"I suppose any man would answer that question in the negative," he replied. "Frankly, I could use more money, though I am not poor."
"So I have heard. Well, would a million dollars clear profit appeal to you?"
"It certainly would," was the answer.
"Then I am prepared to offer you that sum," went on Mr. Hardley. "But there are certain conditions, and I may say that this vast wealth is not easy to come at. However, with your inventive genius, I am sure you will be able to solve the mystery of the sea. Now then as to details. There lies, on the floor of the ocean—"
"Hark!" exclaimed Tom, raising a hand to enjoin silence. "I think I hear some one coming." At that moment there was a knock at the door.
CHAPTER III
THINKING IT OVER
"Father, is that you?" asked Tom. "Father hasn't been feeling well, of late," he said to the assembled company, "and I told him to go to lie down. But he's hard to manage, and he won't rest more than ten minutes at a time. My father, I might explain, Mr. Hardley," Tom went on, "is actively associated with me in business."
"So I have understood," said the man who had been introduced by Mr. Damon.