a glass of orange juice and rose. "Time's up.
Let's get back to the wreck."

Hobart Zircon asked, "Don't you want to take your camera, Rick?"

"Good idea." He hurried to get it. One of the frogmen had picked it up,
along with the rest of the equipment they had left behind.

The water had settled enough for thorough inspection of the entire aft
portion of the wreck. Rick and Scotty helped the frogmen poke into every
possible place without finding more than a pair of rusted cutlasses.

Rick surveyed the scene with discouragement. The statue was somewhere
under the sand, which probably meant they would never find it. He had
another sudden realization, too. They had no proof that this ship was
the _Maiden Hand_, no proof that the whole business wasn't just a
wild-goose chase.

By the time the dive was over, the sand hose had been rigged. The first
group surfaced and Jimmy ordered the fresh group of frogmen to hose out
the aft cabins to find anything that might be left. Then the group was
to start work on the probable location of the foredeck.

During the rest period, Rick told Jimmy about the other wreck they had
found, the modern ship that he guessed was a war casualty.

"We'll take a look at it first thing in the morning before we shove off
for St. Thomas," Jimmy promised. "You never know what you'll find in a
wreck. We've found a lot of things worth salvaging."

The boys were operating under Navy rules now. They put on fresh tanks
and got their instructions from Chief Sanders. "Longer decompression
this time. Stick with me on the way up and move when I move. We don't
want you to get the bends."

The boys nodded their understanding, then took to the water.

The frogmen below were still hosing sand. Water forced at high pressure
through the hose that ran down from the ship sent the stuff swirling in
great clouds. The boys watched. They couldn't do much looking around
until the water settled.

Then they saw that the frogmen weren't waiting. They swam into the murk,
feeling around with their hands. Rick saw one emerge triumphantly
holding a round object that could only have been a cannon ball.

He and Scotty plunged in, too. Working with the frogmen they rapidly
assembled a treasure trove of cannon, more cannon balls, cutlasses still
in good condition, and useless ship's gear.

Fifteen minutes later a frantic hooting brought them in a rush to where
Jonesy was holding something. Zircon and Tony got there at the