Ned stepped out and picked it up. It was a keen-edge knife, such as sailors carry. On the handle was a single initial--"D."
Ned knew what that meant. Through some strange agency, by means of some unaccountable a.s.sistance, the Diver had reached the scene of the proposed operations of the Sea Lion.
From this time on, it would be a battle of wits--perhaps worse!
CHAPTER VII
THE SECRET OF THE HOLD
In response to Ned"s hand on the lever, the water door closed and the pumps in the next compartment soon cleared not only the sea vestibule but the tanks of the submarine of seawater.
In a moment the Sea Lion lifted to the surface, and Ned lost no time in relieving himself of his helmet. Then, still attired in the rubber suit, he hastened to the conning tower, where he found Jack, gla.s.s in hand, sweeping the moonlit sea eagerly. There was a faint haze off to the west, but nothing more. Whatever had pa.s.sed above the submerged boat, on the surface, had wholly disappeared, though the time had been very short.
"What did you see?"
Ned asked the question because Jack"s manner indicated excitement, if not anxiety.
"Just a shadow," was the reply.
"It might have been a shadow, pa.s.sing over the moon, the shadow of a cloud, or a cloud itself," suggested Frank, sticking his head out of the hatchway.
Ned pointed to the sky. There was not a cloud in sight.
"It must have been something of the kind," Jack mused, "for no boat could get out of sight so soon."
"Not even a submarine?" asked Ned.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Did you see a submarine?"
Both questions were asked in a breath.
"No," replied Ned, "I did not see a submarine, but I don"t believe any cloud pa.s.sing over the sky would drop anything like this."
He pa.s.sed the knife to Jack and took the gla.s.s. Jack opened his eyes wide as he examined the weapon and noted the initial on the handle. He turned impulsively to Ned.
"Where did you get it?" he asked.
"At the bottom."
"Did you find it lying there?"
"It fell just as I reached the water chamber."
"Then how the d.i.c.kens did the Diver get away so soon?" demanded the boy.
"It sure did fall from the Diver," agreed Frank, taking the knife and examining it.
"It would seem so," Ned replied, "but, of course, the initial may be merely a coincidence."
"I guess we"re in for it."
"But how did the Diver get here so soon after our arrival?" asked one of the boys.
Ned looked grave for a moment, and then replied, his manner showing how fully he appreciated the importance of his words:
"What I fear is that she got here first."
"And found the wreck?"
"She might have done so."
"Did you see anything of the Cutaria down there?" asked Frank.
"Not a bloomin" thing," answered Jimmie, making his appearance on the conning tower.
"The Diver might have towed it away," suggested Jack.
"Impossible!" cried the others, in chorus.
"Anyway," Jack continued, "we"re up against the real goods now. If the Diver is here we"ll have a sc.r.a.p."
"But suppose it should be some other outfit?" asked Frank. "Some pirate outfit after the gold?"
"Still there would be a sc.r.a.p."
"That"s one advantage of goin" with Ned," Jimmie edged in. "You most always get into a sc.r.a.p!"
"Well," Ned said, presently, "we may as well drop down and keep our lights low. If the Diver is here, the Moores are aware of our presence, and we must be prepared for anything."
In ten minutes the submarine lay at the bottom of the sea, with no lights showing, every plate gla.s.s window having been shuttered on the outside by a system of protection which was one of the best features of the craft. Then Ned explained that he had seen, at some distance, an apparent elevation rising from the sand.
"That may be the wreck," he said.
"I move we go and see," shouted Jimmie.
"In the darkness?" asked Frank.
"It is as light out there now," Jack declared, "as it will ever be, unless some subterranean volcano lights up and makes fireworks on the bottom, so we may as well be off."
"All right," Ned said, in a moment. "I was meditating a little rest to-night, but it may be advisable to get to work at once. For all we know the Moores may be stripping the wreck, even now."