"So far, yes," replied the young inventor.

"Now then, to business!" exclaimed the visitor. "Will you join
with me in searching for some of the wealth-laden wrecks that are
rotting at the bottom of the sea, Mr. Swift?"

"Do you mean make an indiscriminate search for any one of a
number of wrecks?" Tom wanted to know.

"I should want the understanding broad enough to include all
wrecks we might discover," was the answer, "but I have in mind
one in particular now. It is the wreck of the steamer Pandora
which was sunk off the coast of one of the West Indian Islands
about a year ago."

Ned Newton quickly caught up the page of the Sunday supplement
and scanned the list of wrecks given there.

"No mention of the Pandora here," he said.

"No," agreed Mr. Hardley, "the story of this wreck is not
generally known, and the story of the treasure she carried is
hardly known at all. As a matter of fact, this money, mostly in
gold, was to finance a South American revolution, and such
matters are generally kept quiet. That is why nothing much
appeared in the papers about the Pandora. But I happen to know
that she carried over two million dollars in gold, and I know--"

"Think of that, Tom! Think of that!" cried Mr. Damon. "Two
million dollars in gold! Why bless my--bless my--"