A FEARFUL SITUATION.
These were bloated and swelled to a horrible extent by the water.
They had in many cases become decomposed, but many of them floated and,
attracted by the current caused by the entrance of the divers, came
straight toward them.
Then Barney made a dash for the next cabin.
Bell followed him.
And then the bodies, attracted again by the current, came piling after
them.
Bell shrieked and flung the cabin door shut behind him.
This shut off pursuit.
The two terrified divers were in the second cabin.
Barney drew close to Bell and shouted:
“Begorra, if they’d been aloive I’d not have been afraid av thim!”
“Nor I,” agreed Bell; “but I am mighty afraid of a dead man under the
water. It is horrible!”
“Begorra, ye’re roight. Shure, we’d niver make soldiers.”
“I don’t care if we don’t, if we only find the treasure.”
“Do you believe there’s any aboord av this ship?”
“Of course I do.”
“Phwere the divil will we foind it, thin, I’d loike to know?”
“Probably in the captain’s cabin.”
“An’ that’s jest forward av this?”
“Yes.”
“Begorra, let’s go there!”
“We will.”
With which Bell opened the door leading into the captain’s cabin. As he
did so he gave a great start of horror.
Grasping the knob of the door upon the other side was the corpse of a
man.
The captain gave a yell and bolted to the other end of the cabin.
But he finally recovered himself sufficiently to see that the corpse had
not followed him.
He also saw that it had not the power to do so. The grip of its fingers
upon idle knob held it.
The dead man undoubtedly was the captain of the brig. Bell made a motion
to Barney, who came near.
“We are fools,” he said. “These dead people can’t hurt us!”
“Arrah, but it’s the looks av thim!” declared Barney.
“Hang the looks! They can’t kill. Let us go into the cabin.”
“I’m agreeable, sor.”
“There is no doubt but that he is the captain of the ship.”
“Yis, sor.”
“Then, if there is any treasure aboard, it is in his cabin.”
“I believe yez.”
With this Bell hesitated no longer. He boldly arose and approached the
door.
The corpse swung toward him, and he hesitated a moment.
But he quickly recovered and summoned up enough courage to push it
aside. Then he entered the compartment.
The captain’s cabin was richly furnished, and in one corner was a huge
steel safe.
As luck had it, this appeared to be open. Bell advanced and peered in.
And as he did so, he gave a gasping cry which brought Barney to the
spot.
“Look!” he cried. “It is gold!”
There were a number of small white bags piled upon the floor of the
safe. Upon each of these was a figure of value.
Bell took up one of these and opened it. A heap of shining coin rolled
out upon the floor.
They were American eagles. Upon the bag was the mark, five hundred
dollars.
“What a find!” gasped Bell. “There are fully two hundred of these bags;
at least one hundred thousand dollars in gold. That is not equal to the
treasure of the Vestal Virgin, but it will do.”
“Begorra, I should say so,” agreed the Celt.
“It will make me rich after a fair division,” declared Bell. “We must
get it aboard the Dart at once.”
It was a trying ordeal to pass through the next cabin with its
complement of grinning corpses.
But the two treasure hunters did so, and they reached the deck in
safety.
The glare of the searchlight was full upon them, and those on board the
Dart were waiting for them to appear.
When they did come in sight, they were seen to be bearing the bags of
gold.
“Hurrah!” cried Von Bulow. “Bell has got his treasure!”
“You’re right,” agreed Frank.
“But what good will it do him?”
“No good, unless he can get it ashore, which is not likely.”
Barney and Bell now came hastily toward the Dart.
A moment later they were in the vestibule.
The water was expelled, and then they staggered into the cabin.
They dropped their precious load upon the floor of the cabin, and then
removed their helmets quickly.
“Well,” cried Frank; “you made a rich find?”
“You’re right we did!” cried Bell, with great jubilance. “There is more
left there—fully a hundred thousand dollars, and we want to rig up some
way to get it.”
“That will be easy,” said Frank.
“What!” exclaimed Von Bulow, disappointedly. “Shall we waste the time?”
“It is a large treasure,” he said. “I am going to get it and take it
ashore.”
“I hope you will,” said Von Bulow, dubiously.
Frank and Pomp now put on diving suits and went with Barney and Bell
aboard the brig.
They soon succeeded in conveying the one hundred bags aboard the Dart.
Then the gold was all poured out in a heap and counted.
There was fully one hundred thousand dollars. It was a rich find.
Bell occupied himself in counting the gold and replacing it in the bags.
Then the Dart once more went on its way.
The reef was left far behind. Days passed and the Dart still kept on her
swift course.
Still there was no sign of land.
The situation had become a hundred-fold more serious. Every moment
matters were becoming more complicated.
In the first place the water supply had given out.
Then the chemical generators began to show signs of failing.
The appalling truth was presented to the submarine travelers that every
moment was drawing them rapidly nearer to the end.
Their lives would be cut short very speedily unless land was reached at
no very distant time.
Bell was in a fearful state of mind.
He had earned and well merited the euphonious name of “kicker,” and in
many ways excited the ire of the others.
“There’s one thing about it, Bell,” said Von Bulow, severely, “nothing
is to be gained by your chronic fault-finding. We shall get out of the
woods no sooner.”
“I suppose I lack your sublime philosophy which enables you to meet fate
with supreme indifference,” sneered Bell.
“I’m not a kicker, anyway!” averred Von Bulow.
Frank meanwhile was busily trying to find some way out of the dilemma.
The young inventor studied plan after plan, but without hitting upon
anything at all favorable.
At length he came in from the chemical room one day with a white face.
“Shure, what is it, sor?” asked Barney, with alarm.
“We have but a few more hours to live,” said Frank, with a ghastly
smile.
The fearless Irishman scratched his head coolly and said:
“Faith, an’ I don’t think we’d betther tell the others.”
“Ah, but that would not be right.”
“Shure, if that Captain Bell knows av it he’ll have a fit.”
A short while later all were congregated in the cabin and Frank told
them the exact truth.
Contrary to the general expectation, Captain Bell was singularly silent.
After awhile he came to Frank and said:
“Do you give up all hope?”
“I fear so,” said Frank.
“I don’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think we are very near land at this moment.”
“I see no indication of it,” said Frank.
“Then you are blind. I have seen many. How long will our diving
generators last?”
“Well charged, twenty-four hours.”
“Let us get them ready, and when the Dart’s generators fail us let us
leave her and strike out.”
It was the most forlorn hope that Frank had ever heard of, but he at
once saw that it was the only one.