CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Trapped
With the menace of the _Iron Mate_ definitely removed from theirthoughts, the crew of the _S-18_ turned their full attention to thetask of retrieving the treasure in the Southern Queen.
Mess that noon was a hasty meal with Commander Ford and the chiefdivers, Charlie Gill and Russ Graham, taking just time enough to grab asandwich and gulp a cup of hot coffee.
There was a haze over the mainland and the air was heavy, surchargedwith tension. The song of the Isle of the Singing Trees was highpitched and Tim would be glad to see the last of the dismal island.
Plans for the dive down to the hull of the Southern Queen werecompleted. Members of the crew hurried to their stations, hatches weremade fast and the warning bell echoed throughout the interior.
Tim was in the diving compartment. Charlie and Russ had already donnedtheir diving suits and entered the special compartment. Telephonecables, protected by a steel sheeting, ran into the main compartment,giving the divers instant communication with their helpers. Earl Bellwas at the phones as chief assistant with Roy Gould standing by.
Commander Ford hurried up.
"Everything all set?" he asked Bell.
"Charlie and Russ are ready and everything in the special divingcompartment seems to be all right."
"Tell them we're going down."
Commander Ford hastened back to the control room. From the rear of the_S-18_ came the hum of the powerful electrics. Tim felt the submarinemove slightly. They were going down, going to the bottom of thetreacherous bay in search of a fortune in gold, a fortune which hadbeen under water for eleven years.
The special diving compartment in which Charlie and Russ were seatedfilled with water. Gently the _S-18_ eased toward the bottom, scarcelymore than a foot at a time.
Ten, twenty, thirty, forty feet they went down. Tim watched the gaugesfascinated.
The two divers, in their heavily armored suits, sat quietly in theircompartment as the pressure increased with the depth.
The 100-foot mark was passed. Still the _S-18_ was going down. RoyGould snapped on a switch. Powerful searchlights set in the outer hullespecially for this operation cut the blackness of the water. Strangefish blinked their eyes and scuttled away from this monster which wasinvading the deep.
Now Tim was at one of the quartz windows. In spite of their high power,the searchlights were effective for only a few feet. While he watchedthe gaunt mast of a ship came upward from the depths. They weredescending almost on top of the Southern Queen.
A stubby funnel, rising at a crazy angle, was next, and ahead of thatTim thought he could glimpse the battered bridge.
The motion of the _S-18_ was almost imperceptible now. The divers,watching the descent closely, were giving orders which Earl Bellrelayed on to the control room.
The main deck of the Southern Queen, now heavily encrusted with seagrowth, came into view and the _S-18_ slid lower. There was a gentlebump as it touched the bottom.
Commander Ford came forward and took the telephone from Earl. There wasa slight jar as the divers opened the outer door of their compartmentand stepped outside the hull of the submarine. Pressure inside theirown compartment and that outside had been equalized all of the way downand they were ready to seek an opening into the interior of thetreasure ship.
Moving slowly and with each carrying a hand torch, they disappearedbeyond the outer rim of light.
It was a tense group in the diving room, clustered around CommanderFord. Tersely he relayed the progress of the divers.
"They're going back along the hull, hunting for an opening. CharlieGill says the current is strong here but the footing is hard; probablyvolcanic rock."
There was a moment of silence. Electric fans kept a constant flow ofair.
Commander Ford spoke again. "They're still moving back. Wait! RussGraham's found a hole, probably the one knocked in the hull when theSouthern Queen struck the reef. They're going inside!"
Every word burned itself into Tim's memory. It took nerve even to go tothe bottom of the ocean, but then to get out of a submarine in a divingsuit and walk around the ocean floor and climb into the interior of anold hull took more than nerve.
"They're not far from the ship's strong room," went on Commander Ford,each word low but distinct.
Eagerly they waited for the next message from the interior of theSouthern Queen. Would the divers be able to get into the strong room?Would the treasure be there? A dozen questions hammered through themind of every man aboard the _S-18_.
Roy Gould checked the even flow of air through the air lines. It wasthe life blood for the men outside. Once that stopped they wouldn'thave a chance.
Commander Ford bent nearer the mouthpiece of the phone, pressed theheadset closer to his ears, straining for the first word of thetreasure. His hands were shaking slightly.
Then he turned toward them, his voice hoarse with excitement.
"They're in the strong room; they've found the treasure!"
His words echoed the length of the _S-18_ and a shout went up from thecrew.
"Charlie Gill says someone must have made an attempt to get thetreasure out before the Southern Queen sunk. The door of the strongroom is open and several of the steel chests are outside the door.They're bringing them out now."
Minutes passed as the divers, each carrying a steel chest, made theirway out of the interior of the Southern Queen and back along the sideof the _S-18_.
Tim's keen eyes were the first to see them. Russ Graham was ahead, hisarms wrapped around a rusty steel chest. Close behind came CharlieGill, with a similar chest in his arms. They deposited these in thediving compartment and waved to the men watching them through thequartz windows.
Then they were beyond the circle of light, seeking more treasure in thehold of the old tramp steamer.
"How long can they remain down at this depth?" Tim asked the commander.
"Not long. The pressure is too great, but Charlie and Russ are the bestdivers in the world. They'll stick as long as they dare."
Another and still another trip was made by the divers into the hold ofthe Southern Queen. The pile of steel boxes mounted. Six were stackedtogether. There were only two more. Then the job would be done.
Ike Green came running forward from his radio room.
"Something mighty funny is happening near us," he told Commander Ford."My microphones are picking up all kinds of noises within the last twominutes."
A slight tremor ran through the hull of the _S-18_.
Commander Ford shouted into the telephone.
"Charlie! Russ! Return at once! Don't attempt to bring out the rest ofthe gold. Hurry!"
There was another slight movement. Men looked at each other inamazement and fear. Out of the darkness came the divers. Charlie Gillhad a treasure chest. Russ Graham's arms were empty. Into theprotection of their diving compartment they stumbled. With a clang theouter doors snapped shut.
"We're getting back to the surface as soon as possible and away fromthe hull of the Southern Queen at once," snapped Commander Ford.
Men hastened back to their posts, but before they could get there, the_S-18_ moved again. From the outside there was the sound of metalscraping against metal. Then silence.
They took their places, diving planes were adjusted for the ascent andorders flew from Commander Ford's lips. The electric motors purredsmoothly. Compressed air hissed into the ballast tanks, blowing thewater out to lighten the submarine. Tim, watching the depth gauge,waited for the needle to move.
Earl Bell came into the control room.
"You might as well shut off the motors and save the air," he saiddully. "That last shock put a part of the hull of the Southern Queen ontop of us. We're trapped."
The Treasure Hunt of the S-18 Page 22
