XXI. DAVE AND THE WATER SNAKE XXII. WHAT THE STORM BROUGHT XXIII. ON THE SHIP ONCE MORE XXIV. ATTACKED BY A FIRE FISH XXV. LEFT TO PERISH XXVI. THE BATTLE OF THE FISHES XXVII. THE RIVAL DIVERS XXVIII. THE DEMONS OF THE DEEP XXIX. THE ESCAPE FROM THE DEMONS XXX. IN A DIVING BELL XXXI. THE TREASURE AT LAST--CONCLUSION RIVAL OCEAN DIVERS CHAPTER I PUNISHING A SNEAK "A million at the bottom of the sea, father?" "That is what I said, Dave." "It is a fortune!" "There may be more than that. But I am sure of the million." "And it would belong to us if we found it?" "Yes, every cent of it." "But you say the Hankers lay claim to the fortune," went on Dave Fearless, a handsome lad of seventeen, the only son of Amos Fearless, ex-sea captain and marine architect. "Yes, Lemuel Hankers always did claim the Washington fortune. His mother, you know, was a Washington." "But so was your father." "Exactly; and the money was left to our branch of the family, no matter what the Hankers may say to the contrary." "And it was shipped from China to San Francisco in the steamship _Happy Hour_." "Yes, but the _Happy Hour_ belied her name, for she went down in the middle of the Pacific with all on board." "And the exact location of this wreck?" "Was not known up to six months ago. Then the _Albatross_, making some deep-sea fishing for the government, came upon some wreckage which proved conclusively that the _Happy Hour_ had gone down in the exact spot which I have marked on the chart here." "Do the Hankers know of this locality?" "I think not. They were in Europe on a pleasure tour when the report came in, and it is very likely that it escaped their notice." "You must be right, for they are very rich, and if they thought they could add to their fortunes they would fit out an expedition at once and go in search of the sunken treasure." "Right you are, Dave. But they would have their hands full finding it, for you must remember, the Pacific Ocean at this point is nearly two miles deep." "Two miles!" Dave Fearless' face fell. "Then we'll never see a single piece of that gold." "I have been thinking of the matter for several weeks, and I think I have solved the problem of how to get to the wreck, if I can work the plan I have in mind," replied Mr. Fearless, as he began to pace the floor of the modest dining room thoughtfully. "And what is your plan, father?" "It is this: Two weeks from to-day our government is going to send another ship to the Pacific, the _Swallow_, under the command of Captain Paul Broadbeam." "What, dear old Captain Broadbeam, whom we used to know at Nantucket Light?"