James R. Driscoll

“ Instantly there was a great hubbub on deck, members of the crew jostling about just as a crowd collects on a public thoroughfare at the least sign of a commotion. It was not the first time that Diver Weddigen was thus confronted by one of the Brighton boys. Sailors of the Nemo recalled on the instant the scene after the recovery of the diamonds from the Dominion.
"You are a spy in the service of the German secret service and a cowardly villain to the very core of your heart." ”

“ The gold bullion from the Dominion had been transferred from the Monterey to the Jules Verne. Taking the Monterey in tow, the Marblehead left on the afternoon of the second day for Boston, while the Jules Verne put back to Bridgeford.
On the deck of the latter, as the Marblehead drew away from the cove in Martha's Vineyard, stood two stalwart youths who had played a stirring part in the drama that had been staged. By their side sat a lean hound with silken ears well set up and a silver-plated collar that reflected the afternoon sun with brilliant shafts of light. ”

“ Seymour, now quite at ease in the diving chamber that had been both a riddle and a nightmare to him when he came below for the first time, nonchalantly sat down on the floor of the Nautilus and thrust his legs out into the sea. With no more effort than though he were hauling out a huge sea carp, he leaned down and tore from its rusted fastenings the binnacle lamp of the E-70. ”

“ Beyond a doubt his plan was to send the treasure chest aloft now that he had worked it close to the door of the areaway where it might be yanked up the companionway and thence up through the depths to the deck of the Nemo.
"Going to send the rest of the diamonds up and try to get away with what he has already helped himself to," thought Jay as the daring scheme of his fellow diver was now revealed. But Jay had seen all and was determined so soon as he got back on the Nemo to compel an opening of that cunning little pocket on the side of Weddigen's diving suit. ”

“ The smiling face of Captain Austin greeted Jay as the latter climbed up through the forward hatch of the Nemo for a breath of the clear fresh morning air. The Nemo had arrived during the night at her destination and rode gracefully at anchor on an easy swell.
"Never felt better in my life," answered the Brighton boy. The two lads had enjoyed a fine night's rest even in the cramped quarters of a submarine. Pretty soon Dick came climbing on deck, throwing out his chest for an inhalation of the clear balmy ozone. ”

“ We can blow you out of the water with one little broadside and the world will never know what became of you."
"Who are you?" demanded Jay as he sat on the edge of his bunk with both hands up. The youth was thinking rapidly. What could he do, though, in the face of that ugly looking revolver?
"Never mind who I am," came the reply. "Your game is up. We have cleaned out the Dominion of all her gold. Our ship is on the move now. You will never know us nor catch up to us. A little swim for me and then into a fast motor launch that will take me safely aboard my own ship. ”

“ Jay and Dick, who shared the pet between them, heartily agreed, and Jay told how he had really wanted to take Fismes along on the Nemo, but had desisted, knowing there would not be room.
"But there's plenty of room on the Jules Verne. Come along, fellows; let's be on our way." So saying, the four deep-sea navigators set out for the new craft, closely pursued by a shaggy brown dog, who, stiff and proud, walked like an animal all conceited over new honors heaped upon him. ”

“ But now he was happy because Jay had opened his eyes again and smiled feebly through flickering eyelids.
For some time the rescued diver lay in a stupor. The heavy diving armor and shoes had been wrenched off. Several members of crew were rubbing his wrists and ankles, An oxygen tank had been used with successful [79] results. The tiny spark of life remaining had been fanned again after a grim battle between science and nature. And science had turned the ally of nature.
"Do you know me now?" faltered Dick.
For answer Jay opened his eyes again, and this time he recognized his chum. ”

“ Two years away from home and dear old Brighton! The hours dragged slowly while the great ship Leviathan ploughed the deep with her cargo of enlisted officers and men, now mustered out [12] of service and awaiting only the lowering of the gangplank at Hoboken until they would be back again in "civvies" and the comforts of life again.
"What do you mean? I don't see anything," replied Dick in answer to his chum's startled exclamation.
"Don't you see it—something sticking up out of the water like a long spar, or an old masthead of some sort?" continued Jay. ”

“ Groping his way along the side of the old freighter the persevering young diver found to his great delight that the tides and deep water currents had banked in sand all along the side of the Dominion. Like a pillow ridge this sand supported the weight of the lost cargo-carrier.
"This makes it all the easier; I can walk right aboard without any formalities," laughed Dick as he dropped to his hands and knees. He figured it would be easier going "doggey" [62] fashion than to attempt to walk up the side of the incline and run the risk of sinking deep into the fluid underfooting. ”

“ Jay was going off the forward deck of the Nemo, and Weddigen was to take off from aft the conning tower. The huge unwieldy diving suit, the clodhopper shoes of iron, the ghoulish looking headgear with its grotesque looking eyes were ready to be donned. The Nemo was anchored to the lee shore of the island; the water was comparatively quiet and there seemed little danger of the "life lines" becoming unmanageable. ”

“ Jay stirred in his chair. It was the fulfillment of his hazy dream—the groping for lost ships on the bottom of the sea and the exploration of their battered hulls!
"What we want to do is to prove to the government that our ship salvage facilities are all that we claim for them," explained Brown. "It is our purpose to go out and work first on several ships that we have in mind right [38] here on the Atlantic coast. Once we have demonstrated what we can do, we hope to take on government contracts under government auspices. It is all as clear as crystal in our minds." ”

“ A familiar voice sounded in the ears of Dick Monaghan as he swung up through the big shipyard at Bridgeford bound for the office of Superintendent Brown in the hope that he would find Captain Austin and his own chum, Jay Thacker, and learn from them some interesting news concerning the next move to be made in the game of deep-sea salvage.
"All out for the Jules Verne!" It was a familiar phrase to every Brighton student. At the academy, it was always "all out" when the boys quit their books at night for a romp in the corridors before "lights out." ”

