that swam all about them.
+
+"Well, I think we may as well rise," announced Mr. Swift, after they
+had been on the bottom about an hour, moving here and there. "We didn't
+bring any provisions, and I'm getting hungry, though I don't know how
+the others of you feel about it."
+
+"Bless my dinner-plate, I could eat, too!" cried Mr. Damon. "Go up, by
+all means. We'll get enough of under-water travel once we start for the
+treasure."
+
+"Send her up, Tom," called his father. "I want to make a few notes on
+some needed changes and improvements."
+
+Tom entered the lower pilot house, and turned the valve that opened the
+tanks. He also pulled the lever that started the pumps, so that the
+water ballast would be more quickly emptied, as that would render the
+submarine buoyant, and she would quickly shoot to the surface. To the
+surprise of the lad, however, there followed no outrushing of the
+water. The Advance remained stationary on the ocean bed. Mr. Swift
+looked up from his notes.
+
+"Didn't you hear me ask you to send her up, Tom?" he inquired mildly.
+
+"I did, dad, but something seems to be the matter," was the reply.
+
+"Matter? What do you mean?" and the aged inventor hastened to where his
+son and Captain Weston were at the wheels, valves and levers.
+
+"Why, the tanks won't empty, and the pumps don't seem to work."
+
+"Let me try," suggested Mr. Swift, and he pulled the various handles.
+There was no corresponding action of the machinery.
+
+"That's odd," he remarked in a curious voice "Perhaps something has
+gone wrong with the connections. Go look in the engine-room, and ask
+Mr. Sharp if everything is all right there."
+
+Tom made a quick trip, returning to report that the dynamos, motors and
+gas engine were running perfectly.
+
+"Try to work the tank levers and pumps from the conning tower,"
+suggested Captain Weston. "Sometimes I've known the steam steering gear
+to play tricks like that."
+
+Tom hurried up the circular stairway into the tower. He pulled the
+levers and shifted the valves and wheels there.  But there was no
+emptying of the water tanks. The weight and pressure of water in them
+still held the submarine on the bottom of the sea, more than a mile
+from the surface. The pumps in the engine-room were working at top
+speed, but there was evidently something wrong in the connections.  Mr.
+Swift quickly came to this conclusion.
+
+"We must repair it at once," he said. "Tom, come to the engine-room.
+You and I, with Mr. Jackson and Mr. Sharp, will soon have it in shape
+again."
+
+"Is there any danger?" asked Mr. Damon in a perturbed voice. "Bless my
+soul, it's unlucky to have an accident on our trial trip."
+
+"Oh, we must expect accidents," declared Mr. Swift with a smile. "This
+is nothing."
+
+But it proved to be more difficult than he had imagined to re-establish
+the connection between the pumps and the tanks. The valves, too, had
+clogged or jammed, and as the pressure outside the ship was so great,
+the water would not run out of itself. It must be forced.
+
+For an hour or more the inventor, his son and the others, worked away.
+They could accomplish nothing. Tom looked anxiously at his parent when
+the latter paused in his efforts.
+
+"Don't worry," advised the aged inventor. "It's got to come right
+sooner or later."
+
+Just then Mr. Damon, who had been wandering about the ship, entered the
+engine-room.
+
+"Do you know," he said, "you ought to open a window, or something."
+
+"Why, what's the matter?" asked Tom quickly, looking to see if the odd
+man was joking.
+
+"Well, of course I don't exactly mean a window," explained Mr. Damon,
+"but we need fresh air."
+
+"Fresh air!" There was a startled note in Mr. Swift's voice as he
+repeated the words.
+
+"Yes, I can hardly breathe in the living-room, and it's not much better
+here."
+
+"Why, there ought to be plenty of fresh air," went on the inventor. "It
+is renewed automatically."
+
+Tom jumped up and looked at an indicator. He uttered a startled cry.
+
+"The air hasn't been changed in the last hour!" he exclaimed. "It is
+bad. There's not enough oxygen in it. I notice it, now that I've
+stopped working. The gage indicates it, too. The automatic air-changer
+must have stopped working. I'll fix it."
+
+He hurried to the machine which was depended on to supply fresh air to
+the submarine.
+
+"Why, the air tanks are empty!" the young inventor cried.  "We haven't
+any more air except what is in the ship now!"
+
+"And we're rapidly breathing that up," added Captain Weston solemnly.
+
+"Can't you make more?" cried Mr. Damon. "I thought you said you could
+make oxygen aboard the ship."
+
+"We can," answered Mr. Swift, "but I did not bring along a supply of
+the necessary chemicals. I did not think we would be submerged long
+enough for that. But there should have been enough in the reserve tank
+to last several days. How about it, Tom?"
+
+"It's all leaked out, or else it wasn't filled," was the despairing
+answer. "All the air we have is what's in the ship, and we can't make
+more."
+
+The treasure-seekers looked at each other. It was an awful situation.
+
+"Then the only thing to do is to fix the machinery and rise to the
+surface," said Mr. Sharp simply. "We can have all the air we want,
+then."
+
+"Yes, but the machinery doesn't seem possible of being fixed," spoke
+Tom in a low voice.
+
+"We must do it!" cried his father.
+
+They set to work again with fierce energy, laboring for their very
+lives. They all knew that they could not long remain in the ship
+without oxygen. Nor could they desert it to go to the surface, for the
+moment they left the protection of the thick steel sides the terrible
+pressure of the water would kill them. Nor were the diving suits
+available. They must stay in the craft and die a miserable death--unless
+the machinery could be repaired and the Advance sent to the surface.
+The emergency expanding lifting tank was not yet in working order.
+
+More frantically they toiled, trying every device that was suggested to
+the mechanical minds of Tom, his father, Mr. Sharp or Mr. Jackson, to
+make the pumps work. But something was wrong. More and more foul grew
+the air. They were fairly gasping now. It was  difficult to breathe, to
+say nothing of working, in that atmosphere. The thought of their
+terrible position was in the minds of all.
+
+"Oh, for one breath of fresh air!" cried Mr. Damon, who seemed to
+suffer more than any of the others. Grim death was hovering around
+them, imprisoned as they were on the ocean's bed, over a mile from the
+surface.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Thirteen
+
+Off for the Treasure
+
+
+Suddenly Tom, after a moment's pause, seized a wrench and began
+loosening some nuts.
+
+"What are you doing?" asked his father faintly, for he was being
+weakened by the vitiated atmosphere.
+
+"I'm going to take this valve apart," replied his son. "We haven't
+looked there for the trouble. Maybe it's out of order."
+
+He attacked the valve with energy, but his hands soon lagged. The lack
+of oxygen was telling on him. He could no longer work quickly.
+
+"I'll help," murmured Mr. Sharp thickly. He took a wrench, but no
+sooner had he loosened one nut than he toppled over.  "I'm all in," he
+murmured feebly.
+
+"Is he dead?" cried Mr. Damon, himself gasping.
+
+"No, only fainted. But he soon will be dead, and so will all of us, if
+we don't get fresh air," remarked Captain Weston. "Lie down on the
+floor, every one. There is a little fairly good air there. It's heavier
+than the air we've breathed, and we can exist on it for a little
+longer. Poor Sharp was so used to breathing the rarified air of high
+altitudes that he can't stand this heavy atmosphere."
+
+Mr. Damon was gasping worse than ever, and so was Mr. Swift. The
+balloonist lay an inert heap on the floor, with Captain Weston trying
+to force a few drops of stimulant down his throat.
+
+With a fierce determination in his heart, but with fingers that almost
+refused to do his bidding, Tom once more sought to open the big valve.
+He felt sure the trouble was located there, as they had tried to locate
+it in every other place without avail.
+
+"I'll help," said Mr. Jackson in a whisper. He, too, was hardly able to
+move.
+
+More and more devoid of oxygen grew the air. It gave Tom a sense as if
+his head was filled, and ready to burst with every breath he drew.
+Still he struggled to loosen the nuts.  There were but four more now,
+and he took off three while Mr. Jackson removed one. The young inventor
+lifted off the valve cover, though it felt like a ton weight to him. He
+gave a glance inside.
+
+"Here's the trouble!" he murmured. "The valve's clogged.  No wonder it
+wouldn't work. The pumps couldn't force the water out."
+
+It was the work of only a minute to adjust the valve. Then Tom and the
+engineer managed to get the cover back on.
+
+How they inserted the bolts and screwed the nuts in place they never
+could remember clearly afterward, but they managed it somehow, with
+shaking, trembling hands and eyes that grew more and more dim.
+
+"Now start the pumps!" cried Tom faintly. "The tanks will be emptied,
+and we can get to the surface."
+
+Mr. Sharp was still unconscious, nor was Mr. Swift able to help. He lay
+with his eyes closed. Garret Jackson, however, managed to crawl to the
+engine-room, and soon the clank of machinery told Tom that the pumps
+were in motion. The lad staggered to the pilot house and threw the
+levers over. An instant later there was the hissing of water as it
+rushed from the ballast tanks. The submarine shivered, as though
+disliking to leave the bottom of the sea, and then slowly rose. As the
+pumps worked more rapidly, and the sea was sent from the tank in great
+volumes, the boat fairly shot to the surface. Tom was ready to open the
+conning tower and let in fresh air as soon as the top was above the
+surface.
+
+With a bound the Advance reached the top. Tom frantically worked the
+worm gear that opened the tower. In rushed the fresh, life-giving air,
+and the treasure-hunters filled their lungs with it.
+
+And it was only just in time, for Mr. Sharp was almost gone. He quickly
+revived, as did the others, when they could breathe as much as they
+wished of the glorious oxygen.
+
+"That was a close call," commented Mr. Swift. "We'll not go below again
+until I have provided for all emergencies. I should have seen to the
+air tanks and the expanding one before going below. We'll sail home on
+the surface now."
+
+The submarine was put about and headed for her dock. On the way she
+passed a small steamer, and the passengers looked down in wonder at the
+strange craft.
+
+When the Advance reached the secluded creek where she had been
+launched, her passengers had fully recovered from their terrible
+experience, though the nerves of Mr. Swift and Mr. Damon were not at
+ease for some days thereafter.
+
+"I should never have made a submerged test without making sure that we
+had a reserve supply of air," remarked the aged inventor. "I will not
+be caught that way again. But I can't understand how the pump valve got
+out of order."
+
+"Maybe some one tampered with it," suggested Mr. Damon.  "Could Andy
+Foger, any of the Happy Harry gang, or the rival gold-seekers have done
+it?"
+
+"I hardly think so," answered Tom. "The place has been too carefully
+guarded since Berg and Andy once sneaked in. I think it was just an
+accident, but I have thought of a plan whereby such accidents can be
+avoided in the future. It needs a simple device."
+
+"Better patent it," suggested Mr. Sharp with a smile.
+
+"Maybe I will," replied the young inventor. "But not now.  We haven't
+time, if we intend to get fitted out for our trip."
+
+"No; I should say the sooner we started the better," remarked Captain
+Weston. "That is, if you don't mind me speaking about it," he added
+gently, and the others smiled, for his diffident comments were only a
+matter of habit.
+
+The first act of the adventurers, after tying the submarine at the
+dock, was to proceed with the loading of the food and supplies. Tom and
+Mr. Damon looked to this, while Mr. Swift and Mr. Sharp made some
+necessary changes to the machinery. The next day the young inventor
+attached his device to the pump valve, and the loading of the craft was
+continued.
+
+All was in readiness for the gold-seeking expedition a week later.
+Captain Weston had carefully charted the route they were to follow, and
+it was decided to move along on the surface for the first day, so as to
+get well out to sea before submerging the craft. Then it would sink
+below the surface, and run along under the water until the wreck was
+reached, rising at times, as needed, to renew the air supply.
+
+With sufficient stores and provisions aboard to last several months, if
+necessary, though they did not expect to be gone more than sixty days
+at most, the adventurers arose early one morning and went down to the
+dock. Mr. Jackson was not to accompany them. He did not care about a
+submarine trip, he said, and Mr. Swift desired him to remain at the
+seaside cottage and guard the shops, which contained much valuable
+machinery. The airship was also left there.
+
+"Well, are we all ready?" asked Mr. Swift of the little party of
+gold-seekers, as they were about to enter the conning tower hatchway of
+the submarine.
+
+"All ready, dad," responded his son.
+
+"Then let's get aboard," proposed Captain Weston. "But first let me
+take an observation."
+
+He swept the horizon with his telescope, and Tom noticed that the
+sailor kept it fixed on one particular spot for some time.
+
+"Did you see anything?" asked the lad.
+
+"Well, there is a boat lying off there," was the answer.  "And some one
+is observing us through a glass. But I don't believe it matters.
+Probably they're only trying to see what sort of an odd fish we are."
+
+"All aboard, then," ordered Mr. Swift, and they went into the
+submarine. Tom and his father, with Captain Weston, remained in the
+conning tower. The signal was given, the electricity flowed into the
+forward and aft plates, and the Advance shot ahead on the surface.
+
+The sailor raised his telescope once more and peered through a window
+in the tower. He uttered an exclamation.
+
+"What's the matter?" asked Tom.
+
+"That other ship--a small steamer--is weighing anchor and seems to be
+heading this way," was the reply.
+
+"Maybe it's some one hired by Berg to follow us and trace our
+movements," suggested Tom.
+
+"If it is we'll fool them," added his father. "Just keep an eye on
+them, captain, and I think we can show them a trick or two in a few
+minutes."
+
+Faster shot the Advance through the water. She had started on her way
+to get the gold from the sunken wreck, but already enemies were on the
+trail of the adventurers, for the ship the sailor had noticed was
+steaming after them.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Fourteen
+
+In the Diving Suits
+
+
+There was no doubt that the steamer was coming after the submarine.
