aking their mid-day meal arrived. This amount was, however, quite
sufficient to improve their appetites, and render them sanguine as to
the work of the afternoon.

"You'd better signal Mr Berrington to come up," said Joe, who with all
the others of the party were assembled in the stern of the boat,
anxiously waiting to begin their dinner.

"Sure I've done it twice a'ready," replied Rooney, who was attending to
our hero's life-line while Ram-stam and Chok-foo toiled at the
air-pumps.

"What does he reply?" asked Joe.

"He replies, `all right,' but nothin' more. If he knew the imptiness of
my--och! There he goes at last, four tugs. Come along, my hearty,"
said Rooney, coiling away the slack as Edgar rose slowly to the surface.

Presently his helmet appeared like a huge round goblet ascending from
the mighty deep. Then the surface was broken with a gurgle, and the
goggle-eyes appeared. Rooney unscrewed the front-glass, and the
Chinamen were free to cease their weary pumping. When Edgar was
assisted into the boat, it was observed that he had a small
peculiarly-shaped box under his arm. He made no reference to this until
relieved of his helmet, when he took it up and examined it with much
curiosity.

"What have you got there, sir?" asked Joe Baldwin, coming forward.

"That is just what I don't know," answered Edgar. "It seems to me like
an iron or steel box much encrusted with rust, and I shouldn't wonder if
it contained something of value. One thing is certain, that we have not
got the key, and must therefore break it open."

While he was speaking, David Maxwell gazed at the box intently. He did
not speak, but there was a peculiar motion about his lips as if he were
licking them. A fiend happened just then to stand at Maxwell's ear. It
whispered, "You know it."

"Ay," said Maxwell, under his breath, in reply, "_I_ knows it--well."

"I wonder if there are valuables in it," said Edgar.

"Shouldn't wonder if there wor," said Rooney.

"Eight or nine thousand pounds, more or less," whispered the fiend,
quoting words used by Mr Hazlit on a former occasion.

"Ah--jis' so," muttered Maxwell.

"Don't you say a word more, David," said the fiend.

"I wont," muttered Maxwell's heart; for the hearts of men are
desperately wicked.

"That's right," continued the fiend, "for if you keep quiet, you know,
the contents will fall to be divided among you, and the loss won't be
felt by a rich fellow like old Hazl