They could not have dropped it in mid-ocean—that was absurd. It did not occur to me for a long time that the hour down the bay from New York out to the lightship might suffice to enable them to cut into the through safe, which, of course, would not be opened until the other side was reached.
It was upon a return voyage that an incident occurred that started my line of research upon the American channel.
I noticed that in going down the bay we were forced—owing to the great length of the ship—close to the Southwest Spit Buoy. The turn here is abrupt, and, while the tide runs swiftly, there is a certainty of position always for a large ship.
A smaller vessel might swing well out, but a vessel of the Prince's size could not. Then the idea of the buoys marking the line at close intervals came to me. It was just what they would desire for marking their cache.
They could make a note of position, and drop their swag so closely to an established position that there would be no trouble at all in picking it up, even after a year's submersion.
The trunk must have carried the hot-chisel outfit, the electrical tools for cutting, and these the burglars had tossed into the sea at the first opportunity, afterward filling the trunk with junk for a blind, feeling sure we would think it held the treasure.
I had studied the process of cutting with an electrical jimmy, the melting of the plates, and I soon came to the conclusion that the job was done, finished before the ship left soundings off Sandy Hook.
The pair were seemingly not well supplied with money, and I determined to watch them after they got ashore. By some strange freak the inspectors passed them, and they disappeared in the city, leaving no trace.
"I want a two-weeks' leave of absence," I said to the old man that night, "and I want it right away—I'll get the gold we lost or lose my job. I'll take the third mate with me. Smith knows them."
There was some trouble getting officers to fill our berths on such short notice, but the old man had some faith in me, and let us go. I drew a hundred dollars in pay, and we went right to Brooklyn and chartered a fast and powerful launch.