+Several observations Captain Weston made confirmed this, and he
+reported the fact to Mr. Swift.
+
+"Well, we'll change our plans, then," said the inventor.  "Instead of
+sailing on the surface we'll go below. But first let them get near so
+they may have the benefit of seeing what we do. Tom, go below, please,
+and tell Mr. Sharp to get every thing in readiness for a quick descent.
+We'll slow up a bit now, and let them get nearer to us."
+
+The speed of the submarine was reduced, and in a short time the strange
+steamer had overhauled her, coming to within hailing distance.
+
+Mr. Swift signaled for the machinery to stop and the submarine came to
+a halt on the surface, bobbing about like a half-submerged bottle. The
+inventor opened a bull's-eye in the tower, and called to a man on the
+bridge of the steamer:
+
+"What are you following us for?"
+
+"Following you?" repeated the man, for the strange vessel had also come
+to a stop. "We're not following you."
+
+"It looks like it," replied Mr. Swift. "You'd better give it up."
+
+"I guess the waters are free," was the quick retort.  "We'll follow you
+if we like."
+
+"Will you? Then come on!" cried the inventor as he quickly closed the
+heavy glass window and pulled a lever. An instant later the submarine
+began to sink, and Mr. Swift could not help laughing as, just before
+the tower went under water, he had a glimpse of the astonished face of
+the man on the bridge. The latter had evidently not expected such a
+move as that.
+
+Lower and lower in the water went the craft, until it was about two
+hundred feet below the surface. Then Mr. Swift left the conning tower,
+descended to the main part of the ship, and asked Tom and Captain
+Weston to take charge of the pilot house.
+
+"Send her ahead, Tom," his father said. "That fellow up above is
+rubbing his eyes yet, wondering where we are, I suppose."
+
+Forward shot the Advance under water, the powerful electrical plates
+pulling and pushing her on the way to secure the sunken gold.
+
+All that morning a fairly moderate rate of speed was maintained, as it
+was thought best not to run the new machinery too fast.
+
+Dinner was eaten about a quarter of a mile below the surface, but no
+one inside the submarine would ever have known it. Electric lights made
+the place as brilliant as could be desired, and the food, which Tom and
+Mr. Damon prepared, was equal to any that could have been served on
+land. After the meal they opened the shutters over the windows in the
+sides of the craft, and looked at the myriads of fishes swimming past,
+as the creatures were disclosed in the glare of the searchlight.
+
+That night they were several hundred miles on their journey, for the
+craft was speedy, and leaving Tom and Captain Weston to take the first
+watch, the others went to bed.
+
+"Bless my soul, but it does seem odd, though, to go to bed under water,
+like a fish," remarked Mr. Damon. "If my wife knew this she would worry
+to death. She thinks I'm off automobiling. But this isn't half as
+dangerous as riding in a car that's always getting out of order. A
+submarine for mine, every time."
+
+"Wait until we get to the end of this trip," advised Tom.  "I guess
+you'll find almost as many things can happen in a submarine as can in
+an auto," and future events were to prove the young inventor to be
+right.
+
+Everything worked well that night, and the ship made good progress.
+They rose to the surface the next morning to make sure of their
+position, and to get fresh air, though they did not really need the
+latter, as the reserve supply had not been drawn on, and was sufficient
+for several days, now that the oxygen machine had been put in running
+order.
+
+On the second day the ship was sent to the bottom and halted there, as
+Mr. Swift wished to try the new diving suits. These were made of a new,
+light, but very strong metal to withstand the pressure of a great depth.
+
+Tom, Mr. Sharp and Captain Weston donned the suits, the others agreeing
+to wait until they saw how the first trial resulted. Then, too, it was
+necessary for some one acquainted with the machinery to remain in the
+ship to operate the door and water chamber through which the divers had
+to pass to get out.
+
+The usual plan, with some changes, was followed in letting the three
+out of the boat, and on to the bottom of the sea.  They entered a
+chamber in the side of the submarine, water was gradually admitted
+until it equaled in pressure that outside, then an outer door was
+opened by means of levers, and they could step out.
+
+It was a curious sensation to Tom and the others to feel that they were
+actually walking along the bed of the ocean.  All around them was the
+water, and as they turned on the small electric lights in their
+helmets, which lights were fed by storage batteries fastened to the
+diving suits, they saw the fish, big and little, swarm up to them,
+doubtless astonished at the odd creatures which had entered their
+domain. On the sand of the bottom, and in and out among the shells and
+rocks, crawled great spider crabs, big eels and other odd creatures
+seldom seen on the surface of the water.  The three divers found no
+difficulty in breathing, as there were air tanks fastened to their
+shoulders, and a constant supply of oxygen was fed through pipes into
+the helmets. The pressure of water did not bother them, and after the
+first sensation Tom began to enjoy the novelty of it. At first the
+inability to speak to his companions seemed odd, but he soon got so he
+could make signs and motions, and be understood.
+
+They walked about for some time, and once the lad came upon a part of a
+wrecked vessel buried deep in the sand.  There was no telling what ship
+it was, nor how long it had been there, and after silently viewing it,
+they continued on.
+
+"It was great!" were the first words Tom uttered when he and the others
+were once more inside the submarine and had removed the suits. "If we
+can only walk around the wreck of the Boldero that way, we'll have all
+the gold out of her in no time. There are no life-lines nor air-hose to
+bother with in these diving suits."
+
+"They certainly are a success," conceded Mr. Sharp.
+
+"Bless my topknot!" cried Mr. Damon. "I'll try it next time. I've
+always wanted to be a diver, and now I have the chance."
+
+The trip was resumed after the diving chamber had been closed, and on
+the third day Captain Weston announced, after a look at his chart, that
+they were nearing the Bahama Islands.
+
+"We'll have to be careful not to run into any of the small keys," he
+said, that being the name for the many little points of land, hardly
+large enough to be dignified by the name of island. "We must keep a
+constant lookout."
+
+Fortune favored them, though once, when Tom was steering, he narrowly
+avoided ramming a coral reef with the submarine.  The searchlight
+showed it to him just in time, and he sheered off with a thumping in
+his heart.
+
+The course was changed from south to east, so as to get ready to swing
+out of the way of the big shoulder of South America where Brazil takes
+up so much room, and as they went farther and farther toward the
+equator, they noticed that the waters teemed more and more with fish,
+some beautiful, some ugly and fear-inspiring, and some such monsters
+that it made one shudder to look at them, even through the thick glass
+of the bulls-eye windows.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Fifteen
+
+At the Tropical Island
+
+
+It was on the evening of the fourth day later that Captain Weston, who
+was steering the craft, suddenly called out:
+
+"Land ho!"
+
+"Where away?" inquired Tom quickly, for he had read that this was the
+proper response to make.
+
+"Dead ahead," answered the sailor with a smile. "Shall we make for it,
+if I may be allowed the question?"
+
+"What land is it likely to be?" Mr. Swift wanted to know.
+
+"Oh, some small tropical island," replied the seafaring man. "It isn't
+down on the charts. Probably it's too small to note. I should say it
+was a coral island, but we may be able to find a spring of fresh water
+there, and some fruit."
+
+"Then we'll land there," decided the inventor. "We can use some fresh
+water, though our distilling and ice apparatus does very well."
+
+They made the island just at dusk, and anchored in a little lagoon,
+where there was a good depth of water.
+
+"Now for shore!" cried Tom, as the submarine swung around on the chain.
+"It looks like a fine place. I hope there are cocoanuts and oranges
+here. Shall I get out the electric launch, dad?"
+
+"Yes, you may, and we'll all go ashore. It will do us good to stretch
+our legs a bit."
+
+Carried in a sort of pocket on the deck of the submarine was a small
+electric boat, capable of holding six. It could be slid from the
+pocket, or depression, into the water without the use of davits, and,
+with Mr. Sharp to aid him, Tom soon had the little craft afloat. The
+batteries were already charged, and just as the sun was going down the
+gold-seekers entered the launch and were soon on shore.
+
+They found a good spring of water close at hand, and Tom's wish
+regarding the cocoanuts was realized, though there were no oranges. The
+lad took several of the delicious nuts, and breaking them open poured
+the milk into a collapsible cup he carried, drinking it eagerly. The
+others followed his example, and pronounced it the best beverage they
+had tasted in a long time.
+
+The island was a typical tropical one, not very large, and it did not
+appear to have been often visited by man. There were no animals to be
+seen, but myriads of birds flew here and there amid the trees, the
+trailing vines and streamers of moss.
+
+"Let's spend a day here to-morrow and explore it," proposed Tom, and
+his father nodded an assent. They went back to the submarine as night
+was beginning to gather, and in the cabin, after supper, talked over
+the happenings of their trip so far.
+
+"Do you think we'll have any trouble getting the gold out of the
+wrecked vessel?" asked Tom of Captain Weston, after a pause.
+
+"Well, it's hard to say. I couldn't learn just how the wreck lays,
+whether it's on a sandy or a rocky bottom. If the latter, it won't be
+so hard, but if the sand has worked in and partly covered it, we'll
+have some difficulties, if I may be permitted to say so. However, don't
+borrow trouble.  We're not there yet, though at the rate we're
+traveling it won't be long before we arrive."
+
+No watch was set that night, as it was not considered necessary. Tom
+was the first to arise in the morning, and he went out on the deck for
+a breath of fresh air before breakfast.
+
+He looked off at the beautiful little island, and as his eye took in
+all of the little lagoon where the submarine was anchored he uttered a
+startled cry.
+
+And well he might, for, not a hundred yards away, and nearer to the
+island than was the Advance, floated another craft--another craft,
+almost similar in shape and size to the one built by the Swifts. Tom
+rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not seeing double. No, there could
+be no mistake about it. There was another submarine at the tropical
+island.
+
+As he looked, some one emerged from the conning tower of the second
+craft. The figure seemed strangely familiar. Tom knew in a moment who
+it was--Addison Berg. The agent saw the lad, too, and taking off his
+cap and making a mocking bow, he called out:
+
+"Good morning! Have you got the gold yet?"
+
+Tom did not know what to answer. Seeing the other submarine, at an
+island where he had supposed they would not be disturbed, was
+disconcerting enough, but to be greeted by Berg was altogether too
+much, Tom thought. His fears that the rival boat builders would follow
+had not been without foundation.
+
+"Rather surprised to see us, aren't you?" went on Mr. Berg, smiling.
+
+"Rather," admitted Tom, choking over the word.
+
+"Thought you'd be," continued Berg. "We didn't expect to meet you so
+soon, but we're glad we did. I don't altogether like hunting for sunken
+treasure, with such indefinite directions as I have."
+
+"You--are going to--" stammered Tom, and then he concluded it would be
+best not to say anything. But his talk had been heard inside the
+submarine. His father came to the foot of the conning tower stairway.
+
+"To whom are you speaking, Tom?" he asked.
+
+"They're here, dad," was the youth's answer.
+
+"Here? Who are here?"
+
+"Berg and his employers. They've followed us, dad."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Sixteen
+
+"We'll Race You For It"
+
+
+Mr. Swift hurried up on deck. He was accompanied by Captain Weston. At
+the sight of Tom's father, Mr. Berg, who had been joined by two other
+men, called out:
+
+"You see we also concluded to give up the trial for the Government
+prize, Mr. Swift. We decided there was more money in something else.
+But we still will have a good chance to try the merits of our
+respective boats. We hurried and got ours fitted up almost as soon as
+you did yours, and I think we have the better craft."
+
+"I don't care to enter into any competition with you," said Mr. Swift
+coldly.
+
+"Ah, but I'm afraid you'll have to, whether you want to or not," was
+the insolent reply.
+
+"What's that?  Do you mean to force this matter upon me?"
+
+"I'm afraid I'll have to--my employers and I, that is. You see, we
+managed to pick up your trail after you left the Jersey coast, having
+an idea where you were bound, and we don't intend to lose you now."
+
+"Do you mean to follow us?" asked Captain Weston softly.
+
+"Well, you can put it that way if you like," answered one of the two
+men with Mr. Berg.
+
+"I forbid it!" cried Mr. Swift hotly. "You have no right to sneak after
+us."
+
+"I guess the ocean is free," continued the rascally agent.
+
+"Why do you persist in keeping after us?" inquired the aged inventor,
+thinking it well to ascertain, if possible, just how much the men knew.
+
+"Because we're after that treasure as well as you," was the bold reply.
+"You have no exclusive right to it. The sunken ship is awaiting the
+first comer, and whoever gets there first can take the gold from the
+wreck. We intend to be there first, but we'll be fair with you."
+
+"Fair? What do you mean?" demanded Tom.
+
+"This: We'll race you for it. The first one to arrive will have the
+right to search the wreck for the gold bullion. Is that fair? Do you
+agree to it?"
+
+"We agree to nothing with you," interrupted Captain Weston, his usual
+diffident manner all gone. "I happen to be in partial command of this
+craft, and I warn you that if I find you interfering with us it won't
+be healthy for you.  I'm not fond of fighting, but when I begin I don't
+like to stop," and he smiled grimly. "You'd better not follow us."
+
+"We'll do as we please," shouted the third member of the trio on the
+deck of the other boat, which, as Tom could see, was named the Wonder.
+"We intend to get that gold if we can."
+
+"All right. I've warned you," went on the sailor, and then, motioning
+to Tom and his father to follow, he went below.
+
+"Well, what's to be done?" asked Mr. Swift when they were seated in the
+living-room, and had informed the others of the presence of the rival
+submarine.
