sunken ship off the coast of Uruguay.
In our submarine we can get close up to it, and in the new diving suits
you invented we can get at that gold bullion. Three hundred thousand
dollars! Think of it, dad! Three hundred thousand dollars! We could
easily claim all of it, since the owners have abandoned it, but we
would be satisfied with half. Let's hurry up, finish the submarine, and
have a try for it."

"But, Tom, you forget that I am to enter my new ship in the trials for
the prize offered by the United States Government."

"How much is the prize if you win it?" asked Tom.

"Fifty thousand dollars."

"Well, here's a chance to make three times that much at least, and
maybe more. Dad, let the Government prize go, and try for the treasure.
Will you?"

Tom looked eagerly at his father, his eyes shining with anticipation.
Mr. Swift was not a quick thinker, but the idea his son had proposed
made an impression on him. He reached out his hand for the paper in
which the young inventor had seen the account of the sunken treasure.
Slowly he read it through. Then he passed it to Mr. Sharp.

"What do you think of it?" he asked of the aeronaut

"There's a possibility," remarked the balloonist "We might try for it.
We can easily go three miles down, and it doesn't lie as deeply as
that, if this account is true. Yes, we might try for it. But we'd have
to omit the Government contests."

"Will you, dad?" asked Tom again.

Mr. Swift considered a moment longer.

"Yes, Tom, I will," he finally decided. "Going after the treasure will
be likely to afford us a better test of the submarine than would any
Government tests. We'll try to locate the sunken Boldero."

"Hurrah!" cried the lad, taking the paper from Mr. Sharp and waving it
in the air. "That's the stuff! Now for a search for the submarine
treasure!"

Chapter Two

Finishing the Submarine

"What's the matter?" cried Mrs. Baggert, the housekeeper, hurrying in
from the kitchen, where she was washing the dishes. "Have you seen some
of those scoundrels who robbed you, Mr. Swift? If you have, the police
down here ought to--"

"No, it's nothing like that," explained Mr. Swift. "Tom has merely
discovered in the paper an account of a sunken treasure ship, and he
wants us to go after it, down under the ocean."

"Oh, dear! Some more of Captain Kidd's hidden hoard, I suppose?"
ventured the housekeeper. "Don't you bother with it, Mr. Swift. I had a
cousin once, and he