DIAMONDS ARE TRUMP
Light! The glorious sunlight of the world! Voices, too; the friendly
voices of his old chums aboard the _Nemo_. These were the evidences
of returned life to Jay Thacker as he lay on the deck of the _Nemo_
looking up into the sky. It was like a dream and his befagged brain
could scarce comprehend the situation.
"Jay, old boy, look at me. Do you know me? Speak to me, pal, and tell
me you are all right again."
It was the voice of Dick. He was bending over chafing the wrists of his
comrade in school and in arms. Tears were coursing down his cheeks.
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
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.
"Where have I been? What happened to me?" he began.
"Don't you remember? You were down there working on the _Dominion_. You
got all tangled up in something and we just pulled you up in the nick
of time."
And then it all came back to Jay; the terrible struggle for life on the
bottom of the sea. Those twisted air lines! He seemed to be living it
all over again. And that mass of débris that held him fast!
"Pull it off of me, Dick; cut me free," he moaned feebly.
"You are all right again, old boy; you're right here on the deck of the
_Nemo_," reassured Dick in soothing tones.
Slowly but surely the iron constitution of the Brighton boy responded
to resuscitation measures. Good fresh air flowed again into his lungs,
clearing his brain and setting his circulation going anew.
"Where is Weddigen?" asked Jay, with a startled expression.
"He's here on the aft deck, pretty well tuckered out, but fine and
dandy, nevertheless," Dick told him.
"And the diamonds--did he send them up?" inquired Jay.
"You bet your boots he did; all here safe and sound," was his chum's
rejoinder. "A nice day's work, too; but what would we have cared for
the stones if your life had been forfeit in the deal."
The diamonds! How did Jay know about them?
"How did you know Weddigen landed any diamonds?" asked Dick, bending
over his chum.
"I saw them," came the answer.
"But Weddigen says he landed them all alone and didn't see a trace of
you all the time he was down. How's that?" Dick was nonplussed.
"Tell you after a bit," whispered Jay.
They made him as comfortable as possible on deck, preferring to leave
him out in the fresh air and sunshine rather than carry him below. Dick
took complete charge of him, and a capable physician he proved as he
ministered to the needs of his chum.
Now that Jay had been rescued, the men of the _Nemo_ were celebrating
hilariously the salvage of the precious jewels, knowing the contents of
the chest must be worth many thousands of dollars. Under the direction
of Captain Austin the strong box was carried below, not to be opened
until the _Nemo_ returned to her base at Bridgeford.
Weddigen still reclined on deck. It had been a long, hard fight under
water and he, too, had somewhat overstayed his time limit.
His friends in the crew were fêting him. They crowded about, patting
him on the back and congratulating him for his plucky and successful
efforts to get at the lost treasure.
"Wait till we get back to Bridgeford--the swellest time you ever had in
your life," shouted one enthusiast.
All of this adulation pleased Weddigen. The rôle of the hero appealed
to him and he was enjoying the situation immensely.
Meanwhile Jay was slowly but surely returning to life. The oxygen
tank had performed yeoman service. Color was coming back into the
face and circulation had been restored. A stimulant was offered, but
the stout-hearted lad declined it, smilingly preferring to keep the
temperance pledge that he had taken before he had left home to go to
school.
"Thanks, Cap, but I'm coming back in fine shape," he mumbled, while
Dick fairly beamed over the recovery of his chum.
In a few minutes Jay was able to sit up. He drank eagerly the cup of
hot black coffee that was offered him. He was very weak from his trying
ordeal, and no one ventured to ask him about his hazardous trip to the
_Dominion_ and his narrow escape from death.
By and by Jay motioned Dick to come closer.
"Did Weddigen land any treasure?" he asked with an inquisitive look.
Dick launched into the story, telling how the strong box had been
hauled over the side amid wild jubilation and taken below into Captain
Austin's quarters.
"Are you sure there were diamonds in the chest?" persisted Jay.
"Sure, Mike," responded his chum. "Oodles of them worth thousands of
dollars. Glittering cut stones; a young fortune big enough to put us
all on easy street for the rest of our lives if they belonged to us."
Jay pondered the situation for a moment. In his eyes was a queer look
that neither Dick nor Larry Seymour, who had joined the group, could
fathom.
"Is Weddigen still on deck?" persisted Jay.
"Still back there resting up while the crew make a fuss over him,"
replied Larry.
"All right, now, Larry, do what I tell you, please," said Jay.
"Just stroll back there casually and look him over without arousing
suspicion. See if you don't notice a narrow slit of a pocket on the
inside of the right leg of his armor suit, buttoned over with a flap.
When he gets up to take off his diving suit just manage to accidentally
flip that pocket open and then keep your eyes on it."
"Why, what do you mean?" offered Larry, perplexed by the directions
given him by Jay.
"Remember, I never fooled you in my life, old friend," answered the
latter. "Just do what I tell you, and perhaps you'll have a bit of a
surprise party."
Jay was weakened by the exertion of talking and sank back to rest again
with closed eyes. Withdrawing a few paces, Dick and Larry discussed the
suggestions made by Jay.
"Think he is still a little dippy as a result of his experience?"
questioned Larry.
"Sounds rather queer, doesn't it?" pondered Dick, unable to grasp the
significance of Jay's remarks.
They agreed, however, there surely must be some ground for Jay talking
so; and, moreover, they shared similar opinions regarding one Carl
Weddigen, notwithstanding the fact that Weddigen had made a game fight
for the diamonds and come off victorious.