+
+"The only thing I see to do is to sneak away unobserved, go as deep as
+possible, and make all haste for the wreck," advised the captain. "They
+will depend on us, for they have evidently no chart of the wreck,
+though of course the general location of it may be known to them from
+reading the papers. I hoped I had thrown them off the track by the
+false chart I dropped, but it seems they were too smart for us."
+
+"Have they a right to follow us?" asked Tom.
+
+"Legally, but not morally. We can't prevent them, I'm afraid. The only
+thing to do is to get there ahead of them.  It will be a race for the
+sunken treasure, and we must get there first."
+
+"What do you propose doing, captain?" asked Mr. Damon.  "Bless my
+shirt-studs, but can't we pull their ship up on the island and leave it
+there?"
+
+"I'm afraid such high-handed proceedings would hardly answer," replied
+Mr. Swift. "No, as Captain Weston says, we must get there ahead of
+them. What do you think will be the best scheme, captain?"
+
+"Well, there's no need for us to forego our plan to get fresh water.
+Suppose we go to the island, that is, some of us, leaving a guard on
+board here. We'll fill our tanks with fresh water, and at night we'll
+quietly sink below the surface and speed away."
+
+They all voted that an excellent idea, and little time was lost putting
+it into operation.
+
+All the remainder of that day not a sign of life was visible about the
+Wonder. She lay inert on the surface of the lagoon, not far away from
+the Advance; but, though no one showed himself on the deck, Tom and his
+friends had no doubt but that their enemies were closely watching them.
+
+As dusk settled down over the tropical sea, and as the shadows of the
+trees on the little island lengthened, those on board the Advance
+closed the Conning tower. No lights were turned on, as they did not
+want their movements to be seen, but Tom, his father and Mr. Sharp took
+their positions near the various machines and apparatus, ready to open
+the tanks and let the submarine sink to the bottom, as soon as it was
+possible to do this unobserved.
+
+"Luckily there's no moon," remarked Captain Weston, as he took his
+place beside Tom. "Once below the surface and we can defy them to find
+us. It is odd how they traced us, but I suppose that steamer gave them
+the clue."
+
+It rapidly grew dark, as it always does in the tropics, and when a
+cautious observation from the conning tower did not disclose the
+outlines of the other boat, those aboard the Advance rightly concluded
+that their rivals were unable to see them.
+
+"Send her down, Tom," called his father, and with a hiss the water
+entered the tanks. The submarine quickly sank below the surface, aided
+by the deflecting rudder.
+
+But alas for the hopes of the gold-seekers. No sooner was she
+completely submerged, with the engine started so as to send her out of
+the lagoon and to the open sea, than the waters all about were made
+brilliant by the phosphorescent phenomenon. In southern waters this
+frequently occurs.  Millions of tiny creatures, which, it is said,
+swarm in the warm currents, give an appearance of fire to the ocean,
+and any object moving through it can plainly be seen. It was so with
+the Advance. The motion she made in shooting forward, and the
+undulations caused by her submersion, seemed to start into activity the
+dormant phosphorus, and the submarine was afloat in a sea of fire.
+
+"Quick!" cried Tom. "Speed her up! Maybe we can get out of this patch
+of water before they see us."
+
+But it was too late. Above them they could hear the electric siren of
+the Wonder as it was blown to let them know that their escape had been
+noticed. A moment later the water, which acted as a sort of
+sounding-board, or telephone, brought to the ears of Tom Swift and his
+friends the noise of the engines of the other craft in operation.  She
+was coming after them. The race for the possession of three hundred
+thousand dollars in gold was already under way. Fate seemed against
+those on board the Advance.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Seventeen
+
+The Race
+
+
+Directed by Captain Weston, who glanced at the compass and told him
+which way to steer to clear the outer coral reef, Tom sent the
+submarine ahead, signaling for full speed to the engine-room, where his
+father and Mr. Sharp were. The big dynamos purred like great cats, as
+they sent the electrical energy into the forward and aft plates,
+pulling and pushing the Advance forward. On and on she rushed under
+water, but ever as she shot ahead the disturbance in the phosphorescent
+water showed her position plainly. She would be easy to follow.
+
+"Can't you get any more speed out of her?" asked the captain of the lad.
+
+"Yes," was the quick reply; "by using the auxiliary screws I think we
+can. I'll try it."
+
+He signaled for the propellers, forward and aft, to be put in
+operation, and the motor moving the twin screws was turned on. At once
+there was a perceptible increase to the speed of the Advance.
+
+"Are we leaving them behind?" asked Tom anxiously, as he glanced at the
+speed gage, and noted that the submarine was now about five hundred
+feet below the surface.
+
+"Hard to tell," replied the Captain. "You'd have to take an observation
+to make sure."
+
+"I'll do it," cried the youth. "You steer, please, and I'll go in the
+conning tower. I can look forward and aft there, as well as straight
+up. Maybe I can see the Wonder."
+
+Springing up the circular ladder leading into the tower, Tom glanced
+through the windows all about the small pilot house. He saw a curious
+sight. It was as if the submarine was in a sea of yellowish liquid
+fire. She was immersed in water which glowed with the flames that
+contained no heat.  So light was it, in fact, that there was no need of
+the incandescents in the tower. The young inventor could have seen to
+read a paper by the illumination of the phosphorus.  But he had
+something else to do than observe this phenomenon. He wanted to see if
+he could catch sight of the rival submarine.
+
+At first he could make out nothing save the swirl and boiling of the
+sea, caused by the progress of the Advance through it. But suddenly, as
+he looked up, he was aware of some great, black body a little to the
+rear and about ten feet above his craft.
+
+"A shark!" he exclaimed aloud. "An immense one, too."
+
+But the closer he looked the less it seemed like a shark.  The position
+of the black object changed. It appeared to settle down, to be
+approaching the top of the conning tower.  Then, with a suddenness that
+unnerved him for the time being, Tom recognized what it was; it was the
+underside of a ship. He could see the plates riveted together, and
+then, as he noted the rounded, cylindrical shape, he knew that it was a
+submarine. It was the Wonder. She was close at hand and was creeping up
+on the Advance. But, what was more dangerous, she seemed to be slowly
+settling in the water.  Another moment and her great screws might crash
+into the Conning tower of the Swifts' boat and shave it off. Then the
+water would rush in, drowning the treasure-seekers like rats in a trap.
+
+With a quick motion Tom yanked over the lever that allowed more water
+to flow into the ballast tanks. The effect was at once apparent. The
+Advance shot down toward the bottom of the sea. At the same time the
+young inventor signaled to Captain Weston to notify those in the
+engine-room to put on a little more speed. The Advance fairly leaped
+ahead, and the lad, looking up through the bull's-eye in the roof of
+the conning tower, had the satisfaction of seeing the rival submarine
+left behind.
+
+The youth hurried down into the interior of the ship to tell what he
+had seen, and explain the reason for opening the ballast tanks. He
+found his father and Mr. Sharp somewhat excited over the unexpected
+maneuver of the craft.
+
+"So they're still following us," murmured Mr. Swift. "I don't see why
+we can't shake them off."
+
+"It's on account of this luminous water," explained Captain Weston.
+"Once we are clear of that it will be easy, I think, to give them the
+slip. That is, if we can get out of their sight long enough. Of course,
+if they keep close after us, they can pick us up with their
+searchlight, for I suppose they carry one."
+
+"Yes," admitted the aged inventor, "they have as strong a one as we
+have. In fact, their ship is second only to this one in speed and
+power. I know, for Bentley & Eagert showed me some of the plans before
+they started it, and asked my opinion. This was before I had the notion
+of building a submarine. Yes, I am afraid we'll have trouble getting
+away from them."
+
+"I can't understand this phosphorescent glow keeping up so long,"
+remarked Captain Weston. "I've seen it in this locality several times,
+but it never covered such an extent of the ocean in my time.  There
+must be changed conditions here now."
+
+For an hour or more the race was kept up, and the two submarines forged
+ahead through the glowing sea. The Wonder remained slightly above and
+to the rear of the other, the better to keep sight of her, and though
+the Advance was run to her limit of speed, her rival could not be
+shaken off.  Clearly the Wonder was a speedy craft.
+
+"It's too bad that we've got to fight them, as well as run the risk of
+lots of other troubles which are always present when sailing under
+water," observed Mr Damon, who wandered about the submarine like the
+nervous person he was. "Bless my shirt-studs! Can't we blow them up, or
+cripple them in some way? They have no right to go after our treasure."
+
+"Well, I guess they've got as much right as we have," declared Tom. "It
+goes to whoever reaches the wreck first.  But what I don't like is
+their mean, sneaking way of doing it. If they went off on their own
+hook and looked for it I wouldn't say a word. But they expect us to
+lead them to the wreck, and then they'll rob us if they can. That's not
+fair."
+
+"Indeed, it isn't," agreed Captain Weston, "if I may be allowed the
+expression. We ought to find some way of stopping them. But, if I'm not
+mistaken," he added quickly, looking from one of the port bull's-eyes,
+"the phosphorescent glow is lessening. I believe we are running beyond
+that part of the ocean."
+
+There was no doubt of it, the glow was growing less and less, and ten
+minutes later the Advance was speeding along through a sea as black as
+night. Then, to avoid running into some wreck, it was necessary to turn
+on the searchlight.
+
+"Are they still after us?" asked Mr. Swift of his son, as he emerged
+from the engine-room, where he had gone to make some adjustments to the
+machinery, with the hope of increasing the speed.
+
+"I'll go look," volunteered the lad. He climbed up into the conning
+tower again, and for a moment, as he gazed back into the black waters
+swirling all about, he hoped that they had lost the Wonder. But a
+moment later his heart sank as he caught sight, through the liquid
+element, of the flickering gleams of another searchlight, the rays
+undulating through the sea.
+
+"Still following," murmured the young inventor. "They're not going to
+give up. But we must make 'em--that's all."
+
+He went down to report what he had seen, and a consultation was held.
+Captain Weston carefully studied the charts of that part of the ocean,
+and finding that there was a great depth of water at hand, proposed a
+series of evolutions.
+
+"We can go up and down, shoot first to one side and then to the other,"
+he explained. "We can even drop down to the bottom and rest there for a
+while. Perhaps, in that way, we can shake them off."
+
+They tried it. The Advance was sent up until her conning tower was out
+of the water, and then she was suddenly forced down until she was but a
+few feet from the bottom. She darted to the left, to the right, and
+even doubled and went back over the course she had taken. But all to no
+purpose.  The Wonder proved fully as speedy, and those in her seemed to
+know just how to handle the submarine, so that every evolution of the
+Advance was duplicated. Her rival could not be shaken off.
+
+All night this was kept up, and when morning came, though only the
+clocks told it, for eternal night was below the surface, the rival
+gold-seekers were still on the trail.
+
+"They won't give up," declared Mr. Swift hopelessly.
+
+"No, we've got to race them for it, just as Berg proposed," admitted
+Tom. "But if they want a straightaway race we'll give it to 'em. Let's
+run her to the limit, dad."
+
+"That's what we've been doing, Tom."
+
+"No, not exactly, for we've been submerged a little too much to get the
+best speed out of our craft. Let's go a little nearer the surface, and
+give them the best race they'll ever have."
+
+Then the race began; and such a contest of speed as it was! With her
+propellers working to the limit, and every volt of electricity that was
+available forced into the forward and aft plates, the Advance surged
+through the water, about ten feet below the surface. But the Wonder
+kept after her, giving her knot for knot. The course of the leading
+submarine was easy to trace now, in the morning light which penetrated
+ten feet down.
+
+"No use," remarked Tom again, when, after two hours, the Wonder was
+still close behind them. "Our only chance is that they may have a
+breakdown."
+
+"Or run out of air, or something like that," added Captain Weston.
+"They are crowding us pretty close. I had no idea they could keep up
+this speed. If they don't look out," he went on as he looked from one
+of the aft observation windows, "they'll foul us, and--"
+
+His remarks were interrupted by a jar to the Advance. She seemed to
+shiver and careened to one side. Then came another bump.
+
+"Slow down!" cried the captain, rushing toward the pilot house.
+
+"What's the matter?" asked Tom, as he threw the engines and electrical
+machines out of gear. "Have we hit anything?"
+
+"No. Something has hit us," cried the captain. "Their submarine has
+rammed us."
+
+"Rammed us!" repeated Mr. Swift. "Tom, run out the electric cannon!
+They're trying to sink us! We'll have to fight them. Run out the stern
+electric gun and we'll make them wish they'd not followed us."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Eighteen
+
+The Electric Gun
+
+
+There was much  excitement aboard the Advance. The submarine came to a
+stop in the water, while the treasure-seekers waited anxiously for what
+was to follow. Would they be rammed again? This time, stationary as
+they were, and with the other boat coming swiftly on, a hole might be
+stove through the Advance, in spite of her powerful sides.
+
+They had not long to wait. Again there came a jar, and once more the
+Swifts' boat careened. But the blow was a glancing one and,
+fortunately, did little damage.
+
+"They certainly must be trying to sink us," agreed Captain Weston.
+"Come, Tom, we'll take a look from the stern and see what they're up
+to."
+
+"And get the stern electric gun ready to fire," repeated Mr. Swift. "We
+must protect ourselves. Mr. Sharp and I will go to the bow. There is no
+telling what they may do. They're desperate, and may ram us from in
+front."
+
+Tom and the captain hurried aft. Through the thick plate-glass windows
+they could see the blunt nose of the Wonder not far away, the rival
+submarine having come to a halt.  There she lay, black and silent, like
+some monster fish waiting to devour its victim.
+
+"There doesn't appear to be much damage done back here," observed Tom.
+"No leaks. Guess they didn't puncture us."
+
+"Perhaps it was due to an accident that they rammed us," suggested the
+captain.
