te leader who had
come into prominence about two years ago during Senate investigations of
racketeering. In three days Camillion had become a television
personality, of sorts, when it became clear that he apparently was
responsible for a number of murders and a thousand lesser crimes,
although he himself had not done the actual killings. There was
insufficient evidence to jail him, but enough to deport him. He dropped
out of sight while his lawyers were fighting the deportation
proceedings. Now he had shown up again, on the Eastern Shore.

"A crime syndicate chief, a crooked scientist, flying stingarees, an old
mansion, a peculiar antenna, and a missing crabber. What does it add up
to?" Rick demanded.

Scotty shrugged. He didn't answer. There was no answer--yet.

CHAPTER XI

On the Bottom

There were three wooden cases stored in the full-length closet in the
houseboat cabin. Rick and Scotty took the two bulkiest to the cockpit
and opened them to disclose full skin-diving equipment. The boys had
made the cases themselves, to be carried like suitcases. Each held a
single air tank, regulator, mask, fins, snorkel, underwater watch, depth
gauge, weight belt, equipment belt, and knife. The third case contained
spears and spear guns, but they wouldn't need those in searching for the
object that had splashed near the houseboat.

While Rick checked the equipment, made sure there was sufficient air in
the tanks, and put on the regulators, Scotty searched for a heavy stake
and something with which to drive it. He found a sledge hammer in
Steve's workshop. At the edge of the woods was a pile of saplings that
had been cut to make a fence. He chose a sapling that would serve as a
stake and took it back to the boat.

One of the spare lines that the houseboat carried was quarter-inch
nylon. Scotty fastened one end of the small rope to the sapling, about
halfway up, and secured it with a timber hitch. Then he wound the rope
on the sapling as smoothly as possible.

Rick finished checking the equipment and announced that he was ready.

"Same here," Scotty replied. "Let's get into swim trunks."

As the two changed, Rick asked, "Suppose we find something, but can't
get it up without help? How do we mark the place?"

Scotty paused. Normally they would simply attach a line to a float and
secure the float to the object. But a float would attract attention.
"Take bearings?"

Rick shook his head. "The boat will be swinging