"I did think of that, Rad," answered Tom a bit wearily, "but my ship isn't big enough to raise such a great weight." "And so, son," said the elder Swift, "if you can't get the use of a large salvage craft you will have to give up your project; is that right?" "That's right, Dad, and I surely hate to think of it. But I'm not going to give up, even if I have to bring men and equipment from the Pacific coast!" [Illustration: "I'm Not Going to Give Up!"] "That'd be mighty expensive," objected Ned. In his capacity as the Swifts' business manager, he had earned the nickname "watchdog of the treasury." "Why not wait until some local firm can take the job?" "Too risky. You see, ocean currents or some submarine upheaval might shift the big stone so great a distance that we could never find it. Don't forget that to the best of our knowledge the meteorite is the only source of X on earth." [Illustration: "Ocean Currents Might Shift the Stone."] "Hmm," frowned Mr. Swift. "I used to know an old fellow very well who was in the diving business. Met him when we built the submarine 'Advance'--you boys remember her--but I can't seem to recall his name. Let me see--Ha! I have it! Britten! That's it, John Britten, the best salvage man on the coast!" "Maybe he's busy too," said Ned, "as all the others seem to be." [Illustration: "Maybe He's Busy, Too."] "I think not," replied the elderly scientist, "because he's retired. Yet I believe he'll undertake the job if I ask him as I once did him a great favor. His salvaging outfit is in Florida, but he lives on Delaware Bay. I'll phone him at once." "That's great, Dad!" cried Tom, his face lighting up with renewed hope. "Tell him I'll bring him here by plane tomorrow. We can talk things over and start for Florida from here." "He'll go," said Mr. Swift a few minutes later, turning away from the telephone with a smile. "Said he'll be tickled to get back in harness." [Illustration: "He'll Go," Said Mr. Swift] "Thanks a million, Dad! You've saved the day!" The following morning the boys hurried out to the Swift private airport to oversee the fueling of the huge plane Tom had decided to take. At first he had thought of making the trip in his small two-seated racer, since it was the fastest craft in the hangar. Realizing, however, that Captain Britten might want to bring along considerable baggage, the young inventor had told Ned he felt it best to go in his flying boat. [Illustration: They Fueled the Huge Plane] The "Winged Arrow," in which Tom once had made a memorable rescue flight to Iceland, was equipped now with a retractable landing gear as well as with pontoons, enabling the craft to descend on both land and water. Suddenly Tom became very excited as he looked at the hydroplane. "Look, Ned!" he cried. "Can you beat that!" [Illustration: "Look, Ned," Tom Cried] CHAPTER V IN PERIL