+
+"Well, they wouldn't have done it if they hadn't followed us so close,"
+was the opinion of the young inventor.  "They're taking too many
+chances. We've got to stop 'em."
+
+"What is this electric gun your father speaks of?"
+
+"Why, it's a regular electric cannon. It fires a solid ball, weighing
+about twenty-five pounds, but instead of powder, which would hardly do
+under water, and instead of compressed air, which is used in the
+torpedo tubes of the Government submarines, we use a current of
+electricity. It forces the cannon ball out with great energy."
+
+"I wonder what they will do next?" observed the captain, peering
+through a bull's eye.
+
+"We can soon tell," replied the youth. "We'll go ahead, and if they try
+to follow I'm going to fire on them."
+
+"Suppose you sink them?"
+
+"I won't fire to do that; only to disable them. They brought it on
+themselves. We can't risk having them damage us. Help me with the
+cannon, will you please, captain?"
+
+The electric cannon was a long, steel tube in the after part of the
+submarine. It projected a slight distance from the sides of the ship,
+and by an ingenious arrangement could be swung around in a ball and
+socket joint, thus enabling it to shoot in almost any direction.
+
+It was the work of but a few minutes to get it ready and, with the
+muzzle pointing toward the Wonder, Tom adjusted the electric wires and
+inserted the solid shot.
+
+"Now we're prepared for them!" he cried. "I think a good plan will be
+to start ahead, and if they try to follow to fire on them. They've
+brought it on themselves."
+
+"Correct," spoke Captain Weston.
+
+Tom hurried forward to tell his father of this plan.
+
+"We'll do it!" cried Mr. Swift. "Go ahead, Mr. Sharp, and we'll see if
+those scoundrels will follow."
+
+The young inventor returned on the run to the electric cannon. There
+was a whir of machinery, and the Advance moved forward. She increased
+her speed, and the two watchers in the stern looked anxiously out of
+the windows to see what their rivals would do.
+
+For a moment no movement was noticeable on the part of the Wonder.
+Then, as those aboard her appeared to realize that the craft on which
+they depended to pilot them to the sunken treasure was slipping away,
+word was given to follow. The ship of Berg and his employers shot after
+the Advance.
+
+"Here they come!" cried Captain Weston. "They're going to ram us again!"
+
+"Then I'm going to fire on them!" declared Tom savagely.
+
+On came the Wonder, nearer and nearer. Her speed was rapidly
+increasing. Suddenly she bumped the Advance, and then, as if it was an
+unavoidable accident, the rear submarine sheered off to one side.
+
+"They're certainly at it again!" cried Tom, and peering from the
+bull's-eye he saw the Wonder shoot past the mouth of the electric
+cannon. "Here it goes!" he added.
+
+He shoved over the lever, making the proper connection.  There was no
+corresponding report, for the cannon was noiseless, but there was a
+slight jar as the projectile left the muzzle. The Wonder could be seen
+to heel over.
+
+"You hit her! You hit her!" cried Captain Weston. "A good shot!"
+
+"I was afraid she was past me when I pulled the lever," explained Tom.
+"She went like a flash."
+
+"No, you caught her on the rudder," declared the captain.  "I think
+you've put her out of business. Yes, they're rising to the surface."
+
+The lad rapidly inserted another ball, and recharged the cannon. Then
+he peered out into the water, illuminated by the light of day overhead,
+as they were not far down. He could see the Wonder rising to the
+surface. Clearly something had happened.
+
+"Maybe they're going to drop down on us from above, and try to sink
+us," suggested the youth, while he stood ready to fire again. "If they
+do--"
+
+His words were interrupted by a slight jar throughout the submarine.
+
+"What was that?" cried the captain.
+
+"Dad fired the bow gun at them, but I don't believe he hit them,"
+answered the young inventor.
+
+"I wonder what damage I did? Guess we'll go to the surface to find out."
+
+Clearly the Wonder had given up the fight for the time being. In fact,
+she had no weapon with which to respond to a fusillade from her rival.
+Tom hastened forward and informed his father of what had happened.
+
+"If her steering gear is out of order, we may have a chance to slip
+away," said Mr. Swift "We'll go up and see what we can learn."
+
+A few minutes later Tom, his father and Captain Weston stepped from the
+conning tower, which was out of water, on to the little flat deck a
+short distance away lay the Wonder, and on her deck was Berg and a
+number of men, evidently members of the crew.
+
+"Why did you fire on us?" shouted the agent angrily.
+
+"Why did you follow us?" retorted Tom.
+
+"Well, you've broken our rudder and disabled us," went on Berg, not
+answering the question. "You'll suffer for this!  I'll have you
+arrested."
+
+"You only got what you deserved," added Mr. Swift. "You were acting
+illegally, following us, and you tried to sink us by ramming my craft
+before we retaliated by firing on you."
+
+"It was an accident, ramming you," said Berg. "We couldn't help it. I
+now demand that you help us make repairs."
+
+"Well, you've got nerve!" cried Captain Weston, his eyes flashing. "I'd
+like to have a personal interview with you for about ten minutes. Maybe
+something besides your ship would need repairs then."
+
+Berg turned away, scowling, but did not reply. He began directing the
+crew what to do about the broken rudder.
+
+"Come on," proposed Tom in a low voice, for sounds carry very easily
+over water. "Let's go below and skip out while we have a chance. They
+can't follow now, and we can get to the sunken treasure ahead of them."
+
+"Good advice," commented his father. "Come, Captain Weston, we'll go
+below and close the conning tower."
+
+Five minutes later the Advance sank from sight, the last glimpse Tom
+had of Berg and his men being a sight of them standing on the deck of
+their floating boat, gazing in the direction of their successful rival.
+The Wonder was left behind, while Tom and his friends were soon once
+more speeding toward the treasure wreck.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Nineteen
+
+Captured
+
+
+"Down deep," advised Captain Weston, as he stood beside Tom and Mr.
+Swift in the pilot house. "As far as you can manage her, and then
+forward. We'll take no more chances with these fellows."
+
+"The only trouble is," replied the young inventor, "that the deeper we
+go the slower we have to travel. The water is so dense that it holds us
+back."
+
+"Well, there is no special need of hurrying now," went on the sailor.
+"No one is following you, and two or three days difference in reaching
+the wreck will not amount to anything."
+
+"Unless they repair their rudder, and take after us again," suggested
+Mr. Swift.
+
+"They're not very likely to do that," was the captain's opinion. "It
+was more by luck than good management that they picked us up before.
+Now, having to delay, as they will, to repair their steering gear,
+while we can go as deep as we please and speed ahead, it is practically
+impossible for them to catch up to us. No, I think we have nothing to
+fear from them."
+
+But though danger from Berg and his crowd was somewhat remote, perils
+of another sort were hovering around the treasure-seekers, and they
+were soon to experience them.
+
+It was much different from sailing along in the airship, Tom thought,
+for there was no blue sky and fleecy clouds to see, and they could not
+look down and observe, far below them, cities and villages. Nor could
+they breathe the bracing atmosphere of the upper regions.
+
+But if there was lack of the rarefied air of the clouds, there was no
+lack of fresh atmosphere. The big tanks carried a large supply, and
+whenever more was needed the oxygen machine would supply it.
+
+As there was no need, however, of remaining under water for any great
+stretch of time, it was their practice to rise every day and renew the
+air supply, also to float along on the surface for a while, or speed
+along, with only the conning tower out, in order to afford a view, and
+to enable Captain Weston to take observations. But care was always
+exercised to make sure no ships were in sight when emerging on the
+surface, for the gold-seekers did not want to be hailed and questioned
+by inquisitive persons.
+
+It was about four days after the disabling of the rival submarine, and
+the Advance was speeding along about a mile and a half under water. Tom
+was in the pilot house with Captain Weston, Mr. Damon was at his
+favorite pastime of looking out of the glass side windows into the
+ocean and its wonders, and Mr. Swift and the balloonist were, as
+usual, in the engine-room.
+
+"How near do you calculate we are to the sunken wreck?" asked Tom of
+his companion.
+
+"Well, at the calculation we made yesterday, we are within about a
+thousand miles of it now. We ought to reach it in about four more days,
+if we don't have any accidents."
+
+"And how deep do you think it is?" went on the lad.
+
+"Well, I'm afraid it's pretty close to two miles, if not more. It's
+quite a depth, and of course impossible for ordinary divers to reach.
+But it will be possible in this submarine and in the strong diving
+suits your father has invented for us to get to it. Yes, I don't
+anticipate much trouble in getting out the gold, once we reach the
+wreck of course--"
+
+The captain's remark was not finished. From the engine-room there came
+a startled shout:
+
+"Tom! Tom! Your father is hurt! Come here, quick!"
+
+"Take the wheel!" cried the lad to the captain. "I must go to my
+father." It was Mr. Sharp's voice he had heard.
+
+Racing to the engine-room, Tom saw his parent doubled up over a dynamo,
+while to one side, his hand on a copper switch, stood Mr. Sharp.
+
+"What's the matter?" shouted the lad.
+
+"He's held there by a current of electricity," replied the balloonist.
+"The wires are crossed."
+
+"Why don't you shut off the current?" demanded the youth, as he
+prepared to pull his parent from the whirring machine.  Then he
+hesitated, for he feared he, too, would be glued fast by the terrible
+current, and so be unable to help Mr. Swift.
+
+"I'm held fast here, too," replied the balloonist. "I started to cut
+out the current at this switch, but there's a short circuit somewhere,
+and I can't let go, either. Quick, shut off all power at the main
+switchboard forward."
+
+Tom realized that this was the only thing to do. He ran forward and
+with a yank cut out all the electric wires. With a sigh of relief Mr.
+Sharp pulled his hands from the copper where he had been held fast as
+if by some powerful magnet, his muscles cramped by the current.
+Fortunately the electricity was of low voltage, and he was not burned.
+The body of Mr. Swift toppled backward from the dynamo, as Tom sprang
+to reach his father.
+
+"He's dead!" he cried, as he saw the pale face and the closed eyes.
+
+"No, only badly shocked, I hope," spoke Mr. Sharp. "But we must get him
+to the fresh air at once. Start the tank pumps.  We'll rise to the
+surface."
+
+The youth needed no second bidding. Once more turning on the electric
+current, he set the powerful pumps in motion and the submarine began to
+rise. Then, aided by Captain Weston and Mr. Damon, the young inventor
+carried his father to a couch in the main cabin. Mr. Sharp took charge
+of the machinery.
+
+Restoratives were applied, and there was a flutter of the eyelids of
+the aged inventor.
+
+"I think he'll come around all right," said the sailor kindly, as he
+saw Tom's grief. "Fresh air will be the thing for him. We'll be on the
+surface in a minute."
+
+Up shot the Advance, while Mr. Sharp stood ready to open the conning
+tower as soon as it should be out of water. Mr. Swift seemed to be
+rapidly reviving. With a bound the submarine, forced upward from the
+great depth, fairly shot out of the water. There was a clanking sound
+as the aeronaut opened the airtight door of the tower, and a breath of
+fresh air came in.
+
+"Can you walk, dad, or shall we carry you?" asked Tom solicitously.
+
+"Oh, I--I'm feeling better now," was the inventor's reply.  "I'll soon
+be all right when I get out on deck. My foot slipped as I was adjusting
+a wire that had gotten out of order, and I fell so that I received a
+large part of the current. I'm glad I was not burned. Was Mr. Sharp
+hurt? I saw him run to the switch, just before I lost consciousness."
+
+"No, I'm all right," answered the balloonist. "But allow us to get you
+out to the fresh air. You'll feel much better then."
+
+Mr. Swift managed to walk slowly to the ladder leading to the conning
+tower, and thence to the deck. The others followed him. As all emerged
+from the submarine they uttered a cry of astonishment.
+
+There, not one hundred yards away, was a great warship, flying a flag
+which, in a moment, Tom recognized as that of Brazil. The cruiser was
+lying off a small island, and all about were small boats, filled with
+natives, who seemed to be bringing supplies from land to the ship. At
+the unexpected sight of the submarine, bobbing up from the bottom of
+the ocean, the natives uttered cries of fright.  The attention of those
+on the warship was attracted, and the bridge and rails were lined with
+curious officers and men.
+
+"It's a good thing we didn't come up under that ship," observed Tom.
+"They would have thought we were trying to torpedo her. Do you feel
+better, dad?" he asked, his wonder over the sight of the big vessel
+temporarily eclipsed in his anxiety for his parent.
+
+"Oh, yes, much better. I'm all right now. But I wish we hadn't
+disclosed ourselves to these people. They may demand to know where we
+are going, and Brazil is too near Uruguay to make it safe to tell our
+errand. They may guess it, however, from having read of the wreck, and
+our departure."
+
+"Oh, I guess it will be all right," replied Captain Weston. "We can
+tell them we are on a pleasure trip. That's true enough. It would give
+us great pleasure to find that gold."
+
+"There's a boat, with some officers in it, to judge by the amount of
+gold lace on them, putting off from the ship," remarked Mr. Sharp.
+
+"Ha! Yes! Evidently they intend to pay us a formal visit," observed Mr.
+Damon. "Bless my gaiters, though. I'm not dressed to receive company. I
+think I'll put on my dress suit."
+
+"It's too late," advised Tom. "They'll be here in a minute."
+
+Urged on by the lusty arms of the Brazilian sailors, the boat,
+containing several officers, neared the floating submarine rapidly.
+
+"Ahoy there!" called an officer in the bow, his accent betraying his
+unfamiliarity with the English language. "What craft are you?"
+
+"Submarine, Advance, from New Jersey," replied Tom. "Who are you?"
+
+"Brazilian cruiser San Paulo," was the reply. "Where are you bound?"
