Eureka!
"That young brother of yours has his head screwed on the right way,
Beverley," observed Harborough in his blunt way, when he heard of the
conversation that led to the nocturnal discovery of the
treasure-ship. "Jolly good thing we brought him along. We might have
been groping for the wreck for weeks."
"I suppose it is the _Fusi Yama_," said Bobby.
"Of course," declared Harborough emphatically. "The boat we fished up
proves that." He glanced at his watch. "In another hour and a half
we'll put a half-Nelson on the last remaining doubts."
It was just before the breakfast-hour on the morning following the
eventful night. The crew of the _Titania_, in spite of a somewhat
boisterous demonstration that lasted till the small hours of the
morning, were up and ready to resume operations.
For the preliminary diving-work it was arranged that a descent should
be made from one of the boats as before; then, the shoal water
surrounding the wreck having been surveyed, a guide-rope could be
paid out between the _Fusi Yama_ and the beach, in accordance with
Claverhouse's suggestion.
At seven and a half fathoms Swaine found himself on the poop of the
submerged vessel. There was enough natural light at that depth to
enable him to dispense with his electric lamp. Objects on her deck,
which was fairly well preserved in spite of a lapse of five years,
were readily discernable, but over the sides of the ship the water,
thick with sand and mud, was as black as ink.
He made his way for'ard with the utmost caution, lest a rotten patch
in the deck should let him down into the cavernous depths below.
Everything of a portable nature had vanished from the deck, even the
bridge and charthouse, badly damaged by shell-fire from the German
cruiser, had gone, save for a few twisted steel girders. The jagged
stumps of the masts and the base of the funnel remained, while held
in a grotesque inverted position from the davits were three boats
similar to the one that the grapnel had brought to the surface. The
hatches of the two cargo-holds had been removed, but whether by the
prize-crew or by the action of the water Swaine could not determine.
As he placed one leaden-shod foot upon the steel coaming and peered
into the opaque depths of one of the holds, Swaine felt himself
wondering what secrets that abyss held, and whether he would be
successful in his efforts to prise the treasure from the keeping of
the sea.
Although he had carefully studied the plans of the scuttled ship, and
knew the details of her internal arrangements by heart, Swaine made
no attempt to go below. For the present his object was to examine and
report upon the position and condition of the vessel, and the best
means of getting at the valuable contents of the strong-room which,
according to the plans, was on the main deck just abaft the after
bulkhead of the engine-room.
As he neared the fore part of the ship Swaine felt his progress
sensibly retarded. A part of the current that he knew from previous
experience set past the two wrecks had been diverted and was sweeping
diagonally across the fo'c'sle of the _Fusi Yama_, with a velocity of
from one to two miles an hour. Right aft the current was hardly
perceptible as far as the deck was concerned, but over the side the
steady ripple of running water, although inaudible, was apparent by
the drifting pieces of weed and kelp.
Leaving one end of a rope made fast to a bollard, Swaine came to the
surface and made his report. One of the boats then pulled to the
beach, paying out the line as it went. By eleven o'clock in the
morning a "distance-rope" was in position between the _Fusi Yama_ and
the shore.
In the afternoon Swaine paid another visit to the wreck, this time
entering the water from the beach and following the tautened rope.
For half the distance his progress was fairly rapid, judging from the
diver's point of view, but towards the latter end of his submarine
walk he experienced considerable difficulty from the cross-current,
having, in fact, to hold on tightly to prevent himself being swept
away.
Close alongside the wreck, which he noticed had already sunk to her
bilge-keels in the sand and mud, the current was hardly apparent,
being deflected by the flare of the vessel's bows.
Examination by the aid of the portable electric lamp revealed no
signs of the hull having been damaged by internal explosion.
Evidently the Huns effected the scuttling by opening the sea-cocks.
Clambering on board--a fairly-easy task owing to the buoyancy of the
diving-dress, which, notwithstanding leaden weights, was only a few
pounds heavier than the water it displaced--Swaine made his way down
the main companion-ladder.
'Tween decks a weird sight presented itself. Within the limits of the
rays of the lamp he could see wooden articles of various descriptions
pinned up against the ceilings. Other objects, heavier than water,
lay about the deck, all covered with a slimy marine growth.
Progressing, he made his way to the strong-room. The massive door was
partly open. There were indications that the complicated locks had
been blown open by powerful explosives, but a temporary fastening,
consisting of a steel bar secured by a large brass padlock, prevented
the diver from ascertaining the nature of the contents of the room.
He returned to the shore by the same way, to find his comrades
anxiously awaiting him.
