n we had
steam enough up to bust, an' then we walked right away from 'em. I
reckon the captain o' the _Josephine_ was mad, for he kept on a
followin' us and onct he got putty close ag'in. But then came some
sort o' an explosion from the other boat, an' we see a cloud o' steam
rushin' up from below, and somebody jumped overboard. Then the steam
blew away an' the engine stopped, an' we went on--an' left them away
out in the ocean, fifteen or twenty miles from here. We calkerlated
they'd follow us soon as they could make repairs, so we came on at
full speed, to take you on board."

"Is everybody safe?" asked Dick.

"Yes. That Dutch boy burnt himself ag'in with a rocket, but it ain't
much an' he don't care, for he said the rocket hit a chap named Sobber
in the stomach and keeled him over."

"Good for Hans!" cried Sam. "That will give Tad Sobber something to
remember him by!"

As quickly as it could be done, the treasure was transferred to the
two rowboats, and the entire party set out for the steam yacht. They
were careful in going through the opening in the reef, for nobody
wanted to see either boat swamped and its precious contents lost. The
passage was made in safety, the searchlight aiding them.

"Back again!" cried Dick, as he mounted to the deck.

"Oh, Dick, are you safe?" cried Dora, rushing to him.

"Yes, and we have the treasure!" he answered proudly.

"Oh, how glad I am everybody is safe!" put in Nellie.

"We are all glad," said Mrs. Stanhope. "The last forty eight hours
have been so full of peril!"

Of course everybody has to tell his or her story, and for a long time
there was a perfect babel of voices. Fred and Hans related how the
steam yacht had been rescued from the clutches of the enemy, and how
Frank Norton had taken command and prevented anything in the shape of
a mutiny. The ladies and girls told of how they had been scared and
how they had locked themselves up in a stateroom, as Bahama Bill had
said. Then the Rover boys had to tell all about the finding of the
great treasure.

"And just to think!" cried Tom. "It is worth more than we at first
supposed!" And in his glee he hugged both Mrs. Stanhope and Mrs.
Laning, and then hugged Nellie. Nellie herself was so excited she
never even noticed it.

In the meantime, Captain Barforth was consulting with the chief
engineer and learning some of the particulars of how the mate had
acted and how the steam yacht had been chased by the tramp steamer