+went on the officer.
+
+"On pleasure," answered Captain Weston quickly. "But why do you ask? We
+are an American ship, sailing under American colors. Is this Brazilian
+territory?"
+
+"This island is--yes," came back the answer, and by this time the small
+boat was at the side of the submarine. Before the adventurers could
+have protested, had they a desire to do so, there were a number of
+officers and the crew of the San Paulo on the small deck.
+
+With a flourish, the officer who had done the questioning drew his
+sword. Waving it in the air with a dramatic gesture, he exclaimed:
+
+"You're our prisoners! Resist and my men shall cut you down like dogs!
+Seize them, men!"
+
+The sailors sprang forward, each one stationing himself at the side of
+one of our friends, and grasping an arm.
+
+"What does this mean?" cried Captain Weston indignantly.  "If this is a
+joke, you're carrying it too far. If you're in earnest, let me warn you
+against interfering with Americans!"
+
+"We know what we are doing," was the answer from the officer.
+
+The sailor who had hold of Captain Weston endeavored to secure a
+tighter grip. The captain turned suddenly, and seizing the man about
+the waist, with an exercise of tremendous strength hurled him over his
+head and into the sea, the man making a great splash.
+
+"That's the way I'll treat any one else who dares lay a hand on me!"
+shouted the captain, who was transformed from a mild-mannered
+individual into an angry, modern giant. There was a gasp of
+astonishment at his feat, as the ducked sailor crawled back into the
+small boat. And he did not again venture on the deck of the submarine.
+
+"Seize them, men!" cried the gold-laced officer again, and this time he
+and his fellows, including the crew, crowded so closely around Tom and
+his friends that they could do nothing. Even Captain Weston found it
+impossible to offer any resistance, for three men grabbed hold of him
+but his spirit was still a fighting one, and he struggled desperately
+but uselessly.
+
+"How dare you do this?" he cried.
+
+"Yes," added Tom, "what right have you to interfere with us?"
+
+"Every right," declared the gold-laced officer.
+
+"You are in Brazilian territory, and I arrest you."
+
+"What for?" demanded Mr. Sharp.
+
+"Because your ship is an American submarine, and we have received word
+that you intend to damage our shipping, and may try to torpedo our
+warships. I believe you tried to disable us a little while ago, but
+failed. We consider that an act of war and you will be treated
+accordingly. Take them on board the San Paulo," the officer went on,
+turning to his aides. "We'll try them by court-marital here. Some of
+you remain and guard this submarine. We will teach these filibustering
+Americans a lesson."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Twenty
+
+Doomed to Death
+
+
+There was no room on the small deck of the submarine to make a stand
+against the officers and crew of the Brazilian warship. In fact, the
+capture of the gold-seekers had been effected so suddenly that their
+astonishment almost deprived them of the power to think clearly.
+
+At another command from the officer, who was addressed as Admiral
+Fanchetti, several of the sailors began to lead Tom and his friends
+toward the small boat.
+
+"Do you feel all right, father?" inquired the lad anxiously, as he
+looked at his parent. "These scoundrels have no right to treat us so."
+
+"Yes, Tom, I'm all right as far as the electric shock is concerned, but
+I don't like to be handled in this fashion."
+
+"We ought not to submit!" burst out Mr. Damon. "Bless the stars and
+stripes! We ought to fight."
+
+"There's no chance," said Mr. Sharp. "We are right under the guns of
+the ship. They could sink us with one shot. I guess we'll have to give
+in for the time being."
+
+"It is most unpleasant, if I may be allowed the expression," commented
+Captain Weston mildly. He seemed to have lost his sudden anger, but
+there was a steely glint in his eyes, and a grim, set look around his
+month that showed his temper was kept under control only by an effort.
+It boded no good to the sailors who had hold of the doughty captain if
+he should once get loose, and it was noticed that they were on their
+guard.
+
+As for Tom, he submitted quietly to the two Brazilians who had hold of
+either arm, and Mr. Swift was held by only one, for it was seen that he
+was feeble.
+
+"Into the boat with them!" cried Admiral Fanchetti. "And guard them
+well, Lieutenant Drascalo, for I heard them plotting to escape," and
+the admiral signaled to a younger officer, who was in charge of the men
+guarding the prisoners.
+
+"Lieutenant Drascalo, eh?" murmured Mr. Damon. "I think they made a
+mistake naming him. It ought to be Rascalo. He looks like a rascal."
+
+"Silenceo!" exclaimed the lieutenant, scowling at the odd character.
+
+"Bless my spark plug! He's a regular fire-eater!" went on Mr. Damon,
+who appeared to have fully recovered his spirits.
+
+"Silenceo!" cried the lieutenant, scowling again, but Mr. Damon did not
+appear to mind.
+
+Admiral Fanchetti and several others of the gold-laced officers
+remained aboard the submarine, while Tom and his friends were hustled
+into the small boat and rowed toward the warship.
+
+"I hope they don't damage our craft," murmured the young inventor, as
+he saw the admiral enter the conning tower.
+
+"If they do, we'll complain to the United States consul and demand
+damages," said Mr. Swift.
+
+"I'm afraid we won't have a chance to communicate with the consul,"
+remarked Captain Weston.
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Mr. Damon. "Bless my shoelaces, but will
+these scoundrels--"
+
+"Silenceo!" cried Lieutenant Drascalo quickly. "Dogs of Americans, do
+you wish to insult us?"
+
+"Impossible; you wouldn't appreciate a good, genuine United States
+insult," murmured Tom under his breath.
+
+"What I mean," went on the captain, "is that these people may carry the
+proceedings off with a high hand. You heard the admiral speak of a
+court-martial."
+
+"Would they dare do that?" inquired Mr. Sharp.
+
+"They would dare anything in this part of the world, I'm afraid,"
+resumed Captain Weston. "I think I see their plan, though. This admiral
+is newly in command; his uniform shows that. He wants to make a name for
+himself, and he seizes on our submarine as an excuse. He can send word
+to his government that he destroyed a torpedo craft that sought to
+wreck his ship. Thus he will acquire a reputation."
+
+"But would his government support him in such a hostile act against the
+United States, a friendly nation?" asked Tom.
+
+"Oh, he would not claim to have acted against the United States as a
+power. He would say that it was a private submarine, and, as a matter
+of fact, it is. While we are under the protection of the stars and
+stripes, our vessel is not a Government one," and Captain Weston spoke
+the last in a low voice, so the scowling lieutenant could not hear.
+
+"What will they do with us?" inquired Mr. Swift.
+
+"Have some sort of a court-martial, perhaps," went on the captain, "and
+confiscate our craft. Then they will send us back home, I expect for
+they would not dare harm us."
+
+"But take our submarine!" cried Tom. "The villains--"
+
+"Silenceo!" shouted Lieutenant Drascalo and he drew his sword.
+
+By this time the small boat was under the big guns of the San Paulo,
+and the prisoners were ordered, in broken English, to mount a companion
+ladder that hung over the side. In a short time they were on deck, amid
+a crowd of sailors, and they could see the boat going back to bring off
+the admiral, who signaled from the submarine. Tom and his friends were
+taken below to a room that looked like a prison, and there, a little
+later, they were visited by Admiral Fanchetti and several officers.
+
+"You will be tried at once," said the admiral. "I have examined your
+submarine and I find she carries two torpedo tubes. It is a wonder you
+did not sink me at once."
+
+"Those are not torpedo tubes!" cried Tom, unable to keep silent, though
+Captain Weston motioned him to do so.
+
+"I know torpedo tubes when I see them," declared the admiral. "I
+consider I had a very narrow escape. Your country is fortunate that
+mine does not declare war against it for this act. But I take it you
+are acting privately, for you fly no flag, though you claim to be from
+the United States."
+
+"There's no place for a flag on the submarine," went on Tom. "What good
+would it be under water?"
+
+"Silenceo!" cried Lieutenant Drascalo, the admonition to silence
+seeming to be the only command of which he was capable.
+
+"I shall confiscate your craft for my government," went on the admiral,
+"and shall punish you as the court-martial may direct. You will be
+tried at once."
+
+It was in vain for the prisoners to protest. Matters were carried with
+a high hand. They were allowed a spokesman, and Captain Weston, who
+understood Spanish, was selected, that language being used. But the
+defense was a farce, for he was scarcely listened to. Several officers
+testified before the admiral, who was judge, that they had seen the
+submarine rise out of the water, almost under the prow of the San
+Paulo. It was assumed that the Advance had tried to wreck the warship,
+but had failed. It was in vain that Captain Weston and the others told
+of the reason for their rapid ascent from the ocean depths--that Mr.
+Swift had been shocked, and needed fresh air. Their story was not
+believed.
+
+"We have heard enough!" suddenly exclaimed the admiral.  "The evidence
+against you is over-whelming--er--what you Americans call conclusive,"
+and he was speaking then in broken English. "I find you guilty, and the
+sentence of this court-martial is that you be shot at sunrise, three
+days hence!"
+
+"Shot!" cried Captain Weston, staggering back at this unexpected
+sentence. His companions turned white, and Mr. Swift leaned against his
+son for support.
+
+"Bless my stars! Of all the scoundrelly!" began Mr. Damon.
+
+"Silenceo!" shouted the lieutenant, waving his sword.
+
+"You will be shot," proceeded the admiral. "Is not that the verdict of
+the honorable court?" he asked, looking at his fellow officers. They
+all nodded gravely.
+
+"But look here!" objected Captain Weston. "You don't dare do that! We
+are citizens of the United States, and--"
+
+"I consider you no better than pirates," interrupted the admiral. "You
+have an armed submarine--a submarine with torpedo tubes. You invade our
+harbor with it, and come up almost under my ship. You have forfeited
+your right to the protection of your country, and I have no fear on
+that score. You will be shot within three days. That is all.  Remove
+the prisoners."
+
+Protests were in vain, and it was equally useless to struggle. The
+prisoners were taken out on deck, for which they were thankful, for the
+interior of the ship was close and hot, the weather being intensely
+disagreeable. They were told to keep within a certain space on deck,
+and a guard of sailors, all armed, was placed near them. From where
+they were they could see their submarine floating on the surface of the
+little bay, with several Brazilians on the small deck. The Advance had
+been anchored, and was surrounded by a flotilla of the native boats,
+the brown-skinned paddlers gazing curiously at the odd craft.
+
+"Well, this is tough luck!" murmured Tom. "How do you feel, dad?"
+
+"As well as can be expected under the circumstances," was the reply.
+"What do you think about this, Captain Weston?"
+
+"Not very much, if I may be allowed the expression," was the answer.
+
+"Do you think they will dare carry out that threat?" asked Mr. Sharp.
+
+The captain shrugged his shoulders. "I hope it is only a bluff," he
+replied, "made to scare us so we will consent to giving up the
+submarine, which they have no right to confiscate. But these fellows
+look ugly enough for anything," he went on.
+
+"Then if there's any chance of them attempting to carry it out," spoke
+Tom, "we've got to do something."
+
+"Bless my gizzard, of course!" exclaimed Mr. Damon. "But what? That's
+the question. To be shot! Why, that's a terrible threat! The villains--"
+
+"Silenceo!" shouted Lieutenant Drascalo, coming up at that moment.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Twenty-One
+
+The Escape
+
+
+Events had happened so quickly that day that the gold-hunters could
+scarcely comprehend them. It seemed only a short time since Mr. Swift
+had been discovered lying disabled on the dynamo, and what had
+transpired since seemed to have taken place in a few minutes, though it
+was, in reality, several hours. This was made manifest by the feeling
+of hunger on the part of Tom and his friends.
+
+"I wonder if they're going to starve us, the scoundrels?" asked Mr.
+Sharp, when the irate lieutenant was beyond hearing. "It's not fair to
+make us go hungry and shoot us in the bargain."
+
+"That's so, they ought to feed us," put in Tom. As yet neither he nor
+the others fully realized the meaning of the sentence passed on them.
+
+From where they were on deck they could look off to the little island.
+From it boats manned by natives were constantly putting off, bringing
+supplies to the ship. The place appeared to be a sort of calling
+station for Brazilian warships, where they could get fresh water and
+fruit and other food.
+
+From the island the gaze of the adventurers wandered to the submarine,
+which lay not far away. They were chagrined to see several of the
+bolder natives clambering over the deck.
+
+"I hope they keep out of the interior," commented Tom. "If they get to
+pulling or hauling on the levers and wheels they may open the tanks and
+sink her, with the Conning tower open."
+
+"Better that, perhaps, than to have her fall into the hands of a
+foreign power," commented Captain Weston.  "Besides, I don't see that
+it's going to matter much to us what becomes of her after we're--"
+
+He did not finish, but every one knew what he meant, and a grim silence
+fell upon the little group.
+
+There came a welcome diversion, however, in the shape of three sailors,
+bearing trays of food, which were placed on the deck in front of the
+prisoners, who were sitting or lying in the shade of an awning, for the
+sun was very hot.
+
+"Ha! Bless my napkin-ring!" cried Mr. Damon with something of his
+former gaiety. "Here's a meal, at all events. They don't intend to
+starve us. Eat hearty, every one."
+
+"Yes, we need to keep up our strength," observed Captain Weston.
+
+"Why?" inquired Mr. Sharp.
+
+"Because we're going to try to escape!" exclaimed Tom in a low voice,
+when the sailors who had brought the food had gone. "Isn't that what
+you mean, captain?"
+
+"Exactly. We'll try to give these villains the slip, and we'll need all
+our strength and wits to do it. We'll wait until night, and see what we
+can do."
+
+"But where will we escape to?" asked Mr. Swift. "The island will afford
+no shelter, and--"
+
+"No, but our submarine will," went on the sailor.
