CHAPTER VI.
ED GETS THE TIN CASE, AND THE CHINKS GET ED.
Did Ed find the crooked pension agent's buried treasure?
That we must now proceed to show.
The Albany boy made a long dive and came up at some distance away fromthe pier.
Treading water, he peered in beneath it, and seeing no one, swam incloser, for it was very dark.
Pow Chow watched him admiringly.
"See any one under there, Eddie?" he called, assuming that the boy hadseen no one or he would have spoken before.
"No, I can't make out that there is any one there," replied Ed, "but Iam going to make sure."
"No, no! Don't go in under there. You will play yourself all out. Youcan see pretty well, can't you?"
Ed got hold of a cross-bar nailed to the piles, and looked long andclosely.
His eyes having become accustomed to the gloom, it seemed to him that hecould see all there was to be seen.
"No one there," he announced. "I'm going down now, Pow."
"Can you see down there in the dark? You can't. I ought to have thoughtof that. We can do nothing. I'm a fool."
"I can feel around," replied Ed. "That's all I expected to do. If it isanywhere near the pile I'll find it."
"But you can't stay down long enough."
"Yes, I can."
"How are you going to dive down without coming up on the pier?"
"Great Scott! I know my business. I'm going to swim down."
"Gee, Eddie, you're a wonder!" the Chinaman exclaimed.
Ed leaped up almost clear of the water, he was so nimble, turned a halfsomersault and made his dive after having located the right pile.
It seemed to Pow Chow as if he was gone an age, and he had almost giventhe boy up when he at last appeared.
Little did the yellow rascal imagine that he himself would be gone forgood before many minutes had passed.
"Well, did you find it?" he cried.
"No," panted Ed. "I worked on the bottom all around the base of thepile, but I couldn't find a thing."
"Too bad! Some one must have got it."
"More than likely after all these years. I'm coming out to get my wind."
There was a standing ladder near by. Ed swam for it and climbed upon thepier, where he sat down on the stringpiece to rest.
"Are you sure you have got the right side of the pier, Pow?" he asked.
"Yes, it is the north side. The paper distinctly says so."
"Well, that was the seventh pile, all right. I can't believe the case isthere."
"We ought to try it by daylight," said the Chinaman. "Suppose we ringoff and come back in the early morning, Eddie?"
"That's what we shall have to do, I guess. Still, one couldn't see muchdown there anyhow without a light. That's what we ought to have."
"Are there electric lights made for the use of divers?"
"Sure."
"Well, if we don't succeed I'll buy one, no matter what it costs. Idon't propose to give this thing up for two or three days anyhow. Butyou will try it again, Eddie?" he added persuasively.
"Oh, yes," replied Ed. "I don't mind trying it again, but say, Pow, doesthe paper tell which end of the pier to count the piles from?"
"Why, no, it don't."
"Which end did you count from?"
"The outside end."
"Suppose I try it at the seventh pile, counting from the inside end?"
"Well, that's an idea. Suppose you do."
Pow Chow now counted the piles from the other end.
No. 7 figured this way came in an entirely different spot.
Rested now, Ed dove again.
At last he came up out of the water, swam to the standing ladder, andholding on, called:
"Well, there is something there!"
"Good! Good!" cried the Chinaman, greatly excited. "Is it a tin case?"
"I think so. It's metal of some kind."
"Why didn't you bring it up?"
"I couldn't unhitch the stone. It is tied fast to a rope."
"You don't say! Eddie, we are going to get it all right."
"It looks so. I'll try it again in a minute. This time I guess I shallbe able to unhitch the stone all right."
"Better take down a knife and cut the rope."
"I will if I have to, but it will hamper me. I'd sooner try it the otherway first."
Now Ed was not giving out the facts of his discovery straight.
He had not only found one tin case down there, but two.
They were exactly alike, and both had a rope attached to a small ring,the other end being fastened around a stone.
One of these stones the boy had already unhitched.
He knew that he could not successfully handle both cases, although theywere by no means bulky.
He did not bring the one he had detached up, because he wanted time tothink.
There seemed but one way out of it.
He must abandon his clothes if he wanted to escape from Pow Chow withthe money.
Disagreeable as this prospect seemed, Ed determined to risk it and toswim off as soon as he came to the surface.
But a few minutes' reflection changed that.
"I'll come up under the pier and lie low," he said to himself. "He'llthink I'm drowned. Mebbe he'll leave my clothes there and I can get themlater. If I swim off he'll carry them away sure."
This seemed better than the first plan.
Ed climbed upon the pier for another dive.
Pow Chow questioned him closely.
"We are going to get it, Eddie!" he exclaimed. "We are going to get it,surest thing. If the money is there all right we will all take the firsttrain for San Francisco. Cut out Albany. Your father is half dead, andyou don't care for your mother anyway. Come along with us and I'll makea man of you. What do you say?"
"Well, mebbe I will," replied Ed, willing to fool the fellow now that hefelt he had got the game in his own hands.
Again he dove.
Descending to the base of the pile, he made his capture.
"Had the money been divided into two parcels?" he asked himself.
He could account for the presence of the two cases in no other way, andyet according to Pow Chow the paper mentioned only one.
Clutching his prize, Ed swam in and rose to the surface under the pieras he had expected.
He looked around for something to hold on to, but it was too dark to seemuch.
