few days."

Rick bent down and peered at a scrap of meat. "You're right. They had
steak. And this piece hasn't dried out yet."

"Maybe they're still here." Scotty walked to the back of the house.
"They might be out fishing or something." He looked in a window and
called urgently, "Rick! Look!"

Rick hurried to his side and peered in. The room was evidently used for
storing diving equipment. Hung along one wall were three full diving
suits of expensive make. Next to them, neatly racked, was an assortment
of spear guns, all of the spring type, and all of Italian make.

On another wall were three Scuba regulators, not aqualung types such as
the boys used, but the variety that carries a full face mask through
which the diver breathes. In a rack on the floor were nine spare tanks
and a compressor much larger and more expensive than theirs.

Swim fins, also of Italian make, were lying on a table. They were the
shoe type, put on like a pair of slippers. Rick identified an underwater
camera, complete with steering fins and outside controls, and a number
of face masks with built-in snorkels. Boxes stacked on the floor carried
labels that identified them as midseason suits of French make.

"We've found some real fancy frogmen," Scotty observed. "This place
looks like a high-priced show-room for diving gear."

"Pretty plush," Rick agreed.

They wandered back down to the beach and found that this area of the
island was apparently more open to the sea. There were bits of flotsam,
including coconuts that had washed in. The sea shells were larger, and
they found a few worth picking up.

Scotty beckoned and pointed to a piece of wood, nearly buried in the
sand. "What do you make of this?"

Rick examined it. It was curved, and a shred of green metal still clung
to the rusty remains of an ancient hand-fashioned nail. He looked up
with sudden excitement. "It's a section of a ship rib. And a pretty old
one, too." His finger indicated the shred of metal. "Copper. Or used to
be." He broke it off. "Completely oxidized. It's been in the water a
long time, perhaps even centuries."

The boys stared out at the reef, both half afraid to put their thoughts
into words. Finally Scotty asked, "Do you remember reading about any
earthquakes or big tidal waves down here recently?"

Rick tried to recall. "No. Why?"

"Well, the _Maiden Hand_ has been under the water out here for a couple
of centuries--and in pretty deep water, too. It would