+
+"It's in the possession of the Brazilians," objected Tom.
+
+"Once I get aboard the Advance twenty of those brown-skinned villains
+won't keep me prisoner," declared Captain Weston fiercely. "If we can
+only slip away from here, get into the small boat, or even swim to the
+submarine, I'll make those chaps on board her think a hurricane has
+broken loose."
+
+"Yes, and I'll help," said Mr. Damon.
+
+"And I," added Tom and the balloonist.
+
+"That's the way to talk," commented the captain. "Now let's eat, for I
+see that rascally lieutenant coming this way, and we mustn't appear to
+be plotting, or he'll be suspicious."
+
+The day passed slowly, and though the prisoners seemed to be allowed
+considerable liberty, they soon found that it was only apparent. Once
+Tom walked some distance from that portion of the deck where he and the
+others had been told to remain. A sailor with a gun at once ordered him
+back. Nor could they approach the rails without being directed, harshly
+enough at times, to move back amidships.
+
+As night approached the gold-seekers were on the alert for any chance
+that might offer to slip away, or even attack their guard, but the
+number of Brazilians around them was doubled in the evening, and after
+supper, which was served to them on deck by the light of swinging
+lanterns, they were taken below and locked in a stuffy cabin. They
+looked helplessly at each other.
+
+"Don't give up," advised Captain Weston. "It's a long night. We may be
+able to get out of here."
+
+But this hope was in vain. Several times he and Tom, thinking the
+guards outside the cabin were asleep, tried to force the lock of the
+door with their pocket-knives, which had not been taken from them. But
+one of the sailors was aroused each time by the noise, and looked in
+through a barred window, so they had to give it up. Slowly the night
+passed, and morning found the prisoners pale, tired and discouraged.
+They were brought up on deck again, for which they were thankful, as in
+that tropical climate it was stifling below.
+
+During the day they saw Admiral Fanchetti and several of his officers
+pay a visit to the submarine. They went below through the opened
+conning tower, and were gone some time.
+
+"I hope they don't disturb any of the machinery," remarked Mr. Swift.
+"That could easily do great damage."
+
+Admiral Fanchetti seemed much pleased with himself when he returned
+from his visit to the submarine.
+
+"You have a fine craft," he said to the prisoners. "Or, rather, you had
+one. My government now owns it. It seems a pity to shoot such good boat
+builders, but you are too dangerous to be allowed to go."
+
+If there had been any doubt in the minds of Tom and his friends that
+the sentence of the court-martial was only for effect, it was dispelled
+that day. A firing squad was told off in plain view of them, and the
+men were put through their evolutions by Lieutenant Drascalo, who had
+them load, aim and fire blank cartridges at an imaginary line of
+prisoners. Tom could not repress a shudder as he noted the leveled
+rifles, and saw the fire and smoke spurt from the muzzles.
+
+"Thus we shall do to you at sunrise to-morrow," said the lieutenant,
+grinning, as he once more had his men practice their grim work.
+
+It seemed hotter than ever that day. The sun was fairly broiling, and
+there was a curious haziness and stillness to the air. It was noticed
+that the sailors on the San Paulo were busy making fast all loose
+articles on deck with extra lashings, and hatch coverings were doubly
+secured.
+
+"What do you suppose they are up to?" asked Tom of Captain Weston.
+
+"I think it is coming on to blow," he replied, "and they don't want to
+be caught napping. They have fearful storms down in this region at this
+season of the year, and I think one is about due."
+
+"I hope it doesn't wreck the submarine," spoke Mr. Swift.  "They ought
+to close the hatch of the conning tower, for it won't take much of a
+sea to make her ship considerable water."
+
+Admiral Fanchetti had thought of this, however, and as the afternoon
+wore away and the storm signs multiplied, he sent word to close the
+submarine. He left a few sailors aboard inside on guard.
+
+"It's too hot to eat," observed Tom, when their supper had been brought
+to them, and the others felt the same way about it. They managed to
+drink some cocoanut milk, prepared in a palatable fashion by the
+natives of the island, and then, much to their disgust, they were taken
+below again and locked in the cabin.
+
+"Whew! But it certainly is hot!" exclaimed Mr. Damon as he sat down on
+a couch and fanned himself. "This is awful!"
+
+"Yes, something is going to happen pretty soon," observed Captain
+Weston. "The storm will break shortly, I think."
+
+They sat languidly about the cabin. It was so oppressive that even the
+thought of the doom that awaited them in the morning could hardly seem
+worse than the terrible heat. They could hear movements going on about
+the ship, movements which indicated that preparations were being made
+for something unusual. There was a rattling of a chain through a hawse
+hole, and Captain Weston remarked:
+
+"They're putting down another anchor. Admiral Fanchetti had better get
+away from the island, though, unless he wants to be wrecked. He'll be
+blown ashore in less than no time. No cable or chain will hold in such
+storms as they have here."
+
+There came a period of silence, which was suddenly broken by a howl as
+of some wild beast.
+
+"What's that?" cried Tom, springing up from where he was stretched out
+on the cabin floor.
+
+"Only the wind," replied the captain. "The storm has arrived."
+
+The howling kept up, and soon the ship began to rock. The wind
+increased, and a little later there could be heard, through an opened
+port in the prisoners' cabin, the dash of rain.
+
+"It's a regular hurricane!" exclaimed the captain. "I wonder if the
+cables will hold?"
+
+"What about the submarine?" asked Mr. Swift anxiously.
+
+"I haven't much fear for her. She lies so low in the water that the
+wind can't get much hold on her. I don't believe she'll drag her
+anchor."
+
+Once more came a fierce burst of wind, and a dash of rain, and then,
+suddenly above the outburst of the elements, there sounded a crash on
+deck. It was followed by excited cries.
+
+"Something's happened!" yelled Tom. The prisoners gathered in a
+frightened group in the middle of the cabin. The cries were repeated,
+and then came a rush of feet just outside the cabin door.
+
+"Our guards! They're leaving!" shouted Tom.
+
+"Right!" exclaimed Captain Weston. "Now's our chance! Come on! If we're
+going to escape we must do it while the storm is at its height, and all
+is in confusion. Come on!"
+
+Tom tried the door. It was locked.
+
+"One side!" shouted the captain, and this time he did not pause to say
+"by your leave." He came at the portal on the run, and his shoulder
+struck it squarely. There was a splintering and crashing of wood, and
+the door was burst open.
+
+"Follow me!" cried the valiant sailor, and Tom and the others rushed
+after him. They could hear the wind howling more loudly than ever, and
+as they reached the deck the rain dashed into their faces with such
+violence that they could hardly see. But they were aware that something
+had occurred.  By the light of several lanterns swaying in the terrific
+blast they saw that one of the auxiliary masts had broken off near the
+deck.
+
+It had fallen against the chart house, smashing it, and a number of
+sailors were laboring to clear away the wreckage.
+
+"Fortune favors us!" cried Captain Weston. "Come on! Make for the small
+boat. It's near the side ladder. We'll lower the boat and pull to the
+submarine."
+
+There came a flash of lightning, and in its glare Tom saw something
+that caused him to cry out.
+
+"Look!" he shouted. "The submarine. She's dragged her anchors!"
+
+The Advance was much closer to the warship than she had been that
+afternoon. Captain Weston looked over the side.
+
+"It's the San Paulo that's dragging her anchors, not the submarine!" he
+shouted. "We're bearing down on her! We must act quickly. Come on,
+we'll lower the boat!"
+
+In the rush of wind and the dash of rain the prisoners crowded to the
+accommodation companion ladder, which was still over the side of the
+big ship. No one seemed to be noticing them, for Admiral Fanchetti was
+on the bridge, yelling orders for the clearing away of the wreckage.
+But Lieutenant Drascalo, coming up from below at that moment, caught
+sight of the fleeing ones. Drawing his sword, he rushed at them,
+shouting:
+
+"The prisoners! The prisoners! They are escaping!"
+
+Captain Weston leaped toward the lieutenant.
+
+"Look out for his sword!" cried Tom. But the doughty sailor did not
+fear the weapon. Catching up a coil of rope, he cast it at the
+lieutenant. It struck him in the chest, and he staggered back, lowering
+his sword.
+
+Captain Weston leaped forward, and with a terrific blow sent Lieutenant
+Drascalo to the deck.
+
+"There!" cried the sailor. "I guess you won't yell 'Silenceo!' for a
+while now."
+
+There was a rush of Brazilians toward the group of prisoners. Tom
+caught one with a blow on the chin, and felled him, while Captain
+Weston disposed of two more, and Mr. Sharp and Mr. Damon one each. The
+savage fighting of the Americans was too much for the foreigners, and
+they drew back.
+
+"Come on!" cried Captain Weston again. "The storm is getting worse. The
+warship will crash into the submarine in a few minutes. Her anchors
+aren't holding. I didn't think they would."
+
+He made a dash for the ladder, and a glance showed him that the small
+boat was in the water at the foot of it. The craft had not been hoisted
+on the davits.
+
+"Luck's with us at last!" cried Tom, seeing it also.  "Shall I help
+you, dad?"
+
+"No; I think I'm all right. Go ahead."
+
+There came such a gust of wind that the San Paulo was heeled over, and
+the wreck of the mast, rolling about, crashed into the side of a deck
+house, splintering it. A crowd of sailors, led by Admiral Fanchetti,
+who were again rushing on the escaping prisoners, had to leap back out
+of the way of the rolling mast.
+
+"Catch them! Don't let them get away!" begged the commander, but the
+sailors evidently had no desire to close in with the Americans.
+
+Through the rush of wind and rain Tom and his friends staggered down
+the ladder. It was hard work to maintain one's footing, but they
+managed it. On account of the high side of the ship the water was
+comparatively calm under her lee, and, though the small boat was
+bobbing about, they got aboard. The oars were in place, and in another
+moment they had shoved off from the landing stage which formed the foot
+of the accommodation ladder.
+
+"Now for the Advance!" murmured Captain Weston.
+
+"Come back! Come back, dogs of Americans!" cried a voice at the rail
+over their heads, and looking up, Tom saw Lieutenant Drascalo. He had
+snatched a carbine from a marine, and was pointing it at the recent
+prisoners. He fired, the flash of the gun and a dazzling chain of
+lightning coming together. The thunder swallowed up the report of the
+carbine, but the bullet whistled uncomfortable close to Tom's head. The
+blackness that followed the lightning shut out the view of everything
+for a few seconds, and when the next flash came the adventurers saw
+that they were close to their submarine.
+
+A fusillade of shots sounded from the deck of the warship, but as the
+marines were poor marksmen at best, and as the swaying of the ship
+disconcerted them, our friends were in little danger.
+
+There was quite a sea once they were beyond the protection of the side
+of the warship, but Captain Weston, who was rowing, knew how to manage
+a boat skillfully, and he soon had the craft alongside the bobbing
+submarine.
+
+"Get aboard, now, quick!" he cried.
+
+They leaped to the small deck, casting the rowboat adrift.  It was the
+work of but a moment to open the conning tower.  As they started to
+descend they were met by several Brazilians coming up.
+
+"Overboard with 'em!" yelled the captain. "Let them swim ashore or to
+their ship!"
+
+With almost superhuman strength he tossed one big sailor from the small
+deck. Another showed fight, but he went to join his companion in the
+swirling water. A man rushed at Tom, seeking the while to draw his
+sword, but the young inventor, with a neat left-hander, sent him to
+join the other two, and the remainder did not wait to try conclusions.
+They leaped for their lives, and soon all could be seen, in the
+frequent lightning flashes, swimming toward the warship which was now
+closer than ever to the submarine.
+
+"Get inside and we'll sink below the surface!" called Tom.  "Then we
+don't care what happens."
+
+They closed the steel door of the conning tower. As they did so they
+heard the patter of bullets from carbines fired from the San Paulo.
+Then came a violent tossing of the Advance; the waves were becoming
+higher as they caught the full force of the hurricane. It took but an
+instant to sever, from within, the cable attached to the anchor, which
+was one belonging to the warship. The Advance began drifting.
+
+"Open the tanks, Mr. Sharp!" cried Tom. "Captain Weston and I will
+steer. Once below we'll start the engines."
+
+Amid a crash of thunder and dazzling flashes of lightning, the
+submarine began to sink. Tom, in the conning tower had a sight of the
+San Paulo as it drifted nearer and nearer under the influence of the
+mighty wind. As one bright flash came he saw Admiral Fanchetti and
+Lieutenant Drascalo leaning over the rail and gazing at the Advance.
+
+A moment later the view faded from sight as the submarine sank below
+the surface of the troubled sea. She was tossed about for some time
+until deep enough to escape the surface motion. Waiting until she was
+far enough down so that her lights would not offer a mark for the guns
+of the warship, the electrics were switched on.
+
+"We're safe now!" cried Tom, helping his father to his cabin. "They've
+got too much to attend to themselves to follow us now, even if they
+could. Shall we go ahead, Captain Weston?"
+
+"I think so, yes, if I may be allowed to express my opinion," was the
+mild reply, in strange contrast to the strenuous work in which the
+captain had just been engaged.
+
+Tom signaled to Mr. Sharp in the engine-room, and in a few seconds the
+Advance was speeding away from the island and the hostile vessel. Nor,
+deep as she was now, was there any sign of the hurricane. In the
+peaceful depths she was once more speeding toward the sunken treasure.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Twenty-Two
+
+At the Wreck
+
+
+"Well," remarked Mr. Damon, as the submarine hurled herself forward
+through the ocean, "I guess that firing party will have something else
+to do to-morrow morning besides aiming those rifles at us."
+
+"Yes, indeed," agreed Tom. "They'll be lucky if they save their ship.
