it."

Maxwell's heart approved and applauded the sentiment, but a stronger
power moved in the rough man's heart, and softly whispered, "Shame!"

"Why, Maxwell," said Edgar, smiling, "you look at the box as if it were
a ghost!"

"An' so it _is_," said Maxwell, with a sudden and unaccountable growl,
at the sound of which the fiend sprang overboard, and, diving into the
sea, disappeared from Maxwell's view for ever!

"Why, what d'ee mean, David?" asked Baldwin, in surprise.

"I mean, sir," said Maxwell, turning to Edgar with a look of unwonted
honesty on his rugged face, "that that box is the ghost of one that
belongs to Miss Hazlit, if it ain't the box itself."

"To Miss Hazlit," exclaimed Edgar, in surprise; "explain yourself."

In reply to this the diver told how he had originally become acquainted
with the box and its contents, and said that he had more than once
searched about the region of Miss Hazlit's cabin while down at the wreck
in hope of finding it, but without success.

"Strange," said Edgar, "I too have more than once searched in the same
place in the hope of finding something, or anything that might have
belonged to her, but everything had been washed away. Of course,
knowing nothing about this box, I did not look for _it_, and found it at
last, by mere chance, some distance from the berth she occupied. Why
did you not mention it before?"

Maxwell was silent, and at that moment the drift of thought and
conversation was abruptly turned by Rooney Machowl shouting, "Dinner
ahoy!" with impatient asperity.

While engaged in the pleasant duty of appeasing hunger, our divers
chatted on many subjects, chiefly professional. Among other things,
Rooney remarked that he had heard it said a diving-dress contained
sufficient air in it to keep a man alive for more than five minutes.

"I have heard the same," said Edgar.

"Come, David," suggested Joe Baldwin, "let's test it on you."

"Ready," said Maxwell, rising and wiping his huge mouth.

The proposal which was made in jest was thereupon carried out in
earnest!

Dinner being over, Maxwell put on his diving-dress; the Chinamen set the
pump going, and the front-glass was screwed on. Air was forced into the
dress until it was completely inflated and looked as if ready to burst,
while Maxwell stood on the deck holding on to a back-stay. At a given
signal the pumpers ceased to work, and the adventurous man was thus cut
off from all further communication