cent!"

"I'm not asking you to!" returned Tom, with a smile that showed how he
had himself in command. "You put up a bond, secured by a deposit, to
insure your share of the expenses--yours and Mr. Damon's. Very well,
we'll consider that bond canceled. I won't charge you a cent for this
trip. But, mark this, Hardley: What I find from now on, is my own! You
don't share in it!"

"You mean that--"

"I mean that if I discover the wreck of the Pandora and take the gold
from her, that it is all my own. I will share it with Mr. Damon,
provided he remains with me--"

"Bless my silk hat, Tom, of course I'll stay with you!" broke in the
eccentric man.

"But you don't share with me," went on the young inventor, looking
sternly at the gold-seeker. "What I find is my own!"

"All right--have it that way!" snapped the adventurer. "Set me ashore
as soon as you can--the sooner the better. I'm sick of the way you do
business!"

"Nothing like being honest!" murmured Ned. But, as a matter of fact, he
was glad the separation had come. There had been a strain ever since
Hardley came aboard. Mr. Damon, too, looked relieved, though a trifle
worried. He had considerable at stake, and he stood to lose the money
he had invested with Dixwell Hardley.

"This is final," announced Tom. "If we separate we separate for good,
and I'm on my own. And I warn you I'll do my best to discover that
wreck, and I'll keep what I find."

"Much good may it do you!" sneered the other. "Perhaps two can play
that game."

No one paid much attention to his words then, but later they were
recalled with significance.

"Get ready to go up!" Tom called the order to the engine room.

"Where are you going to land me?" asked Mr. Hardley. "I have a right to
know that?"

"Yes," conceded Tom, "you have. I'll tell you in a moment."

He consulted a chart, made a few calculations and then spoke.

"I shall land you at St. Thomas," answered the young inventor. "I do
not wish to bring my submarine to a place that is too public, as too
many questions may be asked. From St. Thomas you can easily reach Porto
Rico, and from there you can go anywhere you wish."

"Very well," murmured the malcontent. "But I don't consider that I owe
you a cent, and I'm not going to pay you."

"I wouldn't take your money," Tom answered. "And don't forget what I
said--that what I find is my own."

The other answered nothing. Nor from then on did he hold much
conversation with Tom or an