instantly that they
were in what had been for those days a large cabin. This must have been
the skipper's quarters. His light picked out the remains of furniture,
including one massive chair that was still in good condition.

Scotty gestured with his light and Rick saw an oaken door. He swam over
to it and inspected it closely. It was still firm, still in place. Where
did it lead?

There was only one way to find out. He took hold of the old-fashioned
handle and pulled. The door didn't budge. Rick tried again and failed.
He swung himself around and put both feet on the wall next to the door,
then applied leverage.

The handle came completely off. Rick sailed backward across the cabin
and his tank rang like a bell as it struck something metallic. Scotty
hurried to his side, and Rick gestured that he was all right. They
turned to inspect the object against which Rick had hurtled and found
that it was the still-sound strap for a beam, probably made of wrought
iron.

Rick took his belt slate and wrote, "Whre wld he hide it?"

Scotty read it with his light, then shrugged. They began a methodical
inspection of the cabin, surprised that it was so clear of marine life.
Rick surmised that the opening had developed only recently, perhaps from
the shifting of the ship. They found a closet and a heap of what had
once been clothes on its floor. Then Scotty made the big discovery of
the day. He reached into a shelf space above the bunk, hand exploring,
and touched something hard. He drew it out. It looked like a
green-covered bundle about a foot long and two inches thick. But before
he had a chance to inspect it further, his air gave out and both boys
hurried to the surface on their reserves.

Aboard the _Water Witch_ they shed their equipment and sat down to
inspect Scotty's find. The covering proved to be layer after layer of
oilcloth, wrapped around the object. The outer layers had deteriorated
somewhat, but the inner ones were intact.

Scotty finished unwrapping and found a second wrapping of still-dry
linen. He pulled the linen off, and both boys gasped. It was a jeweled
dagger, with a good-sized ruby winking in its hilt!

"Take it out of the sheath," Rick suggested.

Scotty did so, and disclosed a blade covered with some hard brown
substance. "That's not rust. Got a jackknife?"

Rick found one and handed it to him. Scotty scraped and was rewarded by
the gleam of bright metal.

"It must have been coated with heavy