urse this might be true; but
there was only Tazzuchi's word for it. The sea was too consistently
opaque to give one a chance of seeing down from above the surface.

Now as suspicion had got so deep a hold on Captain Kettle's mind, he
began to cudgel his brain for some new method by which the Italians
could serve their purpose. He put himself supposititiously in Tazzuchi's
place, and made piratical theories by the score. Most of them he had to
dismiss after examination as impracticable, others he eliminated by
natural selection; and finally one stood out as practicable beyond
all the rest.

For one thing it did not want many participants; only the actual divers
and Tazzuchi himself. For another, it would not brand the whole gang of
them as criminals and pirates, but (properly managed) would make them
rich without any advertised stigma or stain. In simple words, the method
was this: the gold boxes must be removed from their original site, and
hidden elsewhere under the water close at hand. The friendly slime would
bury them snugly out of sight. The old report of "un-get-at-able" would
be adhered to, and finally the steamer would give up further salvage
operations as hopeless (after fishing up some useless cargo out of the
holds as a conscience salve) and steam away to port. There Tazzuchi and
his friends would either desert or get themselves dismissed, charter a
small vessel of their own, and go back for the plunder; and with L8,000
in clear hard cash to divide, live prosperously (from an Italian
standpoint) ever afterward.

Kettle felt an unimaginative man's complacency in ferreting out such a
dramatic scheme, and began to think next upon the somewhat important
detail of how to get proofs before he commenced to frustrate it. Chance
seemed to make Tazzuchi play into his hand. The air-pump which had been
damaged by the rifle bullet had been mended by the steamer's engineers,
and as there were two or three spare diving dresses on the ship, Captain
Tazzuchi expressed his intention of making a descent in person to
inspect progress.

"I didn't do it before, because I didn't want to make the men break
time, but I can go down now without interrupting their work. Will you
come off in the boat with me, Captain, and hand my lifeline?"

"I'll borrow one of those spare dresses and share the pump with you,"
said Kettle.

Tazzuchi was visibly startled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that the pump will give air for two, and I'm co