"You're a set of rascals!" burst out Dave Fearless, and he shook his fist at those on the _Raven_. "Don't call me a rascal!" ejaculated Lemuel Hankers. "But you are one, and your son is another," came from Dave. "The mask is off, and in the future you had better keep your distance, or there will be trouble for you." "What are you doing here?" demanded Bart, leaning on the rail. "You know well enough." "You are after the sunken treasure." "If we are it is because it belongs to my father and myself," retorted Dave. "We are on the high seas," came from Lemuel Hankers. "The treasure was abandoned, and it will belong to whoever succeeds in raising it--if it can be raised." "By gum! I reckon he's right there," muttered Captain Broadbeam. "Well, we intend to raise it, so you had better clear out," said Dave, boldly. At this there arose a howl of derision from those on the _Raven_. "Go ahead and do as you please," came from Lemuel Hankers. "But let me tell you, you have got to have pretty slick divers to get ahead of those I have hired." "Whom have you?" questioned Captain Broadbeam, curiously. "I am not afraid to let you know--Cal Vixen and Sam Walton." At this announcement the faces of Captain Broadbeam, Amos Fearless, and Dave fell. Cal Vixen and Sam Walton were known to be the best divers on the Pacific coast. What Amos Fearless and his son had done on the Atlantic shore for the Government, Cal Vixen and Sam Walton had accomplished on the Pacific shore. "Rivals for fair!" murmured Dave. "Yes, my lad," answered Captain Broadbeam. "I reckon it will be nip an' tuck between ye!" And he shook his head doubtfully. There was a pause in the talk. "Have you a castaway on board?" questioned Lemuel Hankers, at length. "No, but we've got a prisoner named Pete Rackley," answered Captain Broadbeam, with a chuckle. "A prisoner!" "Exactly--and you know what for, Lemuel Hankers, you old fraud!" said Dave. "I? I know nothing." "You know everything. Your well-laid plot failed to work, and Pete Rackley shall remain a prisoner until we can hand him over to the United States authorities." A wordy quarrel followed, and presently the two rival divers came forward. "We are going down to-morrow," said Vixen, the leader of the pair. "If you go down, mind and keep your distance." "You mind and keep yours!" retorted Dave. "Remember, neither I nor my father can be scared by you." "We have been hired to bring up that treasure and we mean to do it." "I expect to do the same thing--and you shall not stop me." "All right. Only look out, or you'll be running up a lot of trouble on your back!" came from Vixen, and then he and his mate fell back, and the two ships drifted apart, out of talking distance. "They mean business," said Dave, to Captain Broadbeam. "Yes, and they will cause you a lot of trouble if they can," replied the captain. "Watch them closely, every time they come near you."