“And I’m going to cook a dandy meal!” cried Bob, whereat the others laughed. It was really the first meal they expected to eat with calm minds, for even with Dr. Klauss in chains there was a constant worry. Now he was gone.
“I say, Uncle Nelson, can’t you tell us that secret now?” asked Bob that evening, when they were speeding homeward a short distance below the surface. “What was it you were bringing from Germany?”
Mr. Sheldon opened a case that he took from his pocket. There was a flash of light, and he held up to view a magnificent diamond necklace.
“This!” exclaimed Bob’s uncle. “It is an heirloom that our family has long been trying to get. It has been stolen several times, and there was a legal tangle as to the real owner. Finally I came into possession of facts that proved my right to it—or, rather the right of myself and your mother, Bob, and I went to Germany to prosecute the case.
“The odd part of it was that a German family also claimed the necklace, and, had the case gone against me, Dr. Klauss would have had a share in these jewels.”
“Dr. Klauss!” cried Jerry.
“Yes. And when I won the suit, and the necklace was awarded to me, the doctor vowed to get it back. He did not know that I actually had it, being only told that it had gone to an American. That is why I did not want to mention it while he was aboard. He would have had a double reason for hating me—and all of us. But it is safe now, and I hope soon to be at home with this fortune in diamonds.”
“Well, that’s one mystery cleared up,” remarked Bob, while, Grace, with shining eyes, tried on the gorgeous necklace.
“Yes, and if we could get back our Comet, and rescue the old sailor on the Hassen, we’d clear up the other two,” spoke Ned.