"I've found the strong-room," were his first words.
"Empty?" inquired half a dozen voices eagerly.
"Couldn't say," replied Swaine. "I think not, otherwise the Huns
wouldn't have troubled to padlock it."
"Let's hope you're right," said Harborough. "They went off in a
hurry, I understand, and the gold was stated to have been left on
board."
"At any rate, sir, they had time to open the sea-cocks, and not blow
her bilges out," continued Swaine.
"Teutonic thoroughness," explained the baronet; "they were in a
hurry, with Australian and Jap. cruisers at their heels, but there
was time to scuttle her methodically. They evidently hoped to raise
her after the war."
"Pity we couldn't," observed Villiers. "It would save a lot of
trouble in the long run."
"Unfortunately, that is an experienced Salvage Company's work,"
rejoined Harborough. "It would mean either filling her with
air-cylinders or else building a coffer-dam round her and pumping the
water out. We know our capabilities, and we won't begin cutting into
other fellow's jobs, so we'll just carry on."
During the next day an electric submarine-lamp was lowered into the
hull of the wreck, the current being supplied by a dynamo worked off
the shaft of the motor-launch; while electrically-operated drills
were sent below ready to commence the task of opening the door of the
strong-room.
The work continued in almost perfect weather, the extreme heat of the
day being tempered by a soft breeze. Lassitude, one of the drawbacks
of the tropics, was unknown, so bracing were the sea-breezes. Even
after a day's toil the men felt so full of energy that they indulged
in games of cricket, making rough and ready bats from pieces of
plank, and balls fashioned of rope-yarn and junk bound with
seaming-twine.
"Think I'm up to scratch now, old thing?" inquired Villiers, after
half an hour's diving-practice.
"Not much doubt about it," replied Swaine. "You've put in five hours
altogether. You can have a shot at the wreck to-morrow."
Jack Villiers had indeed made good progress as a diver.
Constitutionally fitted, and possessing a steady nerve, he soon
mastered the relatively-simple "gadgets" that made the self-contained
diving-dress admittedly superior to that of the older type, in which
the diver is hampered by life-line and air-tube. In a case of
emergency the diver could blow himself to the surface by liberating a
quantity of compressed air from a strong metal cylinder strapped
immediately beneath the air-reservoir. The compressed air would then
distend the outer fabric of the diving-suit without interfering with
the wearer's breathing, with the result that the man would rise to
the surface, his leaden sinkers notwithstanding.
Accordingly, upon the next descent to the wreck Swaine did not go
alone. Close on his heels followed Villiers, keeping a firm hold on
the rope that led from the shore to the hull of the _Fusi Yama_.
With little difficulty the two divers found themselves outside the
strong-room door. The space between decks, lighted by the electric
submarine-lamp, was shorn of most of its uncanniness by the powerful
rays, but a number of fish, attracted by the glare, were swimming to
and fro, sometimes butting blindly against the glass fronts of the
men's helmets.
Villiers was thankful that none of the fish was of a dangerous
variety. They looked hideous enough, magnified by the water. There
were some with formidable-looking spines, others resembling skate
with ferocious, underhung jaws, some that looked like conger-eels,
and one with a razor-backed body, who persisted in rubbing against
Villier's bare hands until Jack drew a knife and settled it with the
awkward customer. But, he was thankful to observe, sharks,
sword-fish, and cuttle-fish were not in evidence.
Both men set to work first to clear away the imprisoned and floating
debris. Broken deck-chairs, life-belts with rotten canvas coverings,
wooden buckets, and other articles that still retained their buoyancy
were dragged to the companion-hatchway and liberated. This done, the
doors were drawn together and lashed, leaving room for the
electric-light cable leads to pass through the aperture. By so doing
the divers had rendered themselves secure from roaming tigers of the
deep.
The steel bar on the door of the strong-room was a formidable affair.
Even by the aid of the electric drills, the metal was only cut
through to the depth of an inch when Swaine gave the signal to knock
off and return to the beach.
One hour and twenty minutes had elapsed, and another forty minutes
represented the total period during which a man could remain
submerged before his air-supply became impure.
"Slow progress," reported Swaine, on their return. "With luck we
ought to cut through that jolly old bar in a couple of hours. How did
you like the job, Jack?"
"Not so dusty," replied Villiers guardedly.
"That is an obvious statement," rejoined his fellow-worker. "We
certainly weren't working in a dust-laden atmosphere. By Jove, I am
hungry! What's going, Pete?"
"Taro and pork-pie, sah," replied the cook, whereupon all the others
laughed, for that sort of pie had become part of the daily routine.
