groan of
thanksgiving. Clancy hurried after him, picked him up, and supported him
to solid earth.

"I thought you were a better sailor than that, Hiram," chuckled Clancy.

"Me--a sailor?" whimpered Hill. "Say, it always makes my stomach do a
hornpipe just to look at a picture of the sea. I can't cross a creek on
a bridge without getting separated from my last meal. Darn it! This is
why I wanted to find my lost dad in San Diego--I could go there by land.
Clancy, I'm goin' to stay on this island, and live and die here. I won't
never go back. Let's find a restaurant somewhere and fill up, I never
was so empty in all my life."

Finding a restaurant was not difficult, for the little town was full of
them. A rattling good fish dinner put Hill in a pleasanter mood, so that
his wretchedness of the morning survived as only a faint and far-off
memory.

Senor Jack Lopez had a curio store on the main street of the town. The
investigators were directed to his place of business, but to their
disappointment, Lopez was away on the other side of the island and would
not be back until evening. As they came out of the curio store, a man
approached them and sounded the praises of the glass bottom boats.

"Ugh!" said Hiram, trying to get away, "no boats for mine!"

"But you don't want to leave the island without seeing the marine
gardens!" exclaimed the man.

"There are enough gardens on shore to do me," answered Hill.

"My friend is afraid he'll get seasick," observed Clancy, with a wink.

"You can't get seasick in one o' my boats any more'n you could on land,"
averred the runner. "We jest go out around by the Sugarloaf--we're close
inshore all the time."

"It's makin' me feel faint just to talk about it," said Hill. "Come on,
Clancy!"

He caught the motor wizard's arm and tried to drag him off. Clancy,
however, held back.

"I've heard a lot about these glass-bottom boats," said he, "and I'll
have to take a trip in one. If you don't want to go, Hiram, you can sit
on the dock and wait till I come back."

"No, you don't!" growled Hiram. "You and me don't get separated this
trip, if I can help it. If you're going, Clancy, I'll go, too, even if
it kills me."

"You won't be the least mite sick, friend," the runner insisted. "If you
are, I'll give up your fare."

"That won't be a patchin' to what I'll give up--if you have to give up
my fare," commented Hill. "I only hope I don't step so hard on the
glass-bottom that I go thr