+My, how that wind did blow!"
+
+"You're right," put in Captain Weston. "When they get a hurricane down
+in this region it's no cat's paw. But they were a mighty careless lot
+of sailors. The idea of leaving the ladder over the side, and the boat
+in the water."
+
+"It was a good thing for us, though," was Tom's opinion.
+
+"Indeed it was," came from the captain. "But as long as we are safe now
+I think we'd better take a look about the craft to see if those chaps
+did any damage. They can't have done much, though, or she wouldn't be
+running so smoothly.  Suppose you go take a look, Tom, and ask your
+father and Mr. Sharp what they think. I'll steer for a while, until we
+get well away from the island."
+
+The young inventor found his father and the balloonist busy in the
+engine-room. Mr. Swift had already begun an inspection of the
+machinery, and so far found that it had not been injured. A further
+inspection showed that no damage had been done by the foreign guard
+that had been in temporary possession of the Advance, though the
+sailors had made free in the cabins, and had broken into the food
+lockers, helping themselves plentifully. But there was still enough for
+the gold-seekers.
+
+"You'd never know there was a storm raging up above," observed Tom as
+he rejoined Captain Weston in the lower pilot house, where he was
+managing the craft. "It's as still and peaceful here as one could wish."
+
+"Yes, the extreme depths are seldom disturbed by a surface storm. But
+we are over a mile deep now. I sent her down a little while you were
+gone, as I think she rides a little more steadily."
+
+All that night they speeded forward, and the next day, rising to the
+surface to take an observation, they found no traces of the storm,
+which had blown itself out. They were several hundred miles away from
+the hostile warship, and there was not a vessel in sight on the broad
+expanse of blue ocean.
+
+The air tanks were refilled, and after sailing along on the surface for
+an hour or two, the submarine was again sent below, as Captain Weston
+sighted through his telescope the smoke of a distant steamer.
+
+"As long as it isn't the Wonder, we're all right," said Tom. "Still, we
+don't want to answer a lot of questions about ourselves and our object."
+
+"No. I fancy the Wonder will give up the search," remarked the captain,
+as the Advance was sinking to the depths.
+
+"We must be getting pretty near to the end of our search ourselves,"
+ventured the young inventor.
+
+"We are within five hundred miles of the intersection of the
+forty-fifth parallel and the twenty-seventh meridian, east from
+Washington," said the captain. "That's as near as I could locate the
+wreck. Once we reach that point we will have to search about under
+water, for I don't fancy the other divers left any buoys to mark the
+spot."
+
+It was two days later, after uneventful sailing, partly on the surface,
+and partly submerged, that Captain Weston, taking a noon observation,
+announced:
+
+"Well, we're here!"
+
+"Do you mean at the wreck?" asked Mr. Swift eagerly.
+
+"We're at the place where she is supposed to lie, in about two miles of
+water," replied the captain. "We are quite a distance off the coast of
+Uruguay, about opposite the harbor of Rio de La Plata. From now on we
+shall have to nose about under water, and trust to luck."
+
+With her air tanks filled to their capacity, and Tom having seen that
+the oxygen machine and other apparatus was in perfect working order,
+the submarine was sent below on her search. Though they were in the
+neighborhood of the wreck, the adventurers might still have to do
+considerable searching before locating it. Lower and lower they sank
+into the depths of the sea, down and down, until they were deeper than
+they had ever gone before. The pressure was tremendous, but the steel
+sides of the Advance withstood it.
+
+Then began a search that lasted nearly a week. Back and forth they
+cruised, around in great circles, with the powerful searchlight focused
+to disclose the sunken treasure ship. Once Tom, who was observing the
+path of light in the depths from the conning tower, thought he had seen
+the remains of the Boldero, for a misty shape loomed up in front of the
+submarine, and he signaled for a quick stop. It was a wreck, but it had
+been on the ocean bed for a score of years, and only a few timbers
+remained of what had been a great ship. Much disappointed, Tom rang for
+full speed ahead again, and the current was sent into the great
+electric plates that pulled and pushed the submarine forward.
+
+For two days more nothing happened. They searched around under the
+green waters, on the alert for the first sign, but they saw nothing.
+Great fish swam about them, sometimes racing with the Advance. The
+adventurers beheld great ocean caverns, and skirted immense rocks,
+where dwelt monsters of the deep. Once a great octopus tried to do
+battle with the submarine and crush it in its snaky arms, but Tom saw
+the great white body, with saucer-shaped eyes, in the path of light and
+rammed him with the steel point. The creature died after a struggle.
+
+They were beginning to despair when a full week had passed and they
+were seemingly as far from the wreck as ever. They went to the surface
+to enable Captain Weston to take another observation. It only confirmed
+the other, and showed that they were in the right vicinity. But it was
+like looking for a needle in a haystack, almost, to find the sunken ship
+in that depth of water.
+
+"Well, we'll try again," said Mr. Swift, as they sank once more beneath
+the surface.
+
+It was toward evening, on the second day after this, that Tom, who was
+on duty in the conning tower, saw a black shape looming up in front of
+the submarine, the searchlight revealing it to him far enough away so
+that he could steer to avoid it. He thought at first that it was a
+great rock, for they were moving along near the bottom, but the
+peculiar shape of it soon convinced him that this could not be. It came
+more plainly into view as the submarine approached it more slowly, then
+suddenly, out of the depths in the illumination from the searchlight,
+the young inventor saw the steel sides of a steamer. His heart gave a
+great thump, but he would not call out yet, fearing that it might be
+some other vessel than the one containing the treasure.
+
+He steered the Advance so as to circle it. As he swept past the bows he
+saw in big letters near the sharp prow the word, Boldero.
+
+"The wreck! The wreck!" he cried, his voice ringing through the craft
+from end to end. "We've found the wreck at last!"
+
+"Are you sure?" cried his father, hurrying to his son, Captain Weston
+following.
+
+"Positive," answered the lad. The submarine was slowing up now, and Tom
+sent her around on the other side. They had a good view of the sunken
+ship. It seemed to be intact, no gaping holes in her sides, for only
+her plates had started, allowing her to sink gradually.
+
+"At last," murmured Mr. Swift. "Can it be possible we are about to get
+the treasure?"
+
+"That's the Boldero, all right," affirmed Captain Weston.  "I recognize
+her, even if the name wasn't on her bow. Go right down on the bottom,
+Tom, and we'll get out the diving suits and make an examination."
+
+The submarine settled to the ocean bed. Tom glanced at the depth gage.
+It showed over two miles and a half. Would they be able to venture out
+into water of such enormous pressure in the comparatively frail diving
+suits, and wrest the gold from the wreck? It was a serious question.
+
+The Advance came to a stop. In front of her loomed the great bulk of
+the Boldero, vague and shadowy in the flickering gleam of the
+searchlight. As the gold-seekers looked at her through the bull's-eyes
+of the conning tower, several great forms emerged from beneath the
+wreck's bows.
+
+"Deep-water sharks!" exclaimed  Captain Weston, "and monsters, too. But
+they can't bother us. Now to get out the gold!"
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Twenty-Three
+
+Attacked by Sharks
+
+
+For a few minutes after reaching the wreck, which had so occupied their
+thoughts for the past weeks, the adventurers did nothing but gaze at it
+from the ports of the submarine.  The appearance of the deep-water
+sharks gave them no concern, for they did not imagine the ugly
+creatures would attack them. The treasure-seekers were more engrossed
+with the problem of getting out the gold.
+
+"How are we going to get at it?" asked Tom, as he looked at the high
+sides of the sunken ship, which towered well above the comparatively
+small Advance.
+
+"Why, just go in and get it," suggested Mr. Damon. "Where is gold in a
+cargo usually kept, Captain Weston? You ought to know, I should think.
+Bless my pocketbook!"
+
+"Well, I should say that in this case the bullion would be kept in a
+safe in the captain's cabin," replied the sailor.  "Or, if not there,
+in some after part of the vessel, away from where the crew is
+quartered. But it is going to be quite a problem to get at it. We can't
+climb the sides of the wreck, and it will be impossible to lower her
+ladder over the side. However, I think we had better get into the
+diving suits and take a closer look. We can walk around her."
+
+"That's my idea," put in Mr. Sharp. "But who will go, and who will stay
+with the ship?"
+
+"I think Tom and Captain Weston had better go," suggested Mr. Swift.
+"Then, in case anything happens, Mr. Sharp, you and I will be on board
+to manage matters."
+
+"You don't think anything will happen, do you, dad?" asked his son with
+a laugh, but it was not an easy one, for the lad was thinking of the
+shadowy forms of the ugly sharks.
+
+"Oh, no, but it's best to be prepared," answered his father.
+
+The captain and the young inventor lost no time in donning the diving
+suits. They each took a heavy metal bar, pointed at one end, to use in
+assisting them to walk on the bed of the ocean, and as a protection in
+case the sharks might attack them. Entering the diving chamber, they
+were shut in, and then water was admitted until the pressure was seen,
+by gauges, to be the same as that outside the submarine. Then the
+sliding steel door was opened. At first Tom and the captain could
+barely move, so great was the pressure of water on their bodies. They
+would have been crushed but for the protection afforded by the strong
+diving suits.
+
+In a few minutes they became used to it, and stepped out on the floor
+of the ocean. They could not, of course, speak to each other, but Tom
+looked through the glass eyes of his helmet at the captain, and the
+latter motioned for the lad to follow. The two divers could breathe
+perfectly, and by means of small, but powerful lights on the helmets,
+the way was lighted for them as they advanced.
+
+Slowly they approached the wreck, and began a circuit of her. They
+could see several places where the pressure of the water, and the
+strain of the storm in which she had foundered, had opened the plates
+of the ship, but in no case were the openings large enough to admit a
+person.  Captain Weston put his steel bar in one crack, and tried to
+pry it farther open, but his strength was not equal to the task. He
+made some peculiar motions, but Tom could not understand them.
+
+They looked for some means by which they could mount to the decks of
+the Boldero, but none was visible. It was like trying to scale a
+fifty-foot smooth steel wall. There was no place for a foothold. Again
+the sailor made some peculiar motions, and the lad puzzled over them.
+They had gone nearly around the wreck now, and as yet had seen no way
+in which to get at the gold. As they passed around the bow, which was
+in a deep shadow from a great rock, they caught sight of the submarine
+lying a short distance away. Light streamed from many bull's-eyes, and
+Tom felt a sense of security as he looked at her, for it was lonesome
+enough in that great depth of water, unable to speak to his companion,
+who was a few feet in advance.
+
+Suddenly there was a swirling of the water, and Tom was nearly thrown
+off his feet by the rush of some great body. A long, black shadow
+passed over his head, and an instant later he saw the form of a great
+shark launched at Captain Weston. The lad involuntarily cried in alarm,
+but the result was surprising. He was nearly deafened by his own voice,
+confined as the sound was in the helmet he wore. But the sailor, too,
+had felt the movement of the water, and turned just in time. He thrust
+upward with his pointed bar. But he missed the stroke, and Tom, a
+moment later, saw the great fish turn over so that its mouth, which is
+far underneath its snout, could take in the queer shape which the shark
+evidently thought was a choice morsel. The big fish did actually get
+the helmet of Captain Weston inside its jaws, but probably it would
+have found it impossible to crush the strong steel. Still it might have
+sprung the joints, and water would have entered, which would have been
+as fatal as though the sailor had been swallowed by the shark. Tom
+realized this and, moving as fast as he could through the water, he
+came up behind the monster and drove his steel bar deep into it.
+
+The sea was crimsoned with blood, and the savage creature, opening its
+mouth, let go of the captain. It turned on Tom, who again harpooned it.
+Then the fish darted off and began a wild flurry, for it was dying. The
+rush of water nearly threw Tom off his feet, but he managed to make his
+way over to his friend, and assist him to rise. A confident look from
+the sailor showed the lad that Captain Weston was uninjured, though he
+must have been frightened. As the two turned to make their way back to
+the submarine, the waters about them seemed alive with the horrible
+monsters.
+
+It needed but a glance to show what they were, Sharks!  Scores of them,
+long, black ones, with their ugly, undershot mouths. They had been
+attracted by the blood of the one Tom had killed, but there was not a
+meal for all of them off the dying creature, and the great fish might
+turn on the young inventor and his companion.
+
+The two shrank closer toward the wreck. They might get under the prow
+of that and be safe. But even as they started to move, several of the
+sea wolves darted quickly at them.  Tom glanced at the captain. What
+could they do? Strong as were the diving suits, a combined attack by
+the sharks, with their powerful jaws, would do untold damage.
+
+At that moment there seemed some movement on board the submarine. Tom
+could see his father looking from the conning tower, and the aged
+inventor seemed to be making some motions. Then Tom understood. Mr.
+Swift was directing his son and Captain Weston to crouch down. The lad
+did so, pulling the sailor after him. Then Tom saw the bow electric gun
+run out, and aimed at the mass of sharks, most of whom were congregated
+about the dead one. Into the midst of the monsters was fired a number
+of small projectiles, which could be used in the electric cannon in
+place of the solid shot. Once more the waters were red with blood, and
+those sharks which were not killed swirled off. Tom and Captain Weston
+were saved. They were soon inside the submarine again, telling their
+thrilling story.
+
+"It's lucky you saw us, dad," remarked the lad, blushing at the praise
+Mr. Damon bestowed on him for killing the monster which had attacked
+the captain.
+
+"Oh, I was on the lookout," said the inventor. "But what about getting
+into the wreck?"
+
+"I think the only way we can do it will be to ram a hole in her side,"
+said Captain Weston. "That was what I tried to tell Tom by motions, but
+he didn't seem to understand me."
