lied, "but there's no doubt that
it's possible. Several submarines have been sunk in the Great War, and
one or more of these might be fished up by wreckers. Being hermetically
sealed, no water would have got in, and their machinery would be as good
as ever, even if they had been lying under the water for some months. As
for crew--if the pay were big enough, there would be always enough
desperate fellows to be found to make the venture. Yes, that plan is
feasible enough. And, what's more, it would be hard to stop. Really, the
more you think of it, the more possible it seems. The only weakness is
the coaling."

"It seems to me," Eric said, "that if she could coal at sea, sink the
ship and tow the boats containing the crew within reach of land, she
would be pretty safe."

"Yes," his friend answered, "if she could stay at sea indefinitely until
treasure enough had been accumulated, I believe a submarine could get
away with it. There might be difficulty afterwards in getting rid of the
bullion and the jewels, but, after all, that's a different question. It
has nothing to do with the piracy."

Eric peered into the darkness, putting his hand over his eyes as though
to look intently.

"Pirate, ahoy!" he called softly. "Three points off the starboard bow!"

The young lieutenant of engineers laughed.

"You'll be dreaming of pirates in your next watch below," he said, as he
turned away, "or you'll be running up the skull and cross-bones instead
of the Stars and Stripes and we'll have to court-martial you."

"Little chance of that," replied the boy, "but maybe there'll be a
submarine pirate some day that we'll have a chance to chase. I'll live
in hopes!"

By a somewhat curious coincidence, a few days after this conversation,
the _Miami_ passed the Dry Tortugas, the old-time capital of that
Buccaneer Empire which for forty years held the navies of the entire
world at bay. It was a curious chapter in the history of the seas, and
Eric caught himself wondering whether the future of navigation held any
such surprising and adventurous period in store. He was to learn
shortly, however, that the Coast Guard was thoroughly fitted to meet
similar emergencies and that her naval powers could be made swiftly
operative even in times of peace.

As the cutter was proceeding to her station at Key West, she sighted a
schooner, which, by signal flags, reported that she had that morning
passed a bark flying the reversed ensign, with her yar