ay, Rick started the compressor in
the cockpit and connected up the tanks they had used. He almost wished
he and Scotty had been extravagant and had ordered triple tank blocks to
give them maximum time under water. Still, the singles were convenient,
and diving was a sport it wasn't wise to overdo. By the time they were
through with lunch and had rested awhile, the tanks would be fully
charged again.

As they tied up, Zircon said, "Tony and I will work at his midden this
afternoon. You two take the boat. We won't need it. I'll walk over and
take a look every once in a while, and if we see our friends from the
cottage near you, we'll come running."

The boys helped Tony prepare a simple lunch of soup and sandwiches, then
all hands retired to the front porch to eat.

Up the beach, there were signs of activity around the frogmen's boat. As
they ate and watched, the boat moved away from the pier and approached
the reef, where it anchored. Rick went to get the binoculars and focused
them on the scene.

Two frogmen, complete with suits, went over the side right where their
buoys floated!

"They're diving at the wreck!" he exclaimed.

Zircon took the glasses and watched, then handed them to Tony.

The archaeologist muttered, "Surely they can't be interested in the
treasure. It would be simply too much coincidence for them even to know
about it."

"Maybe they're just looking to see what interested us," Scotty offered,
and his explanation seemed the most plausible.

The group watched until the frogmen surfaced and the boat went back to
its pier.

"Scotty has it," Zircon agreed. "From what we've seen, I'd say they
simply followed our buoy lines down to see what we had been doing."

"If that's the extent of their interest, I don't see how we could
object," Tony said. "Or even if they tried for the treasure we'd have no
grounds for objecting. The ship is anyone's property after all these
years."

Rick said flatly, "We won't do any objecting, but we'll do plenty of
watching. We're going to get that treasure if it's there, whether the
fancy frogmen like it or not!"

CHAPTER X

The Wailing Octopus

As Rick steered the _Water Witch_ to its anchorage above the reef, he
told Scotty about the theory he had developed that morning.

He concluded, "Their going out to take a look where we were diving is
another piece of evidence. Unless they were afraid that we might be
interested in their stuff--whatever and whe