Swimming forward among the piles a few feet, he was suddenly startled byseeing a large boat right ahead of him.
At first he thought he could see a man pull down out of sight into thebottom of the boat.
Treading water and looking again, he could see nobody.
Doubtful what to do, Ed called in a low voice:
"Hello, there! Hello, the boat!"
There was no answer. No one raised up in the boat.
"Strange I didn't see that boat before," muttered Ed. "It must just betied up under here. There can't be anyone in it or they would have shownthemselves by this time. I'll go for it."
He had succeeded in convincing himself that the boat was empty.
Such is the reasoning of a boy; such the chances a boy takes.
For Ed it was a great big miss.
He reached the boat, clutched the gunwale, which was unusually high, andthrowing in the case, pulled himself up.
Instantly strong hands clutched him, and he was pulled down on top oftwo men. Ed was terribly frightened.
So certain was he that he was making no mistake that he had taken almostno precaution towards the last.
The men got him by the throat, punched his head, kicked him and chokedhim till he was subdued.
Meanwhile Ed made noise enough for Pow Chow to hear.
The Chinaman probably heard something else, too--the boat pulling outfrom under the pier.
Doubtless that was the time the Bradys saw him bending over thestringpiece.
Ed heard him.
"Eddie! Eddie!"
he called. "What's the matter, Eddie? Speak!"
Then a shot rang out.
Ed, who was just picking himself up, saw now that the men were bothChinese.
One worked the oars, the other held a smoking revolver.
They gabbled to each other in Chinese.
Ed was half frightened to death as he got up on the seat.
He could see people running towards the pier, but he could see nothingof Pow Chow.
"They've shot him!" he thought. "Well, I don't care so much, but whatwill they do with me?"
Just now they were paying little heed to him.
Ed determined to tumble overboard.
But at this he was caught.
That was the time the Bradys saw the two Chinamen attack the boy andtumble him into the bottom of the boat.
Ed fought and struggled, but the Chinaman with the revolver pressed theweapon against his naked left breast and gruffly ordered him to keepstill unless he wanted to be killed.
Completely cowed now, Ed made no further resistance.
He felt that he had made but a poor exchange.
He wished now that he had played fair with Pow Chow, as well he might.
By this time they were well out on the Sound.
The two Chinks talked incessantly, but of course Ed could make nothingof what they were saying.
In spite of their distance from shore, Ed would have taken to the waterbut for the revolver which the Chinaman never moved.
At last the other shipped his oars, and producing a rope, proceeded totie Ed's hands behind him, tumbling the boy about as roughly as if hehad been a wooden block.
This done, he picked up the case, and with a small hammer and a littlecold chisel proceeded to attack it.
Ed watched him curiously.
At last the lid was pried off and the critical moment came.
As the Chinaman looked into the case he threw it down in disgust.
More hinging and hanging--the same old Chinese gabble so tiresome to awhite man's ears.
The other picked up the case and proceeded to examine its contents.
A number of sheets of paper covered with writing came out, and that wasall.
Ed did not need to understand Chinese to know how disgusted these twoyellow scamps were.
They gabbled on.
One was about to throw the case overboard, but the other prevented him.
This was the man with the revolver--he had put up his weapon now.
"Get up," he said to Ed.
"Can't," was the reply.
The Chinaman soon settled that.
Clutching the naked boy by the hair, he lifted him upon the seat andthen thrust the papers upon him.
"What dlese?" he demanded.
"I can't see to read," growled Ed.
The Chinaman settled that, too.
Producing an electric flash lantern, he turned it on the papers.
Ed now saw that these were pension rolls for the Albany district, datingback ten years.
He was familiar with them, for his father, as we have said, was employedin the pension office and handled just such rolls.
Ed tried to explain, and the Chinaman seemed to understand.
"When you fishee dlis up you see noder box dlown dlere in water?" hedemanded.
"No," replied Ed.
"Boy, you tellee big lie. Lookee out! Me shootee you! Me tlow youoverboard--see?"
Out came the revolver again.
It looked as if the Chink meant what he said.
We must confess that Ed might have held out a little longer.
He gave right up, however, and admitted that there was another box.
"Me knew it!" cried the Chinaman triumphantly. "Yair, dlat it. Himputtee plaper one box, money in noder box. Yair! Bad job you no blingeetwo blox up out of water. Yair."
Ed was not so sure.
He felt, however, that by holding out the possibility of recovering theother case he had saved his life.
Perhaps it was so.
The other Chink now picked up his oars and pulled steadily on.
The two talked and talked.
At length he of the revolver turned to Ed again.
"Boy, you bully good swim," he said. "Me see you go down one, two, tleetime. Yair."
"I can swim all right," growled Ed.
"Yair. Dlat so. You swimee for me moller night?"
"I suppose I shall have to if you wish me."
"Yair. Me makee. Pow Chow him dlead. Me good flend you now allee light.You gettee box moller. Me givee you whole lot money--see?"
Ed made no answer, not knowing what to say.
Whether this angered the Chinaman or whether he intended to do itanyway, he suddenly pounced upon Ed and caught him by the throat.
Holding him so with one hand, with the other he produced a little vial,drew the cork with his teeth and forced Ed to swallow a portion of thecontents of the bottle.
Probably it was knockout drops.
At all events, in a few minutes Ed keeled over and knew no more.