As the boy went headlong to the floor, he saw the stranger shoot past him and make for the ladder leading up into the conning tower. As soon as Oscar could get to his feet, although half dazed from having struck his head severely, he hastened to chase after the vanished figure. Ballyhoo and Jack were at his heels, though utterly in the dark as to what it all meant.
When they got above they found that the man on guard was staring into the half gloom alongside the moored submarine. He had been thrust aside by something that came bolting out of the hatch; for, not expecting danger from that quarter, the sentry was caught unprepared; and before he could recover enough to use the gun with which he had been armed, the unknown had utterly vanished.
But after all it might have been much worse, for no particular damage had been done. The skipper told them he had the precious chart and directions where no spy could ever find them; and so Oscar and the other boys finally went back to their bunks, though an additional guard was stationed in the conning tower for security.
CHAPTER XX
THE END OF THE CRUISE—CONCLUSION
In the morning the voyage was resumed, but they did not hurry, it being the purpose of Captain Shooks to let the Dauntless have plenty of time to reach the Pacific and go on. If they should find her hovering around as though waiting for them, nothing could be more simple with regard to getting rid of the rival boat than for them to submerge, and keep moving under the water until night came on.
This time they were meaning to head further south. They had a pretty accurate account of an old-time buccaneer that had preyed upon the gold coast with impunity, until finally it ran upon a disguised British sloop of war, which proceeded to hammer it so well that in the end the pirate sank. The account also stated, on the authority of competent witnesses who had left a record behind them before they passed away, that the notorious commander of the buccaneer had all his wealth on board at the time, it being his intention to give up the nefarious business, and settle down under an assumed name in some Continental country, there to enjoy the ill-gotten fruits of his many sackings of towns and ships.
Of course, all that amazing treasure went down with the ship, though some of the crew, it appears, did manage to swim ashore and escape. Many unsuccessful attempts had been made to find the sunken piratical vessel, but then none of these were one-half so well fixed for exploring the bottom of the sea as the one Captain Shooks commanded.
So with ardent hopes they pointed the prow of their odd-looking boat toward the Peruvian coast, and in due time reached their destination. It proved to be by long odds the toughest job they had as yet undertaken, owing to the diverse ocean currents they struck after they had gone down to investigate.
For days they prowled around that region. When one clue failed the skipper seemed to have another at hand, upon which he depended to show them the object of their persistent hunt.
Jack was having the time of his life taking pictures of all the amazing things they discovered while prosecuting this search. He added several films to his already wonderful collection, and only feared his supply would run short before the subjects gave out, and wished he had waited at Panama for the new lot ordered shipped on from New York.