Chapter XIII: A Close Call

CHARLEY'S eyes were becoming accustomed to the semi-gloom and a few steps forward gave him a clear view of the dark object. One glance, and he turned to his chum with a cry which was lost in his muffling helmet.

Before the two lads lay the wreck of a once stately ship, her masts broken short off and a great gaping hole in her side. She had evidently lain long in her bed amongst the coral and sponges for long tendrils of sea moss streamed out from her barnacle-covered sides.

Someone had been there before them for the moss and marine growth had been scraped from the vessel's stern revealing the name, "Golden Hope".

Charley turned from the spelling out of the indistinct letters to see his chum beckoning to him wildly and he hurried to his side.

Walter was stooping over an opened box partly filled with what had once been shining gold pieces but which were now tarnished and almost unrecognizable in their coat of gray slime. The box had been recently torn open as was evident from the freshly-splintered wood.

Charley sat down on the box's edge and did some rapid thinking. The crew's excitement was now accounted for. They had not come upon a rich bed of sponges as he had suspected but had discovered a treasure such as men for ages have fought, struggled, and died to attain. The half emptied box showed that the divers had already begun to remove the gold. For a moment, the lad was puzzled to know how they had been able to bring up what was missing without its being seen. There were no pockets to the diving suits and they could have carried but a few pieces at a time in their closed hands. A moment's reflection, however, brought him to the only possible explanation; the gold must have been sent up in the sponge basket hidden amongst the lumps of mud from which it could have been removed by the crew without much risk of discovery. But it was not the removal of the gold which gave the quick-witted lad the most concern. The amount taken by the Greeks was likely but a mere trifle when compared with that which remained. It was the effects the discovery of such a treasure would have upon an already unruly crew that he feared. As he had said to Walter but the day before, he believed it needed but a trifle to fan the Greeks' growing discontent into open mutiny. Here was riches enough to tempt the most steady band of sailors and it was but reasonable to suppose that it would tempt the lawless Greeks to deeds of violence and bloodshed. These thoughts surged through the lad's mind in far less time than it has taken to tell of them. He would have liked to have talked the matter over with his chum and settled upon the wisest plan to follow, but that was impossible below the surface and signs were useless to convey exact ideas. He must decide alone upon their immediate course of action and trust to Walter's quick wit to fall in with what he decided upon.

Arising he turned to his chum and laid one finger across his lips. Walter nodded his ponderous head-piece to show that he understood the sign for silence regarding their discovery.

Taking up his sponge basket, Charley retraced his steps to the spot where they had descended followed by his observant chum. Here the sponges grew in abundance and he at once began to fill his basket, an example which Walter immediately followed.

As he bent over to tear up an unusually large sponge he became suddenly sensible of an agitation of the water near him. Straightening up, he stood frozen to his tracks with fear and horror. Not ten feet from where he stood lay a gigantic shark, its belly gleaming white through the clear water. Its little green eyes were fixed upon him with a wicked unblinking stare. He let the basket drop from his grasp and flung up his arms with an unreasoning instinct to protect his head from the impending attack. At his sudden movement the great fish darted away. Evidently, it was equally as frightened of the strange unknown monster it had encountered.

The shock had left the frightened lad weak and trembling and he had to rest a few minutes before he could resume the filling of his basket.

As he placed the last sponge in the basket he turned to signal to his chum to ascend, but Walter was already gone, his figure, grotesque in the diving suit, was already well up from the bottom and shooting up with astonishing swiftness. At the same moment Charley became aware of a strange sickening sensation. He was choking and gasping for breath. Before he could realize what had happened the frightful sensation had passed and he was able to breathe fully and freely, and he felt himself being pulled swiftly to the surface.

In a moment he was hoisted above the surface, hauled aboard the boat and his helmet removed. The captain, white-faced and shaken was leaning against the mast his revolver in his hand. Chris, ashen-hued, and a sailor, was still pumping faintly. Close beside the air pump lay Manuel in apparent unconsciousness.

"What's happened?" Charley cried.

"Manuel keeled over in a fit or something," said the captain, brokenly. "I thought you would both be dead before we could get you to the surface. It seemed ages before I could get Chris to the pump and the fellows to hauling you up. They seemed to move mighty slow 'till I threatened to shoot. They maybe didn't understand what I said but the sight of the gun made 'em more lively," he concluded, grimly.

Charley walked over to the prostrate Greek and stood gazing down at his upturned face.

"He has no business to faint when he's working the air pump," he said savagely. "I guess I'll kick him a good hard one in the face for punishment."

The manly lad had no such intention of carrying out such a brutal threat but he wanted to test whether the treacherous Greek was, as he suspected, really shamming.

The prostrate man's features twitched, he sighed heavily and rolled over on his side, Charley's suspicions were confirmed.

"Captain," said the lad distinctly, "if anything happens to Walter and I when we are below the surface, I want you to shoot this man without the slightest hesitation. He is the only one who can understand your orders and he must be made responsible for our safety."

"I'll shoot him the first time anything goes wrong," the captain declared wrathfully, as he caught the wink of Charley's eye. "I feel like killing him now, for the fright he gave me."

The shamming Greek did not seem to relish this threatening talk. He showed signs of surprisingly rapid recovery. In a few minutes he was able to sit up and look around.

"I am overjoyed to find you both alive," he said faintly to the two boys. "Everything grew suddenly black before me when I was pumping and I knew no more. It is my heart, it troubles me at times. You young gentlemen must go down no more, it is too risky."

"We have had enough of it for to-day, but we may try it again to-morrow," Charley replied, cheerfully. "It is very beautiful and interesting down below."

"I hope you avoided the bad place on the bottom," said the Greek, anxiously. "The divers say it is a dangerous hole."

"You must think we are fools to venture near such a place," said Charley, indignantly, and the man looked greatly relieved.

Above all, the prudent lad wished to keep the crew from thinking that he and Walter had come upon the treasure. As long as they believed them ignorant of its existence they would likely continue the work of secretly removing it without open violence.

He could not talk over the matter with his chums without danger of being overheard, and he was forced to appear unconcerned and look on with indifference while the divers sent up basket after basket of sponges, in every load of which he was convinced was hidden several hundred dollars of the gold coins.

He greatly admired Walter's manner. The lad chattered over the beautiful gardens they had seen below without a hint in his voice or manner of the secret they had stumbled upon.

From time to time the crew shot glances of scowling suspicion at the little group, but they were evidently reassured by the boys' cheerfulness and apparent unconcern.

It was like sitting beside a powder mine with a lighted fuse in it, and both lads were greatly relieved when the long day dragged away to its close and the diving boat was headed back for the schooner.

They were met at the schooner's rail by the cook who seemed greatly excited and who greeted them with a torrent of rapidly spoken words.

Manuel listened with a look of sadness, real or assumed, on his face.

"He says," he interpreted swiftly, "that the wounded man went suddenly crazy this morning and flung himself into the sea."