"Slow progress," reported Swaine, on their return. "With luck we ought to cut through that jolly old bar in a couple of hours. How did you like the job, Jack?"
"Not so dusty," replied Villiers guardedly.
"That is an obvious statement," rejoined his fellow-worker. "We certainly weren't working in a dust-laden atmosphere. By Jove, I am hungry! What's going, Pete?"
"Taro and pork-pie, sah," replied the cook, whereupon all the others laughed, for that sort of pie had become part of the daily routine.
"Keen on carrying on, Jack?" inquired Swaine, when, having partaken of a substantial meal, all hands were resting and enjoying a smoke.
"Rather," replied Villiers emphatically. "I'm anxious to see the other side of that strong-room door."
"Come on, then," continued Swaine, knocking out his pipe on the heel of his boot. "Now, then, fall in, the divers' attendants. There's no need to stand there hanging on to the slack. Slap it about."
With increased confidence Villiers plunged into the water, following his chum. At a pre-arranged signal the electric submarine-lamp was switched on and the companion-doors closed.
Alternately holding the electric drill, the two divers resumed their attack upon the steel bar, until Swaine gave the signal to desist. Then pointing to a heavy sledge hammer, he motioned to Villiers to give the coup de grâce.
It looked a simple task to break the almost severed bar. The hammer, weighing fourteen pounds in air, seemed ridiculously light, but when Villiers tried to swing it, the result surprised him. He had not calculated the resistance of the water.