"But our claim is better than theirs."
"Morally, yes. But you must remember that legally the fortune will belong to whoever finds it, for it was abandoned at sea many years ago."
"I suppose that is so."
"For my part, Dave, I believe that neither of us will have an easy job to obtain the fortune. It is going to be a great task to even reach the sunken wreck."
"Oh, I know that. But the diving bell will help us."
"It will help a great deal. But you must remember the wreck may be turned over, or buried almost out of sight in the mud of the ocean bottom. In that case we'll have a lot of work to do before any of us can get into the ship and even locate the lost treasure."
"Never mind, father, the amount to be gained will be well worth all the trouble we will take to gain it."
"To be sure, for such a vast sum isn't picked up more than once in a lifetime, even at the best. We can be certain—Heavens! what's that?"
Amos Fearless broke off short, and with good reason.
A fearful shock had come, as a bolt of lightning struck the forward works of the Swallow.