This plan was put into operation, though with much difficulty, and not a little added risk. But the diver knew no fear, and was soon down on the bottom, moving around, and looking for signs to tell the fate of the once notorious pirate ship.
While this was going on the boys, as well as the captain, remained there watching the men work the air pump, and wondering what luck would follow their venture in Western waters.
An hour passed. Then the long anticipated signal came to let them know the diver wished to be drawn up. One thing they soon learned, which was that his bag was empty, proving that at least he had not run across any more ingots such as rewarded their first search under the sea waves.
When his helmet had been removed, and he sucked in more or less of the fresh sea air, Hicks looked at Captain Shooks and grinned.
“In my hand pouch, sir, you’ll find just one lone gold piece,” he told the other. “That I found wedged in a crack in what I made out to be part of a door that was held down in the sand by the anchor. I guess, sir, that’s all the loot anybody will ever recover from the wreck of the old pirate ship. There are some queer currents racing about down there, that must get pretty fierce at times; and by degrees they’ve just pulled the hulk all to pieces, and scattered everything around for miles, I take it.”
Captain Shooks knew then that the game was up, so far as any hope of recovering pirate loot went. That lone gold piece, a Spanish one it turned out to be, he gave to Oscar, just as a memento of the occasion. And immediately afterwards orders went out to turn the prow of the submersible toward the north again.
They meant to abandon the Pacific for the time being. It seemed that Shooks believed he had enough results already aboard to justify him in turning back, and once more heading for Baltimore. Then, if all was well, he could make a start for the far distant Eastern seas, where many rich cargoes of treasure were known to have been located, but never recovered.
The three boys had been talking it all over among themselves, and come to a decision. This was to quit the expedition at Panama, and remain there for a week or so, until a steamer came along to pass through the canal bound east, on which they might engage passage.
To tell the honest truth all of them were heartily tired of their cramped quarters aboard the submarine, not to mention what they had to endure from bad air whenever the boat was below the surface. The novelty had long since worn off, and they frankly confessed they knew when they had had enough.
Besides, Jack wanted to get those precious submarine pictures of his ashore, and securely on the way home by some better carrier than a boat that spent most of the time diving under the water, with a consequent moisture, inside as well as out, that could not be very good for delicate film material.