CHAPTER XX
A MYSTERIOUS CRAFT
The surprise of the lads at this declaration of their visitor wasprofound. They stared at the stranger who bore such a strikingresemblance to Mackinder and who had just declared that he was not thatperson. Speechless at the apparent untruth, they could only stare.
Seeing their looks of astonishment at his declaration, the man laughedloudly, apparently enjoying hugely the joke that the boys could not see.Supporting himself against the rail, he gave vent to peals of merrimentat the expense of the five young lads.
"So you don't believe me, eh?" he inquired at length, controlling himselfwith an effort. "I can't blame you, don't you know!"
"Say, Mackinder, you ought to be in vaudeville!" declared Jimmie inreply. "For a lightning change artist, you're decidedly it!"
"Thank you!" acknowledged Mackinder, choosing to accept the boy's wordsas a compliment. "You're almost too kind, don't you know!"
"And then," the boy went on, "as a monologue artist, you'd certainly havethem all backed off the boards. I know a place in New York where youcould draw down your two fifty per without half trying!"
"An engagement, do you mean?" queried the man, with interest.
"Just that!" stated Jimmie. "And then, there's another place up theHudson a ways where you ought to be making little ones out of big ones.They give a fellow a long engagement there and supply costumes!"
"All of which means that you're spoofing me a bit, don't you know!"returned their visitor without resentment. He was apparently enjoying thesituation hugely, and meant to make the most of it.
Seeing that his words failed to arouse or draw out the other, Jimmieturned disgustedly away to lean over the rail.
Ned began to question their guest, but was interrupted by Jimmie, whoannounced that he saw a steamer's smoke on the horizon.
"This water is quite thickly sprinkled with vessels of all sorts," saidthe alleged Mackinder. "Perhaps we'd better get out, you know!"
"What do you make that vessel out to be?" asked Ned.
"It doesn't make any difference what it is," replied the other, "we shallbe better off if they don't find us! We don't need them!"
"Very well," put in Jimmie, "then we'll get up steam on this wagon andslide along. I'm going to say this to you, though, that Mackinder or noMackinder, we're very grateful for your help. If we get an opportunity toreciprocate, we'll be only too glad to do it!"
With this, the boy turned and offered his hand to the man. It was graspedwith a hearty grip that conveyed a sense of friendliness.
"You can help me right now," was the response. "Come aboard my vessel andgive me a hand on a little project I have under way."
"I don't think we'd better do that right now," stated Jimmie. "You see,we're neutral, and we don't want to take sides either way!"
"So am I neutral! I care nothing for this awful war except to see itstop. I shall do nothing for either side, so rest easy on that score. Butyour propellor is broken by having that line jammed in it. You cannotnavigate your vessel, and would better come aboard mine!"
Doubting this statement, Jimmie clambered into the small boat and sculledtoward the stern of the false "U-13". There he could look into the waterto a depth sufficient to confirm the other's statement.
"It's no use, boys," he declared, returning to the conning tower. "Theblades of the propellor are damaged beyond use. We might as well go!"
Securing a line to the bow of the false "U-13" the man proposed to tow itto a safe place where it could be anchored to await repairs. Two tripswere necessary to transfer the boys to the craft which had been of suchsignal service in their hour of extreme need.
Led by their recent guest, who was now their host, the lads descendedinto the interior of the vessel. Here a strange sight met their gaze. Incages canaries were twittering gaily while all about the bulkheads hadbeen fastened pots of plants, some of which were in bloom.
"Now I understand why the air you so kindly pumped into our vessel hadthe odor of flowers and growing things!" declared Ned as he turned totheir host. "You have things fixed pretty cozy here!"
"Just a touch now and again to make it look home-like!" said the man. "Iprefer the sight of a flower to that of a cold steel bulkhead. Besides,it's more healthful to have a few plants about."
Harry was lost in admiration of the machinery which he declared to be farsuperior to that of the vessel they had lately abandoned.
With a touch their strange host sent the craft forward at a good speed.He explained to the lads a gyroscope arrangement by which he controlledthe steering gear that kept the vessel on any chosen course and at anydesired depth after once being adjusted.
"And now, if you please, Mr. Mackinder," questioned Jimmie at length,"will you be so good as to tell us what your mission may be?"
"Certainly!" replied the other frankly. "I see the steamer is notfollowing us so I will take plenty of time to give you details."
"Thanks!" drily responded the lad. "We'll appreciate it!"
With a laugh the man seated himself on a locker and motioned the lads todo likewise. They listened intently as he proceeded:
"You perhaps all realize that the possession of wealth is the desire ofalmost every human being. I am not different from the rest in thatrespect at least. Owing to some family trouble which I shall not at thistime detail, I was not given the advantages that accrue ordinarily toheirs. I think you will understand what I mean?"
"You were left out in the cold when they passed the dough?" asked Jimmiewith a knowing look. "Just shoved one side?"
"That's about it!" replied the man. "But I resolved to get some money,nevertheless. I had a fertile imagination, some education and a verysmall amount of money. I did not want to take so cheap a way as to rob orcheat my fellow men. I was not shrewd enough to enter the business world.Therefore, I turned my attention to lost or buried treasure."
