The lieutenant finished a glass of orange juice and rose. "Time's up. Let's get back to the wreck."
Hobart Zircon asked, "Don't you want to take your camera, Rick?"
"Good idea." He hurried to get it. One of the frogmen had picked it up, along with the rest of the equipment they had left behind.
The water had settled enough for thorough inspection of the entire aft portion of the wreck. Rick and Scotty helped the frogmen poke into every possible place without finding more than a pair of rusted cutlasses.
Rick surveyed the scene with discouragement. The statue was somewhere under the sand, which probably meant they would never find it. He had another sudden realization, too. They had no proof that this ship was the Maiden Hand, no proof that the whole business wasn't just a wild-goose chase.
By the time the dive was over, the sand hose had been rigged. The first group surfaced and Jimmy ordered the fresh group of frogmen to hose out the aft cabins to find anything that might be left. Then the group was to start work on the probable location of the foredeck.
During the rest period, Rick told Jimmy about the other wreck they had found, the modern ship that he guessed was a war casualty.
"We'll take a look at it first thing in the morning before we shove off for St. Thomas," Jimmy promised. "You never know what you'll find in a wreck. We've found a lot of things worth salvaging."
The boys were operating under Navy rules now. They put on fresh tanks and got their instructions from Chief Sanders. "Longer decompression this time. Stick with me on the way up and move when I move. We don't want you to get the bends."
The boys nodded their understanding, then took to the water.