way," was the answer of the young
inventor. "Don't you remember how my father and I, with Mr. Damon and
Captain Weston, went in our submarine, the Advance, and discovered the
wreck of the Boldero?"

"I do recall that," admitted Ned.

"Well," resumed Tom, "there was a case of showing how much trouble we
had. An ordinary diving outfit never would have answered. We had to
locate the wreck, and a hard time we had doing it. Then, when we found
it, we had to ram the old ship and blow it apart before we could get
inside. Even after that we just happened to discover the gold, as it
were. I'm only mentioning this to show you it isn't so easy to get at
the wealth under the sea as writers in Sunday newspaper supplements
think it is."

"I believe you, Tom. And yet it seems a shame to have all those
millions going to waste, doesn't it?" And Ned spoke as a banker and
financial man, who is not happy unless money is earning interest all
the while.

"Well, a billion of dollars is a lot," Tom admitted. "And when you
think of all that have been sunk, say even in the last hundred years,
it amazes one. But still, all the gold and silver was hidden in the
earth before it was dug out, and now it's only gone back where it came
from, in a way. We got along before men dug it out and coined it into
money, and I guess we'll get along when it's under water. No use
worrying over the ocean treasures, as far as I'm concerned."

"You're a hopeless proposition!" laughed Ned. "You'd never make a
banker, or a Napoleon of finance."

"That's why my father and I got you to look after our financial
affairs," and Tom smiled. "You're just the one--with your
interest-bearing mind--to keep us off the shoals of business trouble."

"Yes, I suppose I can do that, while you and your father go on
inventing giant cannons, great searchlights, submarines, and airships,"
conceded Ned. "But this, to me, did look like an easy way of making
money."

"How's that, Ned?" asked Tom, a new note coming into his voice. "Were
you thinking of going to Japan and taking a hand in the undersea
search?"

"No. But stock in this company is being sold, and shareholders stand to
win big returns--if the wrecks are come upon."

"That's just it!" exclaimed Tom. "If they find the wrecks! And let me
tell you, Ned, that there's a mighty big 'if' in it all. Do you
realize how hard it is to find anything on the ocean, to say nothing of
something under it?"

"I hadn't thought of it