o the river.

"It's all right," whispered Edgar, sitting down beside Joe, "Wilson is
at home, and has undertaken to have the bags carried to a place of
safety long before any attempt to capture them could be organised, even
if Dwarro knew our secret and were disposed to attempt such a thing.
Besides, we will keep him under our eyes to-night as long as possible."

That night, highly elated at the success of their labours, our four
friends sat round their evening meal in the pagoda and related their
various diving adventures and experiences to the admiring and
sympathetic Molly Machowl. They had previously entertained the pilot
with unlimited hospitality and tobacco, and that suspected individual,
so far from showing any restless anxiety to shorten his stay, had coolly
enjoyed himself until they were at last glad when he rose to go away.

On the following morning, too, he was ready with his boat before
day-break, and the party returned to the scene of operations at the
wreck in high spirits.

It is certain that their enthusiasm would have been considerably damped
had they known that exactly three hours after their gold was landed, a
party of six stout nautical-looking Malays entered the residence of
Wilson, the Scotchman, knocked down Wilson's servants, gagged Wilson's
mouth, drank up the claret with which Wilson had been regaling himself,
and carried off the bags of gold before his very eyes! Fortunately for
their peace of mind and the success of their labours, our adventurers
did _not_ know all this, but, descending to the wreck with heavy soles
and light hearts, they proceeded to recover and send up additional bags
of gold.

That day they were not quite so successful. Unforeseen difficulties lay
in their way. Some of the gold had been washed out of the treasure-room
in their absence, and was not easily recovered from the sand and
sea-weed. In order the better to find this, the electric-lamp was
brought into requisition and found to be most effective, its light being
very powerful--equal to that of fifteen thousand candles,--and so
arranged as to direct the light in four directions, one of these being
towards the bottom by means of a reflecting prism. It burned without
air, and when at the bottom, could be lighted or extinguished from the
boat by means of electricity.

Still, notwithstanding its aid, they had not collected treasure beyond
the value of about eight thousand pounds when the time for rest and
t