“I rather figured, from what you said, that might be where he’d hide it, especially as he seems stuck on under-sea work. Why, if the old cove himself had a house under the sea I could find him! If they used this new-fangled radio under water up here you can bet your boots the old guy’s using it where he hangs out and if we’re any place near we can pick him up and the boys can locate him with that radio compass business. You see he probably won’t be wise to any one else being on to the radio business. I was afraid that sub might get back and give it away, but the chances are that if the men aboard her got ashore they either won’t
dare show up down there and will just fade away or else we can beat ’em to it.
“Taking that sub gave me another idea and a good one. We can fix up the old boat and go scouting for old Stick-in-the-mud in that. If he or any of his gang see her they’ll think it’s all right and that their gang’s still in her. I know a pretty good lot about handling a sub and we can pick up a few good ex-navy men I know. Now don’t you think that’s a corking good scheme, Mr. Pauling?”
Mr. Pauling hesitated, thinking deeply, before he spoke.
“It has its good points,” he admitted at last, “but it’s rather a wild scheme—just what I should expect from a boy who’ll tackle two strangers and a submarine single-handed under water—and there’s not one chance in ten thousand that it will succeed. You see, the West Indies are a pretty good-sized place and you’d have to go by guess work a great deal, even with the figures the man gave us. However, I’m willing to aid and abet the scheme, as any chance—no matter how remote—of getting that arch fiend is worth trying. I can get the submarine without trouble and can secure men
who can be depended upon, but who’s going with you on your wild-goose or wild-man chase?”
“Why, we are!” cried Tom and Frank in unison.
“The dickens you are!” exclaimed Mr. Pauling. “I should say not!”
The boys’ faces fell. “Oh, Dad, please let us go,” begged Tom. “It will be great—going in a submarine and trying to find that fellow with our radio. Why won’t you let us go?”
“Too much risk,” replied his father. “I’ve had one fright over you and that’s enough.”