saw the hull of the boat, propellers barely turning, and knew that
Zircon was holding position overhead.

They broke water off the side of the _Water Witch_, and Rick waited
until Scotty hailed the scientists. "We found a wreck, but it's a steel
ship."

"Come aboard!" Tony called, and helped them up the ladder when they
complied. The tanks were cumbersome when out of the water.

"It's a fish paradise!" Rick said excitedly. "I'm going to get my camera
working and take some pictures. You've got to go down and look, both of
you."

"How did you spot it?" Zircon asked.

"Scotty did. I thought it was a rock formation and went over it, but
Scotty dropped off."

"I saw curled plate," Scotty answered. "I knew it wasn't the _Maiden
Hand_, with steel sides, but I didn't think we'd want to pass up a
wreck."

"You were so right," Rick agreed, grinning.

A check of their tanks with the gauge showed that only about five
minutes diving time remained at the twenty-fathom depth, so the
regulators were transferred to spare tanks. Tony and Zircon, already in
trunks, donned diving gear and followed Scotty's line to the bottom. The
boys waited impatiently, Scotty taking the helm to hold the boat in
place.

Ten minutes later the scientists surfaced, and Rick helped them aboard.
Tony removed his mask and grinned. "It's as wonderful as you said it
was."

"What kind of ship was it?" Rick asked.

Tony had been a destroyer skipper during the war and he knew ships.

"Probably an interisland cargo carrier of some kind. At any rate, it
appears to be a small cargo ship. It's so overgrown with marine growth
that the shape is cluttered. It might have been a small tanker."

"We can explore it from stem to stern," Rick suggested excitedly.

Scotty joined them and commented, "But not right now. We'll have to go
ashore and charge the tanks. There may be time for one more dive this
afternoon if we hurry."

"Besides," Hobart Zircon said with a smile, "I'm hungry. As you say,
Rick, diving certainly develops the appetite!"

They docked, and Tony and Zircon went off to see about preparing
sandwiches. The boys decided that rather than carry the tanks back and
forth from the pier to the shed, it would be more sensible to bring
their small, portable gas-driven compressor to the pier.

Scotty went after it while Rick tied the tanks to the afterrail of the
_Water Witch_, in position for filling.

A yell from Scotty stopped him. He looked up an