I went forward cautiously, and poked the lamp ahead of me. It seemed a long way to the safe, but I finally came up against it, and made out its outline in the lamplight. Its edge stood out sharply. Beyond was the inky blackness of a tomb.
I saw that it would be necessary for me to blow it loose from the beams, as I was not good enough workman to cut or loosen the bolts. Making a hasty but pretty good examination of the bottom and sides, I determined to go back aboard and study it out. A little powder underneath would loosen the floor bolts, and then, with a stout chain about it, we might start the winches to haul it through the opening, which I saw would have to be enlarged at the bottom. I came up, and was satisfied for the day.
The next morning I had recovered my nerve to a great extent, and was eager to get to work. The men were also better pleased at the prospect. My head had bothered me all night, but now eased up, as I donned the rubber.
So far I had seen neither fish nor crawling reptile. The bottom was not very soft, however, and was so covered with weed and sea growths that it may have harbored many things not visible to the eye at that depth. I kept to the gloves, not daring to risk my hands after Haswell's fatal ending.
The first shot tore the bottom off the compartment, and left the safe hanging by the bolts against the bulkhead. The second shot broke away these, and, when I went down again, I found the safe had dropped down to the deck below, the powder, or rather nitrogelatine, having torn the deck away for the space of fifteen feet or more, leaving ragged splinters of deck planking sticking forth.
The electric lamp showed the mass below me as I stood at the edge of the hole, and I very carefully drew my line and air so that they would not foul when I dropped over. Then I went down and found the safe intact, but in a very difficult position to handle.
The next blast required a large charge, in order to blow the side out down to the lower deck, as it was impossible to drag that safe up through the hole. I placed fifty pounds of gelatine in two charges just abreast the safe on the outside of the hull, and blew away the plates until a trolley car could almost have entered the hole in the ship's side.
I was all ready now for getting slings upon the treasure, and I could hardly wait until the next day.
The wreck was in very bad shape below from the effects of the blasts, but I was nearly done now. Another day might find the diamonds upon the deck of the old ship above me. I managed to pass turns of a heavy chain around the safe, and stop them up so that they could be hocked to the fall. Then I got the tackle down, and by means of a whip to the tug started the mass of metal outboard.
It came along all right, and I thought it would go clear. Then something suddenly stopped it below, and I had to go down again to clear it. It was fast in the hole, having jammed against the edge so that no amount of pulling would break it clear.