Clutching his gun in his armored hand, Tom crept slowly on to the platform suspended over the sea. As it was lowered to the water he got a last glimpse of Ned Newton's face staring down at him. The young business manager paced the deck of the barge, at every step reproaching himself for allowing his chum to undertake so hazardous a venture. As his watch told him that Tom must be nearing the bottom he seated himself by the switchboard, headphones clamped over his ears. [Illustration: Tom Crept Slowly to the Platform] "Ground floor," announced Tom at last. "Pretty dark down here. I'll switch on my flash. Now--by George!" Ned heard a muffled silence. "Tom! Tom!" he shouted frantically. "What's happened? Are you all right?" For nearly ten minutes Ned crouched by the instrument trying to get in touch with his friend. Just as he was giving up hope he heard a weak voice gasp: [Illustration: "Ground Floor," Announced Tom] "Not so loud, old man! You've nearly broken my ear-drums. Everything's under control!" "Hurray!" shouted Ned. "He's found 'em, Captain Britten!" "Easy!" protested Tom from the depths. "Don't shout like that so near the phone! Yes, the men are O.K. A big fish had 'em--don't know what it was, as I never heard of anything like it. But a couple of shots from the rifle killed it." [Illustration: "A Big Fish Had 'Em!"] "Tell Captain Britten to send down some heavy chains. We've found the meteorite!" The now jubilant crew, who had feared their companions lost, scurried about. In a few minutes the stout chain was snaking its way down through the blue-green ocean. "Seems to me they're taking a mighty long time about it," said Ned to Captain Britten after an hour had passed with no word from the three divers. [Illustration: A Chain Snaked Its Way Down] "You're right," agreed the other. "Working at that depth it's decidedly unsafe to stay below so long. I'll warn Tom." "Can't be done!" was that young man's decisive answer to the old salvage expert's warning. "This is a tougher job than I thought, for the bottom of the stone seems to be sinking slowly. If we can't finish our job now I'm afraid we'll lose our prize. But don't worry. We ought to be through in another twenty minutes." [Illustration: "This Is a Tough Job."] The twenty minutes passed, and another like period was nearly run through before Tom announced himself and the other two ready to come to the surface. To avoid the dreaded "bends," an affliction suffered by divers drawn to the surface too rapidly, they made their ascent as slowly as their descent. Thus it was that the great meteorite reached the top long before Tom and the two natives did. [Illustration: They Made Their Ascent Slowly]