now it, then the
captain and others must know it. And what is to prevent them from
making a search for the Pandora if they have not already done so?"

"The best reason in the world," was the answer. "The boat containing
the captain and the officer who gave him the ship's position was sunk,
and all on board lost. The boat I was in was the only one picked up,
and I believe I am the only one who knows exactly where the Pandora
lies.

"Now, here is my offer, Mr. Swift," went on the seeker after the
ocean's hidden wealth. "I will bear half the expense of fitting out a
submarine, or for any other kind of expedition to go in search of the
wreck of the Pandora. I will furnish you with the exact nautical
location, as I have it. And when the wealth is found and brought to the
surface, I will give you half--in other words at least a million
dollars! Does that appeal to you?"

"I must say it is a fair, though perhaps strange, offer," conceded Tom.
"And a million dollars is not made every day nor every year. But what
about the title to this money? After we have recovered it--provided we
are successful--will not some person or some government lay claim to
it?"

"None can successfully," declared Mr. Hardley. "As I told you, the
money was to finance a revolution. It was raised for an unlawful
purpose, so to speak, and no one has a valid claim to it under the
circumstances, so lawyers whom I have consulted have told me. But if
that is not enough, I have papers to prove that those who might be
called the owners have given up the search for it. More than a year has
elapsed, and though I don't know just how long it takes to outlaw an
under-ocean claim, I feel sure that we would have a legal and moral
right to take this gold if we could find it."

"I should want to be satisfied on that point before I undertook the
search," said Tom.

"Then you will undertake it?" eagerly exclaimed Mr. Hardley.

"I will think it over," Tom answered quietly--so quietly that distinct
disappointment showed on the face of the visitor.

CHAPTER IV

AGAINST HIS WILL

For a moment it seemed that Mr. Damon, as well as Mr. Hardley, felt
disappointment at Tom's answer, for the eccentric man exclaimed:

"Bless my leather belt, Tom, but you aren't very keen on making a
million dollars!"

"Oh, yes, I like to make money," the young inventor answered. "I guess
you know that, as well as any one, for you've been with me on several
trips. And I don't