"You stay here with Jay and I'll just stroll aft and look the old bird
over," counseled Larry after a little further deliberation. "To my mind
he's just the kind of a fellow who might put something over on us."
Dick agreed, and Larry accordingly hurried away, slowing down to a
leisurely gait after he had passed the conning tower and approached the
group of which the much-admired diver was the central figure. As he
drew near, Larry could hear Weddigen recounting his experiences on the
ocean bed in the hold of the _Dominion_. And he was omitting no detail
in the narration.
All smiles and apparently with all friendly intent Larry eased himself
into the circle of admiring friends.
"How's Thacker?" queried Weddigen solicitously, breaking away from his
story of the reclamation.
"Coming along fine," said Larry, detailing how Jay had responded
satisfactorily to treatment.
"Glad of that," responded Weddigen. "I'm sorry we couldn't both have
come upon the glittering goods together and yanked them out with a
little teamwork. Tell him I'll be over to see him in a few minutes."
Larry hung around while other members of the crew insisted that
Weddigen complete his story of the salvage expedition. But Carl was in
no mood to continue the yarn and said he guessed he was feeling strong
enough now to take off his diving clothes and go below for a snooze.
Accordingly he struggled to his feet with the aid of several members of
the crew.
Larry was now all attention. Following out the instructions of Jay he
carefully examined the trousers of the big diver. Yes, there it was;
the telltale little pocket on the side of the right leg. Larry edged up
closer to get a better look at it. There was a certain bulge to it as
though it was well filled.
"Gee, you're a regular Beau Brummel of a diver with your fancy
clothes," offered Seymour facetiously as he smiled up into the face of
Weddigen.
"What do you mean, fellow?" blurted the latter, turning short to
survey the Bridgeford seaman whom he remembered as one of the three
he had encountered the day he and Jay had come together just outside
Superintendent Brown's office.
"Why, with your pretty little side pockets," prattled Larry with a
sickly grin.
With a flourish of the hand he indicated the bulging patch on the side
of Weddigen's armor, and before the latter could intervene Larry swept
his hand carelessly but unerringly over the pocket, giving it such a
thrust that the button slipped through the stout canvas eye-hole. At
the same time Weddigen clutched the pocket as though to cover it. But
he was too late!
Instantly a half dozen glittering diamonds popped from the aperture and
rolled on the deck of the _Nemo_, sparkling in the morning sun like the
jewels of a monarch's crown!
"What do you mean, you big stiff," growled Weddigen in dismay as the
treasure that he had filched from the strong box while yet in the wreck
of the _Dominion_ was revealed.
"What do I mean? I mean that you're a rascal and a thief," shot back
Larry, fully convinced now that the sparklers were part of the loot
that had been recovered from the lost British liner.
Immediately there was a great hubbub among the crew as they pounced
upon the scattered diamonds, eager to retrieve them before they rolled
overboard or were jostled below by the roll of the _Nemo_.
"You're a big fool and I'll break your face so soon as I get in trim
again, that's what I'll do," snorted Weddigen in a rage.
But Larry was his equal in the showdown.
"You may have a little trouble smashing my face," he countered, "but
you are going to have a bigger time explaining to Captain Austin and
the Bridgeford Salvage Company how you came in possession of those
diamonds."
Attracted by the commotion, Captain Austin came hurrying up.
"What's all the commotion about?" he demanded. There had been
excitement enough on the _Nemo_ for one morning.
"It's none of your business, and I'll prove mightily easy how I came
about those diamonds," Weddigen was saying as the ship's executive
officer drew near.
"This man is not playing fair," denounced Larry, pointing out the diver
to Captain Austin. "He's holding back a whole pocketful of diamonds on
you, Captain."
The captain was so amazed he could only gaze from one to the other.
"You are making a grave accusation, Mr. Seymour, and against a man
who has risked his life this morning in the recovery of thousands of
dollars' worth of diamonds," the ship captain remarked slowly. There
were murmurs of approval from members of the crew.
"All right, sir, I only ask that Mr. Weddigen bare the contents of that
pocket on the right leg of his diving suit," retorted Larry.
All eyes were turned forthwith on the diver. But the crafty Weddigen
was equal to the occasion.
"I was trying to tell this big boob I could explain everything," he
countered with an air of superiority. "You see, it was this way,
Captain. When I came upon that treasure chest down there I had to bang
it about a bit to get it ready for the lift. You can see for yourself
if you inspect it closely that the hinges were rusted. In prodding
about I loosened up the lid. I thought I'd just take a peep to see if
I really had the goods. There they were, all right. Some of them were
lying loose, so I just scooped them up and slipped them into this vent
in my suit. I didn't want to take any chances on losing them."
As he talked he stooped over and holding a cupped hand over the pocket
forced out a handful of the finest of diamonds, ranging in size from
one- to three- and five-carat stones.
"There you are; I never had the slightest intention of keeping them,"
blustered Weddigen. "This fresh guy Seymour thinks he gets me in wrong,
and I'll attend to him later. I was waiting until I got rested up a bit
before coming to you with them."
Upon Larry he cast a murderous scowl of hatred as Captain Austin
hurried the diamonds below, apparently satisfied with Weddigen's story.
But Larry, hearing the true story later from the lips of Jay Thacker,
knew Weddigen's quick-witted defense was but skilled camouflage to
cover his attempted theft of the pocketed diamonds. With the two
Brighton youths, he formed a pact to keep a watchful eye on the surly
diver in the future.