This did not suit Pete Rackley at all.
"I—I guess there is some mistake," he stammered, and turning, he ran from the room and from the hotel. Although he had left a trunk behind him, he never came back to claim the property.
"That was a queer thing to do," said one of the strangers to Dave, after the excitement was over. "Is he your enemy?"
"He must be, but he is a stranger to me," answered our hero.
The trip to San Francisco was made without anything special happening, and soon Dave and his father found themselves on board of the Swallow, which lay at her dock taking on the last of her stores for the long trip around the Pacific Ocean.
After a number of inquiries, Amos Fearless learned that Lemuel Hankers had chartered the small steamer Raven, from the Wrecking Company, and had set sail on his treasure quest the day previous.
"Never mind, we'll make up for lost time when once we get started," said Captain Broadbeam. "I fancy the Swallow is a better boat in every way than the Raven."
Two days later the Swallow sailed with Mr. Fearless and Dave on board as master diver and assistant.
The diving outfits on board pleased the master diver very much, and he was likewise greatly interested in the diving bell the ship carried.
"That ought to be just the thing for our work," he said to Dave, "if they can let it down to where the wreck of the Happy Hour rests."