THE RIVAL DIVERS
"Gosh, but this is something new!"
So thought Dave Fearless as he tried to pass the little fish in order
to get into the diving bell.
But the little chaps were both frisky and powerful and got in his way
continually.
They smelt of his legs, his body and his head, and then each gave him
a resounding slap with the tail.
It was like a hundred tack hammers playing a tattoo over his entire
body.
Never had the young diver been in such a peculiar position before.
At last he hit out straight ahead of him.
It was like striking into a mass of jelly.
The little fish flew in all directions, only to return the moment the
young diver's arm was hauled back.
Slowly but surely, however, he got closer to the diving bell.
At last he gained the door and hauled himself inside by main strength.
The bell was full of the tiny fish, and he had literally to squeeze
them out in order to squeeze himself in.
Once in the bell he hardly knew what to do next.
To shut the door under the circumstances was out of the question.
Yet he could not remain below the surface forever.
But while he was meditating upon the unexpected turn of affairs some
other fish came to his aid.
They were long, fat fellows, with stomachs on them resembling
balloons.
There were a score or more of them, and they began to gobble down the
little fish as rapidly as they could swallow them.
A fight ensued between the little fish and the big fish, and in the
end nearly all of the fish of both sorts left the vicinity of the
diving bell for parts unknown.
Realizing what was going on, Dave watched his chance and when only a
few of each kind of fish remained in the diving bell he shut the door.
Then he began to pump out the water, and at the same time signaled to
those on the ship to raise him to the surface.
"A splendid haul!" cried Doctor Barrell, on examining his strange
catch. "Two spiral whipsnaps, to use the vulgar name, and half a
dozen fish which are new to science."
Captain Broadbeam had taken up one of the little fish and was
examining it with interest.
The fish was dead, having been cut open during the struggle in the
diving bell.
"He's got something inside of him that don't belong there, I reckon,"
said the captain. "Creation, look here!"
And he held up--a small gold coin!
"A gold coin!" cried Dave. "A Chinese piece, too!"
"You are right," said Doctor Barrell.
"Perhaps it came from the sunken treasure," put in Amos Fearless, who
stood near.
"Perhaps."
"Then the treasure must be down here, at the bottom of the ocean,"
added Dave.
"It's not unlikely," said the doctor. "Although such a fish might
swim a long distance with such a coin in his insides."
While the party was talking the matter over, and Doctor Barrell was
preparing to place the spiral fish in a safe place, there came a cry
from the lookout:
"Sail oh!"
"Where away?" cried Captain Broadbeam.
"Dead ahead, sir."
"Can you make her out?"
"A steamer, sir."
"Perhaps it is the _Raven_," said Dave. And his heart gave a leap.
Slowly the newcomer came closer until, at noon, she was within
hailing distance.
She was really the _Raven_ and she came up boldly, with Lemuel
Hankers, Bart, and several others on her deck.
The _Raven_ would have gained the spot several days before, but an
unexpected breakdown of her machinery had caused a delay.
The wait was maddening to Lemuel Hankers and his son, yet their rage
did them no good.
The _Raven_ came to a standstill when within hailing distance of the
_Swallow_.
"_Raven_, ahoy!" shouted Captain Broadbeam, through his speaking
trumpet.
"Ahoy, the _Swallow_!" came back from Captain Nesik.
"You're a pretty set of rascals!" burst out the honest commander of
the Government vessel.
"Don't talk that way to us!" retorted Captain Nesik.
"Why didn't you rescue us from the savages?"
"We were running on a reef and had to look after our ship," was the
lame excuse.
"You're a set of rascals!" burst out Dave Fearless, and he shook his
fist at those on the _Raven_.
"Don't call me a rascal!" ejaculated Lemuel Hankers.
"But you are one, and your son is another," came from Dave. "The
mask is off, and in the future you had better keep your distance, or
there will be trouble for you."
"What are you doing here?" demanded Bart, leaning on the rail.
"You know well enough."
"You are after the sunken treasure."
"If we are it is because it belongs to my father and myself,"
retorted Dave.
"We are on the high seas," came from Lemuel Hankers. "The treasure
was abandoned, and it will belong to whoever succeeds in raising
it--if it can be raised."
"By gum! I reckon he's right there," muttered Captain Broadbeam.
"Well, we intend to raise it, so you had better clear out," said
Dave, boldly.
At this there arose a howl of derision from those on the _Raven_.
"Go ahead and do as you please," came from Lemuel Hankers. "But let
me tell you, you have got to have pretty slick divers to get ahead of
those I have hired."
"Whom have you?" questioned Captain Broadbeam, curiously.
"I am not afraid to let you know--Cal Vixen and Sam Walton."
At this announcement the faces of Captain Broadbeam, Amos Fearless,
and Dave fell.
Cal Vixen and Sam Walton were known to be the best divers on the
Pacific coast.
What Amos Fearless and his son had done on the Atlantic shore for the
Government, Cal Vixen and Sam Walton had accomplished on the Pacific
shore.
"Rivals for fair!" murmured Dave.
"Yes, my lad," answered Captain Broadbeam. "I reckon it will be nip
an' tuck between ye!" And he shook his head doubtfully.
There was a pause in the talk.
"Have you a castaway on board?" questioned Lemuel Hankers, at length.
"No, but we've got a prisoner named Pete Rackley," answered Captain
Broadbeam, with, a chuckle.
"A prisoner!"
"Exactly--and you know what for, Lemuel Hankers, you old fraud!" said
Dave.
"I? I know nothing."
"You know everything. Your well-laid plot failed to work, and Pete
Rackley shall remain a prisoner until we can hand him over to the
United States authorities."
A wordy quarrel followed, and presently the two rival divers came
forward.
"We are going down to-morrow," said Vixen, the leader of the pair.
"If you go down, mind and keep your distance."
"You mind and keep yours!" retorted Dave. "Remember, neither I nor
my father can be scared by you."
"We have been hired to bring up that treasure and we mean to do it."
"I expect to do the same thing--and you shall not stop me."
"All right. Only look out, or you'll be running up a lot of trouble
on your back!" came from Vixen, and then he and his mate fell back,
and the two ships drifted apart, out of talking distance.
"They mean business," said Dave, to Captain Broadbeam.
"Yes, and they will cause you a lot of trouble if they can," replied
the captain. "Watch them closely, every time they come near you."
The next day the hunt for the sunken treasure began in earnest.