Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat | Page 5

to have a front and rear, and the
inventor, his son, and the aeronaut were soon deep in a discussion of
the technicalities connected with under-water navigation.
A little later they went into the house, in response to a summons from
the supper bell, vigorously rung by Mrs. Baggert. She was not fond of
waiting with meals, and even the most serious problem of mechanics
was, in her estimation, as nothing compared with having the soup get
cold, or the possibility of not having the meat done to a turn.
The meal was interspersed with remarks about the recent airship flight
of Tom and Mr. Sharp, and discussions about the new submarine. This
talk went on even after the table was cleared off and the three had
adjourned to the sitting- room. There Mr. Swift brought out pencil and
paper, and soon he and Mr. Sharp were engrossed in calculating the
pressure per square inch of sea water at a depth of three miles.
"Do you intend to go as deep as that?" asked Tom, looking up from a
paper he was reading.
"Possibly," replied his father; and his son resumed his perusal of the
sheet.
"Now," went on the inventor to the aeronaut, "I have another plan. In
addition to the positive and negative plates which will form our motive
power, I am going to install forward and aft propellers, to use in case of
accident."
"I say, dad! Did you see this?" suddenly exclaimed Tom, getting up
from his chair, and holding his finger on a certain place in the page of
the paper.
"Did I see what?" asked Mr. Swift.

"Why, this account of the sinking of the treasure ship."
"Treasure ship? No. Where?"
"Listen," went on Tom. "I'll read it: 'Further advices from Montevideo,
Uruguay, South America, state that all hope has been given up of
recovering the steamship Boldero, which foundered and went down off
that coast in the recent gale. Not only has all hope been abandoned of
raising the vessel, but it is feared that no part of the three hundred
thousand dollars in gold bullion which she carried will ever be
recovered. Expert divers who were taken to the scene of the wreck state
that the depth of water, and the many currents existing there, due to a
submerged shoal, preclude any possibility of getting at the hull. The
bullion, it is believed, was to have been used to further the interests of a
certain revolutionary faction, but it seems likely that they will have to
look elsewhere for the sinews of war. Besides the bullion the ship also
carried several cases of rifles, it is stated, and other valuable cargo. The
crew and what few passengers the Boldero carried were, contrary to the
first reports, all saved by taking to the boats. It appears that some of the
ship's plates were sprung by the stress in which she labored in a storm,
and she filled and sank gradually.' There! what do you think of that,
dad?" cried Tom as he finished.
"What do I think of it? Why, I think it's too bad for the revolutionists,
Tom, of course."
"No; I mean about the treasure being still on board the ship. What about
that?"
"Well, it's likely to stay there, if the divers can't get at it. Now, Mr.
Sharp, about the propellers--"
"Wait, dad!" cried Tom earnestly.
"Why, Tom, what's the matter?" asked Mr. Swift in some surprise.
"How soon before we can finish our submarine?" went on Tom, not
answering the question.

"About a month. Why?"
"Why? Dad, why can't we have a try for that treasure? It ought to be
comparatively easy to find that sunken ship off the coast of Uruguay. In
our submarine we can get close up to it, and in the new diving suits you
invented we can get at that gold bullion. Three hundred thousand
dollars! Think of it, dad! Three hundred thousand dollars! We could
easily claim all of it, since the owners have abandoned it, but we would
be satisfied with half. Let's hurry up, finish the submarine, and have a
try for it."
"But, Tom, you forget that I am to enter my new ship in the trials for
the prize offered by the United States Government."
"How much is the prize if you win it?" asked Tom.
"Fifty thousand dollars."
"Well, here's a chance to make three times that much at least, and
maybe more. Dad, let the Government prize go, and try for the treasure.
Will you?"
Tom looked eagerly at his father, his eyes shining with anticipation. Mr.
Swift was not a quick thinker, but the idea his son had proposed made
an impression on him. He reached out his hand for the paper in which
the young inventor