"Keen on carrying on, Jack?" inquired Swaine, when, having partaken
of a substantial meal, all hands were resting and enjoying a smoke.
"Rather," replied Villiers emphatically. "I'm anxious to see the
other side of that strong-room door."
"Come on, then," continued Swaine, knocking out his pipe on the heel
of his boot. "Now, then, fall in, the divers' attendants. There's no
need to stand there hanging on to the slack. Slap it about."
With increased confidence Villiers plunged into the water, following
his chum. At a pre-arranged signal the electric submarine-lamp was
switched on and the companion-doors closed.
Alternately holding the electric drill, the two divers resumed their
attack upon the steel bar, until Swaine gave the signal to desist.
Then pointing to a heavy sledge hammer, he motioned to Villiers to
give the _coup de grâce_.
It looked a simple task to break the almost severed bar. The hammer,
weighing fourteen pounds in air, seemed ridiculously light, but when
Villiers tried to swing it, the result surprised him. He had not
calculated the resistance of the water.
At the third attempt Jack laid the hammer down in disgust, then
picking up a crow-bar he applied the wedge-shaped end to the bar and
bore down with all his weight, planting one leaden-soled boot against
the door to give greater leverage.
The steel bar gave. Villiers found himself deposited gently on his
back. Agreeably surprised that he hadn't fallen violently, he
realized that the resistance of the water that had rendered the
hammer-blows almost useless had also let him down softly.
It took him some moments to regain a vertical position. He could see
his companion grinning at him through the plate-glass front of his
helmet. Then almost the next instant he became aware that he could
not keep contact with the floor but was rising through the water.
Inadvertently, in his struggles he had opened the release-valve to
the compressed-air reservoir, and but for the intervening roof he
would have been well on his way to the surface.
It had taken place so quickly that Swaine had no chance to come to
the luckless diver's assistance, while most of the compressed air had
found its way into Villier's diving-dress. By the time Swaine
succeeded in closing the valve Jack was pinned pretty firmly against
the ceiling.
Vainly he strove, by pushing against the roof, to force himself down.
A mild panic seized him. He struggled so violently that he rasped the
skin from the knuckles of his bare hands.
Raising one arm and securing a grip on Villier's gorget, Swaine
pulled himself up until the metal of his helmet was in contact with
that of his companion's. By this means he could shout and be
understood.
"Don't struggle," urged Swaine. "I'll get you out if you don't. Quite
simple."
Making his way to the companion-ladder, Swaine opened the double
doors, then, by dint of an acrobatic feat that would have been
impossible to perform in air, he dragged the buoyant, distended form
of his companion to the opening.
Given a final push to speed him on his way, Villiers shot like an
arrow to the surface. The sudden change of pressure wellnigh deprived
him of his senses, but he was just conscious of floating face
uppermost on the surface within a few feet of the motor-boat that
supplied the electric current to the interior of the wreck.
Great was Beverley's consternation when he saw one of the divers
blown to the surface. Bobby had been having an easy task of standing
by attending at intervals to the motor, when the inflated
diving-dress, and its unrecognizable occupant, suddenly emerged
alongside.
By the aid of a boat-hook Villiers was brought within hand's reach,
but the task of getting him on board had yet to be tackled.
Assisted by O'Loghlin, Griffiths, and Bell, Beverley passed a couple
of ropes round the distended diving-dress and carefully, yet
unceremoniously, parbuckled Jack into safety, although the boat
dipped until her waterways were awash.
"All right, Villiers, old thing?" inquired Beverley anxiously, when
the first of the glass plates of the helmet was unscrewed.
"Yes--I think so," replied Jack in a voice he hardly recognized as
his own. "I'll explain later."
"And Swaine?"
"Quite O.K.," declared Villiers emphatically.
Willing hands divested him of his cumbersome diving-dress, and, a
boat having put off from the shore, Jack was transhipped and taken to
the camp.
"Nothing to worry about," reported Beverley, in answer to eager
inquiries. "Let him alone, and don't worry him with questions. Hallo!
here's Swaine." Swaine, having come ashore by the usual way of
following the rope, had arrived in shoal water unwelcomed by anyone.
Finding that there was no one to assist him, he trudged above
high-water mark and sat down, looking a hideously-grotesque figure.
Harborough and two or three others hurried to him.
"Villiers all right?" were his first words.
"Yes," replied Sir Hugh. "What happened?"
"Happened?" repeated Swaine, with a chuckle. "He wrenched open the
door, and the result so astonished him that he went up, leaving me to
find the gold. It's there, right enough."