“ The Brighton boys turned to greet their captain.
"Likely to net you chaps a handsome profit, indeed, after all this Treasure Cove fight heaped up on top of your various other exploits. I'll wager you it's a young fortune you draw down at Bridgeford before you go back to school."
"Perhaps more than we deserve," offered Jay.
"More than you deserve?" Captain Austin's voice rose to a high pitch. "You chaps surely merit every single dollar that will be paid to you. ”

“ Think of the ores and the steel and the guns and shells and stuff like that; they would still be good should they ever be reclaimed. And oh, boy, think of all the gold bullion and the silver and all the priceless stuff that's still as good as the day it first saw the rays of the sun. Man alive!"
Jay's eyes sparkled at the thought of the treasure deep down in the fathoms—ransoms big enough to buy whole countries of the earth!
"Yes, I know, but how you going to get it up?" interrogated Dick. Conservative old Dick! ”

“ Jay was in a frenzy and would have leaped overboard to go to the rescue had he not been restrained. Captain Austin by this time had run aft and with megaphone in hand directed the sailors [195] in the dory to row around the stern of the Jules Verne and come up on the port bow of the vessel.
In all this confusion, amid all the babel of voices, there resounded the furious barking of a dog. Fismes, an eye-witness of the rescue of Jay, had become all excited, too, and was giving vent to himself with raucous barking. With canine instinct the animal seemed to sense the situation. ”

“ The superintendent moved over beside him and as Jay withdrew from his port station peered out through the water.
With the glaring light of the Nautilus' reflectors shining more dazzlingly at this close range than any extraneous natural light that filtered through from the sun, Superintendent Brown beheld the crude yet only partially obliterated legend: "E-70."
"Fine and dandy!" he shouted. "It's proof positive. The craft out there is none other than the lost U. S. submarine chaser that was rammed last summer, as Captain Austin has told us. A fine feather in the cap of all of us. ”

“ What Dick had thought was a head moved slightly. And then through the open door of the stateroom appeared in firm outline the form of a man—a huge hulk of a figure!
And then Dick did a funny thing. The best course was to have kept silence until the figure moved on. Then the Brighton youth could have slipped out of bed, grabbed his revolver and followed on. But he was not sure in his drowsy condition whether it was really a man, and whether it was friend or enemy. It might be only the guard on patrol. ”

“ Two youths completely trapped in a diving chamber that was poised directly over a coal barge in which a high explosive time bomb was set to go off now at any time!
There was a chance, of course, that the detonation might not be severe enough to damage the Nautilus. The bomb might explode outward or downward instead of spending its energy upward under the keel of the diving bell. In that event the shock might not be sufficient to rend the seams of the light steel chamber in which the Brighton boys were crouched awaiting the inevitable crash. ”

“ Dick surveyed his chum for a moment, looking full in his eyes.
"On the level?" he queried rather incredulously.
"Nothing would strike me better—action for mine," snapped Jay. "Holy smoke! think of the chance to stock up on some big coin! If a fellow got in right he could lay away enough to finish at Brighton and go on to college. I'd go in a minute if the chance developed."
Like a flash the whole picture opened up to Dick—an opportunity to use the experience they had gained in the Navy to rake in some good honest "kale" during the summer recess. ”

“ As they looked together again their old [13] friend Fismes, dancing at their feet on the transport deck, manifested an interest in the proceedings by setting up a raucous barking. Good old Fismes! Once a mascot aboard a German cruiser, he had been flung to the embrace of old ocean's gray and melancholy waste on a fateful day when one of the dandy little American submarines, with a single sting from its scorpion-like torpedo chamber, had blown the Hun warship off the map of the world. ”

“ Quick as a flash Jay parried the thrust with his left and shot over a powerful right hand swing—the kind he had planted on the rioters. It caught the bully flush on the point of the jaw—a clean smash that sent him sprawling on the floor. His honor requited, Jay stepped back to survey the damage he had done.
Half dazed from the punch and muttering to himself, the bully struggled to his feet and picked up his hat.
"All right, smarty; I'll get you sometime alone when your crowd ain't with you," he stuttered and edged away sheepishly. ”

“ Both boys had, indeed, had sufficient experience under the water to acquaint them with the fundamentals of deep-sea salvage. While serving with the Yankee fleets abroad, particularly in the laying of the North Sea mine wall, they had taken many a dip in diving armor below the surface of the sea. True, it had not been in the exploration of sunken ships or the reclamation of submerged cargoes; but their long, hard hours "down below" while adjusting mine screens and bombs had qualified them as first class divers in the strictest sense of the word. ”

“ It had happened so quickly Dick and Larry hardly knew what it was all about. Jay explained the circumstances.
"Serves him right," said Dick. "The world is full of fellows nowadays who think they can ride roughshod over everybody. They need to be put in their places and realize that human rights belong to all the people instead of a few." ”

“ Jay and Dick heard to their surprise that during the time the brave boys of America had been offering their services, their very lives, for their country, these Bolshevists had been openly plotting against the whole republican plan of American life.
"Secret meetings, wild speeches and all kinds of goings on," muttered Larry. "All the time talking about strikes and walkouts, and even threatening among themselves to take over the whole blamed works and run 'em themselves." ”

“ Now it was all over; the long days and nights of untiring vigils, of tempestuous tussles with the elements, and hard, unrelenting toil. Back home now to the country they had left in the long ago; to the old friends and familiar places they had dreamed about in the monotony of the long night hours at sea. ”