+
+"No," replied the lad, who was still a little nervous from his recent
+experience. "I thought you meant for us to turn it over, bottom side
+up," and he laughed.
+
+"Bless my gizzard!  Just like a shark," commented Mr. Damon.
+
+"Please don't mention them," begged Tom. "I hope we don't see any more
+of them."
+
+"Oh, I fancy they have been driven far enough away from this
+neighborhood now," commented the captain. "But now about the wreck. We
+may be able to approach it from above.  Suppose we try to lower the
+submarine on it? That will save ripping it open."
+
+This was tried a little later, but would not work. There were strong
+currents sweeping over the top of the Boldero, caused by a submerged
+reef near which she had settled. It was a delicate task to sink the
+submarine on her decks, and with the deep waters swirling about was
+found to be impossible, even with the use of the electric plates and
+the auxiliary screws. Once more the Advance settled to the ocean bed,
+near the wreck.
+
+"Well, what's to be done?" asked Tom, as he looked at the high steel
+sides.
+
+"Ram her, tear a hole, and then use dynamite," decided Captain Weston
+promptly. "You have some explosive, haven't you, Mr. Swift?"
+
+"Oh, yes. I came prepared for emergencies."
+
+"Then we'll blow up the wreck and get at the gold."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Twenty-Four
+
+Ramming the Wreck
+
+
+Fitted with a long, sharp steel ram in front, the Advance was
+peculiarly adapted for this sort of work. In designing the ship this
+ram was calculated to be used against hostile vessels in war time, for
+the submarine was at first, as we know, destined for a Government boat.
+Now the ram was to serve a good turn.
+
+To make sure that the attempt would be a success, the machinery of the
+craft was carefully gone over. It was found to be in perfect order,
+save for a few adjustments which were needed. Then, as it was night,
+though there was no difference in the appearance of things below the
+surface, it was decided to turn in, and begin work in the morning. Nor
+did the gold-seekers go to the surface, for they feared they might
+encounter a storm.
+
+"We had trouble enough locating the wreck," said Captain Weston, "and
+if we go up we may be blown off our course. We have air enough to stay
+below, haven't we, Tom?"
+
+"Plenty," answered the lad, looking at the gages.
+
+After a hearty breakfast the next morning, the submarine crew got ready
+for their hard task. The craft was backed away as far as was practical,
+and then, running at full speed, she rammed the wreck. The shock was
+terrific, and at first it was feared some damage had been done to the
+Advance, but she stood the strain.
+
+"Did we open up much of a hole?" anxiously asked Mr. Swift.
+
+"Pretty good," replied Tom, observing it through the conning tower
+bull's-eyes, when the submarine had backed off again. "Let's give her
+another."
+
+Once more the great steel ram hit into the side of the Boldero, and
+again the submarine shivered from the shock.  But there was a bigger
+hole in the wreck now, and after Captain Weston had viewed it he
+decided it was large enough to allow a person to enter and place a
+charge of dynamite so that the treasure ship would be broken up.
+
+Tom and the captain placed the explosive. Then the Advance was
+withdrawn to a safe distance. There was a dull rumble, a great swirling
+of the water, which was made murky; but when it cleared, and the
+submarine went back, it was seen that the wreck was effectively broken
+up. It was in two parts, each one easy of access.
+
+"That's the stuff!" cried Tom. "Now to get at the gold!"
+
+"Yes, get out the diving suits," added Mr. Damon. "Bless my
+watch-charm, I think I'll chance it in one myself! Do you think the
+sharks are all gone, Captain Weston?"
+
+"I think so."
+
+In a short time Tom, the captain, Mr. Sharp and Mr. Damon were attired
+in the diving suits, Mr. Swift not caring to venture into such a great
+depth of water. Besides, it was necessary for at least one person to
+remain in the submarine to operate the diving chamber.
+
+Walking slowly along the bottom of the sea the four gold-seekers
+approached the wreck. They looked on all sides for a sight of the
+sharks, but the monster fish seemed to have deserted that part of the
+ocean. Tom was the first to reach the now disrupted steamer. He found
+he could easily climb up, for boxes and barrels from the cargo holds
+were scattered all about by the explosion. Captain Weston soon joined
+the lad. The sailor motioned Tom to follow him, and being more familiar
+with ocean craft the captain was permitted to take the lead. He headed
+aft, seeking to locate the captain's cabin. Nor was he long in finding
+it. He motioned for the others to enter, that the combined illumination
+of the lamps in their helmets would make the place bright enough so a
+search could be made for the gold.  Tom suddenly seized the arm of the
+captain, and pointed to one corner of the cabin. There stood a small
+safe, and at the sight of it Captain Weston moved toward it. The door
+was not locked, probably having been left open when the ship was
+deserted. Swinging it back the interior was revealed.
+
+It was empty. There was no gold bullion in it.
+
+There was no mistaking the dejected air of Captain Weston.  The others
+shared his feelings, but though they all felt like voicing their
+disappointment, not a word could be spoken. Mr. Sharp, by vigorous
+motions, indicated to his companions to seek further.
+
+They did so, spending all the rest of the day in the wreck, save for a
+short interval for dinner. But no gold rewarded their search.
+
+Tom, late that afternoon, wandered away from the others, and found
+himself in the captain's cabin again, with the empty safe showing dimly
+in the water that was all about.
+
+"Hang it all!" thought the lad, "we've had all our trouble for nothing!
+They must have taken the gold with them."
+
+Idly he raised his steel bar, and struck it against the partition back
+of the safe. To his astonishment the partition seemed to fall inward,
+revealing a secret compartment. The lad leaned forward to bring the
+light for his helmet to play on the recess. He saw a number of boxes,
+piled one upon the other. He had accidentally touched a hidden spring
+and opened a secret receptacle. But what did it contain?
+
+Tom reached in and tried to lift one of the boxes. He found it beyond
+his strength. Trembling from excitement, he went in search of the
+others. He found them delving in the after part of the wreck, but by
+motions our hero caused them to follow him. Captain Weston showed the
+excitement he felt as soon as he caught sight of the boxes. He and Mr.
+Sharp lifted one out, and placed it on the cabin floor. They pried off
+the top with their bars.
+
+There, packed in layers, were small yellow bars; dull, gleaming, yellow
+bars! It needed but a glance to show that they were gold bullion. Tom
+had found the treasure. The lad tried to dance around there in the
+cabin of the wreck, nearly three miles below the surface of the ocean,
+but the pressure of water was too much for him. Their trip had been
+successful.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter Twenty-Five
+
+Home With the Gold
+
+
+There was no time to be lost. They were in a treacherous part of the
+ocean, and strong currents might at any time further break up the
+wreck, so that they could not come at the gold. It was decided, by
+means of motions, to at once transfer the treasure to the submarine. As
+the boxes were too heavy to carry easily, especially as two men, who
+were required to lift one, could not walk together in the uncertain
+footing afforded by the wreck, another plan was adopted. The boxes were
+opened and the bars, a few at a time, were dropped on a firm, sandy
+place at the side of the wreck. Tom and Captain Weston did this work,
+while Mr. Sharp and Mr. Damon carried the bullion to the diving chamber
+of the Advance. They put the yellow bars inside, and when quite a
+number had been thus shifted, Mr. Swift, closing the chamber, pumped
+the water out and removed the gold. Then he opened the chamber to the
+divers again, and the process was repeated, until all the bullion had
+been secured.
+
+Tom would have been glad to make a further examination of the wreck,
+for he thought he could get some of the rifles the ship carried, but
+Captain Weston signed to him not to attempt this.
+
+The lad went to the pilot house, while his father and Mr. Sharp took
+their places in the engine-room. The gold had been safely stowed in Mr.
+Swift's cabin.
+
+Tom took a last look at the wreck before he gave the starting signal.
+As he gazed at the bent and twisted mass of steel that had once been a
+great ship, he saw something long, black and shadowy moving around from
+the other side, coming across the bows.
+
+"There's another big shark," he observed to Captain Weston. "They're
+coming back after us."
+
+The captain did not speak. He was staring at the dark form. Suddenly,
+from what seemed the pointed nose of it, there gleamed a light, as from
+some great eye.
+
+"Look at that!" cried Tom. "That's no shark!"
+
+"If you want my opinion," remarked the sailor, "I should say it was the
+other submarine--that of Berg and his friends--the Wonder. They've
+managed to fix up their craft and are after the gold."
+
+"But they're too late!" cried Tom excitedly. "Let's tell them so."
+
+"No," advised the captain. "We don't want any trouble with them."
+
+Mr. Swift came forward to see why his son had not given the signal to
+start. He was shown the other submarine, for now that the Wonder had
+turned on several searchlights, there was no doubt as to the identity
+of the craft.
+
+"Let's get away unobserved if we can," he suggested. "We have had
+trouble enough."
+
+It was easy to do this, as the Advance was hidden behind the wreck, and
+her lights were glowing but dimly. Then, too, those in the other
+submarine were so excited over the finding of what they supposed was
+the wreck containing the treasure, that they paid little attention to
+anything else.
+
+"I wonder how they'll feel when they find the gold gone?" asked Tom as
+he pulled the lever starting the pumps.
+
+"Well, we may have a chance to learn, when we get back to
+civilization," remarked the captain.
+
+The surface was soon reached, and then, under fair skies, and on a calm
+sea, the voyage home was begun. Part of the time the Advance sailed on
+the top, and part of the time submerged.
+
+They met with but a single accident, and that was when the forward
+electrical plate broke. But with the aft one still in commission, and
+the auxiliary screws, they made good time. Just before reaching home
+they settled down to the bottom and donned the diving suits again, even
+Mr. Swift taking his turn. Mr. Damon caught some large lobsters, of
+which he was very fond, or, rather, to be more correct, the lobsters
+caught him. When he entered the diving chamber there were four fine
+ones clinging to different parts of his diving suit. Some of them were
+served for dinner.
+
+The adventurers safely reached the New Jersey coast, and the submarine
+was docked. Mr. Swift at once communicated with the proper authorities
+concerning the recovery of the gold. He offered to divide with the
+actual owners, after he and his friends had been paid for their
+services, but as the revolutionary party to whom the bullion was
+intended had gone out of existence, there was no one to officially
+claim the treasure, so it all went to Tom and his friends, who made an
+equitable distribution of it. The young inventor did not forget to buy
+Mrs. Baggert a fine diamond ring, as he had promised.
+
+As for Berg and his employers, they were, it was learned later, greatly
+chagrined at finding the wreck valueless.  They tried to make trouble
+for Tom and his father, but were not successful.
+
+A few days after arriving at the seacoast cottage, Tom, his father and
+Mr. Damon went to Shopton in the airship.  Captain Weston, Garret
+Jackson and Mr Sharp remained behind in charge of the submarine. It was
+decided that the Swifts would keep the craft and not sell it to the
+Government, as Tom said they might want to go after more treasure some
+day.
+
+"I must first deposit this gold," said Mr. Swift as the airship landed
+in front of the shed at his home. "It won't do to keep it in the house
+over night, even if the Happy Harry gang is in jail."
+
+Tom helped him take it to the bank. As they were making perhaps the
+largest single deposit ever put in the institution, Ned Newton came out.
+
+"Well, Tom," he cried to his chum, "it seems that you are never going
+to stop doing things. You've conquered the air, the earth and the
+water."
+
+"What have you been doing while I've been under water, Ned?" asked the
+young inventor.
+
+"Oh, the same old thing. Running errands and doing all sorts of work in
+the bank."
+
+Tom had a sudden idea. He whispered to his father and Mr. Swift nodded.
+A little later he was closeted with Mr. Prendergast, the bank
+president. It was not long before Ned and Tom were called in.
+
+"I have some good news for you, Ned," said Mr. Prendergast, while Tom
+smiled. "Mr. Swift er--ahem--one of our largest depositors, has spoken
+to me about you, Ned. I find that you have been very faithful. You are
+hereby appointed assistant cashier, and of course you will get a much
+larger salary."
+
+Ned could hardly believe it, but he knew then what Tom had whispered to
+Mr. Swift. The wishes of a depositor who brings much gold bullion to a
+bank can hardly be ignored.
+
+"Come on out and have some soda," invited Tom, and when Ned looked
+inquiringly at the president, the latter nodded an assent.
+
+As the two lads were crossing the street to a drug store, something
+whizzed past them, nearly running them down.
+
+"What sort of an auto was that?" cried Tom.
+
+"That? Oh, that was Andy Foger's new car," answered Ned.  "He's been
+breaking the speed laws every day lately, but no one seems to bother
+him. It's because his father is rich, I suppose. Andy says he has the
+fastest car ever built."
+
+"He has, eh?" remarked Tom, while a curious look came into his eyes.
+"Well, maybe I can build one that will beat his."
+
+And whether the young inventor did or not you can learn by reading the
+fifth volume of this series, to be called "Tom Swift and His Electric
+Runabout; Or, The Speediest Car on the Road."
+
+"Well, Tom, I certainly appreciate what you did for me in getting me a
+better position," remarked Ned as they left the drug store. "I was
+beginning to think I'd never get promoted. Say, have you anything to do
+this evening? If you haven't, I wish you'd come over to my house. I've
+got a lot of pictures I took while you were away."
+
+"Sorry, but I can't," replied Tom.
+
+"Why, are you going to build another airship or submarine?"
+
+"No, but I'm going to see-- Oh, what do you want to know for, anyhow?"
+demanded the young inventor with a blush.  "Can't a fellow go see a
+girl without being cross-questioned?"
+
+"Oh, of course," replied Ned with a laugh. "Give Miss Nestor my
+regards," and at this Tom blushed still more. But, as he said, that was
+his own affair.
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 949 ***