I am very glad--since fate seemed determined to give Arturo his way--that Dr. Plantet yielded in the fashion he did. He put his hands on Arturo’s slim shoulders; he gazed into the lad’s earnest, flushed face. There was a somber wistfulness there. I think Dr. Plantet must have seen it. He suddenly enfolded his son in his strong arms. “Your world already owes you a great deal for what you have done, Arturo. I do believe in you.” We ran the Dolphin to the position Arturo gave us. A depth was here evidently far beyond our reaching. But we did not try to investigate it. We lay awash, at sundown, idly waiting as Arturo directed. A tenseness had fallen over all of us on the Dolphin. It showed clearly stamped on Arturo and Nereid. It communicated to us. Polly and Arturo were much together. Polly says that never had she felt him so gentle, so affectionate. Or so quietly obdurate in his secretiveness. Dr. Plantet and I discussed the situation. There would be much to do when we got ashore. But we both realized that our discussion was premature. Arturo still had something to show us. It might change everything--add new factors to make all our present plans useless. * * * * * We lay awash that night on the surface of the empty sea. There was a brilliant moon coming up near midnight in the east. It painted the sea with a running stream of silver. Toward midnight it clouded over with a leaden sky, and the wind fell. A hush was on everything; an oppressive, ominous hush. The surface turned glassy, grimly brooding. Arturo gave his orders. This was a rendezvous--something he said, some vague suggestion he dropped, made us realize it was that. He had for a day been puttering with something in his cabin. He brought it up at midnight--a small but brilliant hand-light which was part of the Dolphin’s equipment. He showed it to me. “Look, Jeff--what I did!” He had pasted a yellow strip of mica with a queer design on it, across the flash light face. He smiled like a boy triumphant over a great boy-secret. “Don’t ask me, Jeff--you’ll see presently. To-night--or it may be we’ll have to wait, so don’t be disappointed.” He sent us below, and sat on the dark deck alone with Nereid. Waiting. He said he would like to let us stay up there with him--but our presence there would interfere. There could be two on the deck, no more. We three were in the instrument room. Dr. Plantet, unknown to Arturo, had the under-sea telescope ready; if anything appeared, he would snap it on. We had loaded the torpedo tube also. It was possible that Arturo might be tricked. This might be some enemy for whom we were thus trustfully waiting. We were tense, ready as we could be, for what might come. Occasionally Dr. Plantet would send me on tiptoe in the darkness to the turret-top to observe in secret Arturo and Nereid upon the deck. * * * * *