only clue they had, and there was something in the
make-up of these sturdy young Americans that made them desperately
unwilling to confess defeat. It was the "die-in-the-last-ditch" spirit
that has made America great. Even Bill, although he relieved himself
sometimes by grumbling, would not really have given up the search and
when the pinch came he dug and hunted as eagerly as the rest.

This morning, they had arranged to set off for a final cruise that might
take up all the remaining time of their vacation, which was now drawing
rapidly to a close. Their party was complete, with the exception of
Ross. He had gone up to Oakland to spend a few days with his mother, who
had arrived from Canada, but he had arranged to meet the boys that day
at a point agreed on, about fifteen miles up the coast.

As their cruise was expected to be longer than usual, it took them some
time before they had everything on board the _Ariel_ and were ready
to cast off from the little pier below the lighthouse.

"Well," said Mr. Lee, who had come down to see them off, "good-by, boys,
and luck go with you."

"Watch us come back with that chest of gold," called out Teddy gaily.

"I'll be watching, all right," grinned the lighthouse keeper, "and I
have a sort of hunch that you boys will get there this time. You
certainly have earned it, if you do lay your hands on it."

"And that's no merry jest, either," remarked Bill, as he looked at the
callous spots on his hands.

"Bill wasn't made to work," scoffed Teddy. "He's made to sit on the box
and crack the whip, while we common trash pull and strain in the
shafts."

"Not much," retorted Bill. "I'm no mule driver."

"It's a touching picture, that of Teddy pulling and straining, isn't
it?" laughed Lester, as he pointed to that young gentleman slumped down
comfortably in the stern.

With jest and banter, the morning wore away. The day was serene and
beautiful, with not a cloud obscuring the sky, while there was just
enough wind to make their progress steady and rapid. Almost before they
knew it, they had reached the point agreed upon with Ross, and soon
after descried the _Sleuth_ coming down to meet them.

They hailed Ross cordially, and his beaming face showed how deep and
warm was his feeling for the boys, whom he already seemed to have known
for years rather than weeks.

"Some smart navigators, we are, to meet just where we arranged to!"
laughed Lester.

"We're the real thing in the way