Rooney, with a start, for in diving operations Life
and Death frequently stand elbowing each other.

He gave another and still more decided pull, but no answer was returned.

Jumping up in excitement, he attempted to haul on the line, so as to
bring Edgar to the surface by force, but to his consternation he found
it to be immovably fixed.

"Hooroo! Man alive," he yelled, rather than shouted, to Maxwell, who
was attending the other line, "signal for Joe to come up--look sharp!"

Maxwell obeyed with four strong quick pulls on Joe's line, and Joe
appeared at the surface rather sooner than was consistent with safety.
On learning the cause of his being called, he infixed his bull's-eye
hastily; went down again with a heavy plunge, and discovering his
companion, soon removed the wreck by which he was entangled, and set him
free.

Experience, it is said, teaches fools; much more does it instruct wise
men. After this event our hero became a little more careful in his
movements below.

When a considerable amount of treasure had been recovered, it was
thought advisable to return to the shore and place it in security.

"It won't be easy to manage this," said Edgar to Baldwin in a low tone,
as they sailed away from the rocky islet, under a light breeze. "I have
an uncomfortable belief that that fellow Dwarro suspects the nature of
the contents of these bags, despite our efforts at concealment."

"I don't think he does," whispered Baldwin. "He seems to me to be one
o' these miserable opium-smokers whose brains get too much fuddled to
understand or care for anything."

"Whist now, don't spake so loud," said Rooney, advancing his head closer
to his companions, and glancing doubtfully at the object of their
suspicion; "sure he's got a sharp countenance, fuddled or not fuddled."

The pilot had indeed an intelligent cast of countenance, but as he sat
in a careless attitude in the bow of the boat smoking listlessly and
gazing dreamily, almost stupidly, towards the shore, it did seem as
though he had indulged too freely in the noxious drag which poisons so
many inhabitants of these unhappy lands.

As he was out of earshot, the four adventurers drew their heads still
closer together, and talked eagerly about their prospects.

"Sure our fortins is made already," said Rooney; "how much d'ee think
we've fished up, Mr Berrington?"

"I cannot say, but at a rough guess I should think not less than twenty
thousand pounds."

"Y