Jimmie delivered a broad wink toward Ned. It was not lost by theirobservant entertainer, who laughed much to the boy's confusion.
"Amongst other inventions that were in my brain was an instrument fordetecting the presence of gold similar to the instrument called acompass. In this instance electricity had nothing to do with its action.
"To make a long story short, you know, I finally succeeded in perfectingthe arrangement. It was an amusing circumstance that I had a very hardstruggle preserving my last gold piece with which to test the device," hewent on with a laugh at the recollection of his trials.
"At last, I thought I had my instrument perfected. I next needed onlysomething on which to practice. With my precious treasure carefullyguarded I succeeded in reaching the Gulf of Mexico, where it is said somuch pirate gold has been buried. Wonderful to relate, I actually locatedand recovered a small amount. It was not large but helped me to fit out avessel in which to make other cruises."
"And it really worked?" inquired Jimmie in a tone of unbelief.
"How well I shall presently demonstrate, you know," was the reply. "But Ifound that the crew was tricky. They helped me get a treasure aboard thencalmly turned pirates themselves and ran away with the treasure. Fornearly a year I had hard luck. Then I succeeded in locating a large sumof gold that had been buried by a man's grandfather.
"My past experiences had taught me that I could not trust anyone.Therefore I determined to prosecute my search in other channels.
"Piece by piece in different shops I had this vessel constructed after myown designs. The pieces were assembled in a part of the Gulf of Mexicolittle frequented. There I tried out the undersea boat, named it the'U-13'--the 'U' standing for Undersea and the '13' in defiance of thepopular superstition. But I found a new difficulty.
"The instrument, although working perfectly on land, was not reliableunder the ocean, for as you know there is a large amount of suspendedgold in sea water. That made the instrument unreliable."
"What did you want to go under water for, anyway?" asked Ned.
"Gold!" was the curt reply. "So I had to constru
ct another device thatwould neutralize the local attraction of the sea water just on the sameprinciple that the mariner has the two iron balls near his compass toovercome the local attraction on his vessel.
"Then I was prepared to pursue my quest for treasure undisturbed. Myfirst venture was the recovery of a large sum from a sunken ship inHavana harbor. This provided me sufficient funds so that I put storesaboard and came across to seek for the vessels of the Spanish Armada."
"How did you get across the Atlantic?" asked Jimmie incredulously.
"In this vessel!" was the reply. "And most of the way under water, too,you know! I didn't want anyone to see me!"
"But you had to come up once in a while to get air!"
"Oh, no! Here is a contrivance," indicating a huge box-like affair, "withwhich I separate the oxygen from the hydrogen by electricity. Water, asyou know, is composed of two gases--oxygen and hydrogen. Two atoms ofhydrogen combined with one atom of oxygen and make a tiny bit of water.By the aid of this special device I segregate the two gases, use theoxygen and discharge the hydrogen overboard."
"I'm going to take my hat off to you!" declared Jimmie. "But you had tohave some means to prevent discomfort from the storage batteries!"
"Not with these!" smiled the other. "I'm using, without permission, ofcourse, a new storage battery that does away with the lead-sulphuric acidtype of battery. The inventor is a man whose name is familiar to you all.He uses a nickel, iron oxide and steel combination in a solution ofpotash. This battery, instead of causing inflammation or even provingdeadly as is the case with the old type, is actually a benefit to aperson. It is exactly opposite in its effect to the old style."
"And you manage to make a cruise of days and days under water?"
"Surely!" smiled their host. "There's nothing to prevent it!"
"That's going some!" declared Jimmie. "But I don't believe you managed todig up a lot of gold from the bottom of the ocean!"
"What is there to hinder?" questioned the other.
"Everything!" declared Jimmie. "In the first place there is all the waterabout. Then, too, it would be easier to take this instrument into theregions where gold is usually discovered on land. You could prospect withit in almost the positive knowledge that you would locate a vein. Diggingthen would be easy."
"Yes, but I don't like to dig!" laughed the other. "Perhaps I'm too lazyto do that sort of thing!"
"There's something queer here that I don't quite get," stated Jimmie."Can't you explain a little more in detail?"
"Why, certainly, I'll be glad to elucidate!" was the answer. "You have inmind the securing of free gold in nuggets and dust. I go about it inquite another way. My purpose is to recover the minted coins that havebeen placed aboard ships. When the ships sink, no diver yet has been ableto reach those in deep water. Therefore, most of the gold that has beencarried to the bottom in sunken vessels is forever lost. I intend torecover a great deal of it!"
"Then when you know approximately where the vessel was wrecked or sunk,"put in Ned, "you go to that neighborhood. Your instrument indicates thepresence of gold and you follow its directions until the exact spot isreached. Then you step out and carry the money aboard your own craft. Isthat the correct explanation?"
"You have it exactly. And I have done pretty well so far!"
"I don't believe it!" declared Jimmie flatly. "The whole thing soundsmighty fishy--not meaning any disrespect," he added addressing the manwho sat leaning back against a bulkhead.
"But I assure you that what I have said is absolutely true!"
"I'm from Missouri!" stated Jimmie in a tone of doubt.
Their host stepped to a locker which he opened.
"Great Frozen Hot Boxes!" cried Jimmie.