the case. Captain Bergen held up the huge
shell and peeped inside. He did so but an instant, when he dropped it
upon the sand, and exclaimed, with a pale face and trembling voice:

"It's there!"

Mate Storms knew what it meant, and he in turn raised the oyster, ran
his knife in carefully, worked hard for a minute, and then managed to
get the two shells apart.

CHAPTER XXII

THE PEARL OF THE PACIFIC

There, at the front of the oyster, and slightly to one side, was the
most marvelous pearl upon which the eyes of the men had ever rested.
It was the size of an ordinary hen's egg, clear and pure, and worth a
sum of money which neither of the astounded men dared attempt to
guess.

For a few seconds they were speechless, and then Inez clapped her
hands with delight, and asked:

"Is that for me?"

"Yes, that is yours," replied Captain Bergen. "The mate and I give it
to you, to be yours and no one's else."

"Isn't it splendid?" cried Inez, catching it up, passing it from one
hand to the other, holding it up in the sunlight, and showing as much
genuine pleasure as if she were a veritable South Sea Islander,
presented with some new trinket.

"That," said Mate Storms, "may be called The Pearl of the Pacific!"

"No," objected the captain, "it is she who is the pearl of this great
ocean, for it was upon its surface that we first saw her, and she has
proved herself far above the worth of pearls or diamonds or rubies. To
her, under heaven, my life, and not impossibly yours, is owing. The
greatest pleasure of this voyage has come from her companionship, and
all that I ask now is that we shall be able to preserve this wealth
for her, and that the opportunity may be ours to do our full duty
toward her."

Mate Storms looked admiringly at the captain, who had so eloquently
expressed his own sentiments.

"You are right, Jack," said he, speaking in his familiar way. "It is
she who is the Pearl of the Pacific!"

The men surveyed, with the greatest pleasure, the frolicsome delight
of the little one, who was all unmindful of the immense treasure which
had fallen to her lot, and of the title of honor which her friends had
given her. Naturally, the entire party were so absorbed that for a
time they hardly glanced beyond their immediate surroundings; but when
Abe Storms came up for the last time, he glanced, by the merest
accident, out to sea, and exclaimed:

"Oh, my goodness! Just look there, Jack!"

No more than ha