"Where did you build this extraordinary vessel?" continued our hero.
"On a desert island in the Pacific. I had the various parts brought in a vessel that belonged to me from various parts of the world, and the twelve negroes who are now with me were my only workmen."
"You are rich, then?"
"Money was never any object to me," replied the captain. "If I wanted gold even now, could I not obtain millions from the bottom of the sea out of ships that have sunk? And some day I shall find the great million-dollar pearl for which I am searching. The treasures of the deep are mine; I am the Wizard of the Sea."
He spoke proudly, and his eyes dilated with rapture.
"You like the sea?"
"I love it. I revel in it. Look at the solitude and freedom I enjoy! What life can be comparable to mine?"
"But you must feel weary at times," said Mont.
"Never. I read, I think, and, when I want diversion, I shoot."
"Where?"