“Well,” admitted Frank, “she quite excels anything I have yet manufactured, I admit. Yet I think I can excel her merits.”
Hartley looked incredulous.
“It does not seem possible,” he said. “And yet I cannot dispute you, Mr. Reade. I think anything is quite possible for you.”
Frank bowed modestly at this profuse compliment. Then they all repaired to the office again.
A day was agreed upon for the start, and all hands were to be ready at that time.
It was believed that the Donna Veneta could be found even without the important diagram left by Don Cristobal.
As she was a submarine boat, this seemed plausible enough.
“At any rate,” declared Clifford, “if we can do no better, we can go into the interior of Honduras and look up the record in the ruin again.”
“But if Parker abstracted the diagram, what was his purpose?” asked Frank.
The trio exchanged glances.