."

"Of course I am sure of my figures," declared Mr. Hardley. "I had them
directly from the first mate, who gave them to the captain."

"Well, it remains to be seen," replied Tom Swift. "We'll know in a few
days."

"And I hope there will be no more taking chances," went on the
gold-seeker. "I don't see any sense in you people going out in diving
suits to fight starfish. We need those suits to recover the gold with,
and it's foolish to take needless risks."

His tone and manner were dictatorial, but Tom said nothing. Only when
he and Mr. Damon were alone a little later the eccentric man said:

"Tom will you ever forgive me for introducing you to such a pest?"

"Oh, well, you didn't know what he was," said Tom good-naturedly.
"You're as badly taken in as I am. Once we get the gold and give him
his share, he can get off my boat. I'll have nothing more to do with
him!"

Not wishing to navigate in the darkness, for fear of not being able to
keep an accurate record of the course and the distance made Tom
submerged the craft when night came and let her come to rest on the
bottom of the sea. He calculated that two days later they would be in
the vicinity of the Pandora.

The night passed without incident, situated, as they were, on the sand
about three hundred feet below the surface; and after breakfast Tom
announced that they would go up and head directly for the place where
the Pandora had foundered.

The ballast tanks were emptied, the rising rudder set, and the M. N. 1
began to ascend. She was still several fathoms from the surface when
all on board became aware of a violent pitching and tossing motion.

"Bless my postage stamp, Tom!" exclaimed Mr. Damon, "what's the matter
now?"

"Has anything gone wrong?" demanded Mr. Hardley.

"Nothing, except that we are coming up into a storm," answered the
young inventor. "The wind is blowing hard up above and the waves are
high. The swell makes itself felt even down here."

Tom's explanation of the cause of the pitching and rolling of the
submarine proved correct. When they reached the surface and an
observation was taken from the conning tower, it was seen that a
terrific storm was raging. It was out of the question to open the
hatches, or the M. N. 1 would have been swamped. The waves were high,
it was raining hard and the wind blowing a hurricane.

"Well, here's where we demonstrate the advantage of traveling in a
submarine," announced Tom, when it was seen tha