Chapter Seven
Mr. Damon Will Go
"Well, I guess they've had their lesson," remarked Tom, as he took anobservation through the telescope and saw Andy and his cronies hard atwork trying to repair the ruptured tires. "That certainly was a corkinggood trick."
"Yes," admitted Mr. Sharp modestly. "I once did something similar, onlyit was a horse and wagon instead of an auto. But let's try for anotherspeed record. The conditions are just right."
They arrived at the coast much sooner than they had dared to hope, theRed Cloud proving herself a veritable wonder.
The remainder of that day, and part of the next, was spent in workingon the submarine.
"We'll launch her day after to-morrow," declared Mr. Swiftenthusiastically. "Then to see whether my calculations are right orwrong."
"It won't be your fault if it doesn't work," said his son. "Youcertainly have done your best."
"And so have you and Mr. Sharp and the others, for that matter. Well, Ihave no doubt but that everything will be all right, Tom."
"There!" exclaimed Mr. Sharp the next morning, as he was adjusting acertain gage. "I knew I'd forget something. That special brand oflubricating oil. I meant to bring it from Shopton, and I didn't."
"Maybe I can get it in Atlantis," suggested Tom, naming the coast citynearest to them. "I'll take a walk over. It isn't far."
"Will you? I'll be glad to have you," resumed the balloonist. "A gallonwill be all we'll need."
Tom was soon on his way. He had to walk, as the roads were too poor topermit him to use the motor-cycle, and the airship attracted too muchattention to use on a short trip. He was strolling along, when fromthe other side of a row of sand dunes, that lined the uncertain road toAtlantis, he heard some one speaking. At first the tones were notdistinct, but as the lad drew nearer to the voice he heard anexclamation.
"Bless my gold-headed cane! I believe I'm lost. He said it was out thisway somewhere, but I don't see anything of it. If I had that EradicateSampson here now I'd--bless my shoelaces I don't know what I would doto him."
"Mr. Damon! Mr. Damon!" cried Tom. "Is that you?"
"Me? Of course it's me! Who else would it be?" answered the voice. "Butwho are you. Why, bless my liver! If it isn't Tom Swift!" he cried."Oh, but I'm glad to see you! I was afraid I was shipwrecked! Bless mygaiters, how are you, anyhow? How is your father? How is Mr. Sharp, andall the rest of them?"
"Pretty well. And you?"
"Me? Oh, I'm all right; only a trifle nervous. I called at your housein Shopton yesterday, and Eradicate told me, as well as he could, whereyou were located. I had nothing to do, so I thought I'd take a run downhere. But what's this I hear about you? Are you going on a voyage?"
"Yes."
"In the air? May I go along again? I certainly enjoyed my other trip inthe Red Cloud. That is, all but the fire and being shot at. May I go?"
"We're going on a different sort of trip this time," said the youth.
"Where?"
"Under water."
"Under water? Bless my sponge bath! You don't mean it!"
"Yes. Dad has completed the submarine he was working on when we wereoff in the airship, and it will be launched the day after to-morrow."
"Oh, that's so. I'd forgotten about it. He's going to try for theGovernment prize, isn't he? But tell me more about it. Bless myscarf-pin, but I'm glad I met you! Going into town, I take it. Well, Ijust came from there, but I'll walk back with you. Do you think--isthere any possibility--that I could go with you? Of course, I don'twant to crowd you, but--"
"Oh, there'll be plenty of room," replied the young inventor. "In fact,more room than we had in the airship. We were talking only the otherday about the possibility of you going with us, but we didn't thinkyou'd risk it."
"Risk it? Bless my liver! Of course I'll risk it! It can't be as badas sailing in the air. You can't fall, that's certain."
"No; but maybe you can't rise," remarked Tom grimly.
"Oh, we won't think of that. Of course, I'd like to go. I fullyexpected to be killed in the Red Cloud, but as I wasn't. I'm ready totake a chance in the water. On the whole, I think I prefer to be buriedat sea, anyhow. Now, then, will you take me?"
"I think I can safely promise," answered Tom with a smile at hisfriend's enthusiasm.
The two were approaching the city, having walked along as they talked.There were still some sand dunes near the road, and they kept on theside of these, nearest the beach, where they could watch the breakers.
"But you haven't told me where you are going," went on Mr. Damon, afterblessing a few dozen objects. "Where do the Government trials takeplace?"
"Well," replied the lad, "to be frank with you, we have abandoned ourintention of trying for the Government prize."
"Not going to try for it? Bless my slippers! Why not? Isn't fiftythousand dollars worth striving for? And, with the kind of a submarineyou say you have, you ought to be able to win."
"Yes, probably we could win," admitted the young inventor, "but we aregoing to try for a better prize."
"A better one? I don't understand."
"Sunken treasure," explained Tom. "There's a ship sunk off the coast ofUruguay, with three hundred thousand dollars in gold bullion aboard.Dad and I are going to try to recover that in our submarine. We'regoing to start day after to-morrow, and, if you like, you may go along."
"Go along! Of course I'll go along!" cried the eccentric man. "But Inever heard of such a thing. Sunken treasure! Three hundred thousanddollars in gold! My, what a lot of money! And to go after it in asubmarine! It's as good as a story!"
"Yes, we hope to recover all the treasure," said the lad. "We ought tobe able to claim at least half of it."
"Bless my pocketbook!" cried Mr. Damon, but Tom did not hear him. Atthat instant his attention was attracted by seeing two men emerge frombehind the sand dune near which he and Mr. Damon had haltedmomentarily, when the youth explained about the treasure. The manlooked sharply at Tom. A moment later the first man was joined byanother, and at the sight of him our hero could not repress anexclamation of alarm. For the second man was none other than AddisonBerg.
The latter glanced quickly at Tom, and then, with a hasty word to hiscompanion, the two swung around and made off in the opposite directionto that in which they had been walking.
"What's the matter?" asked Mr. Damon, seeing the young inventor wasstrangely affected.
"That--that man," stammered the lad.
"You don't mean to tell me that was one the Happy Harry gang, do you?"
"No. But one, or both of those men, may prove to be worse. That secondman was Addison Berg, and he's agent for a firm of submarine boatbuilders who are rivals of dad's. Berg has been trying to find out whywe abandoned our intention of competing for the Government prize."
"I hope you didn't tell him."
"I didn't intend to," replied Tom, smiling grimly, "but I'm afraid Ihave, however. He certainly overheard what I said. I spoke too loud.Yes, he must have heard me. That's why he hurried off so."
"Possibly no harm is done. You didn't give the location of the sunkenship."
"No; but I guess from what I said it will be easy enough to find. Well,if we're going to have a fight for the possession of that sunken gold,I'm ready for it. The Advance is well equipped for a battle. I musttell dad of this. It's my fault."
"And partly mine, for asking you such leading questions in a publicplace," declared Mr. Damon. "Bless my coat-tails, but I'm sorry! Maybe,after all, those men were so interested in what they themselves weresaying that they didn't understand what you said."
But if there had been any doubts on this score they would have beendissolved had Tom and his friend been able to see the actions of Mr.Berg and his companion a little later. The plans of thetreasure-hunters had been revealed to their ears.
Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat; Or, Under the Ocean for Sunken Treasure Page 7
