In quick phrases and with vivid description Grenville Ford sketched forhim his plan to search for the treasure in the Southern Queen.
"Crazy John thinks the old ship went down in about two hundred feet ofwater; just ripped its bottom out on the reef, rolled off and droppedinto a deep hole beside the reef. Diving conditions may be bad so I'mgoing to take a submarine. There will be a special diving compartmentso the sub can be taken down to the bottom beside the Southern Queenand the divers can walk right out and hunt for the gold."
"Where can you get a submarine?" asked Tim.
"That's not difficult," smiled Ford. "The government had todecommission two big ones this summer on account of the last Londonnaval treaty. I took an option on one of them and as soon as I can getto a telegraph office I'm going to buy it. As soon as it is refittedand I can get a trustworthy crew together I'll start for the coast ofYucatan."
"Will one of those old government submarines be safe?"
"The type being decommissioned is one of the finest ever built; sturdy,lots of room for a submarine, and capable of descending to about twohundred forty feet without too much danger. Oh, you'll get plenty ofmaterial for stories that should please your editor."
They talked at length of plans for the trip, but finally fatigue closedtheir lips and they rolled into their blankets.
They were up at dawn, breakfasted quickly, and started upstream forAuburn.
"We're likely to have a little trouble with Sladek and his crowd beforewe get out of the valley," said Ford. "When he is unable to find CrazyJohn he'll start trailing me."
"When we reach Auburn we'll be safe. The Jupiter is faster thanSladek's amphibian."
"If he overtakes us before we reach the village, we'll be in for it."
They chugged steadily up the broad Cedar, the other boat in tow behindthem.
Less than five miles below the village the sound of the amphibian'sengines echoed over the valley and they turned to see the big shipwinging swiftly toward them.
"Here comes trouble," cried Ford. "We'd better hit for a bayou where wecan find some shelter."
Tim opened the throttle of the outboard wide and swung the nose of theboat sharply to the left. The amphibian was coming fast. It was goingto be close. Little spurts of water rose near them. Sladek or someoneelse on the plane was shooting at them.
"Duck!" shouted Ford as the plane roared over them.
"That was close," said Tim, pointing to the bottom of the boat wherewater was spurting through a half dozen holes.
"Get under the shelter of the trees. We'll exchange boats."
Tim shut off the outboard and they drifted under the dense foliage ofthe river bank. They pulled the other boat alongside and jumped intoit. Tim glanced in the gas tank. There was plenty of fuel to finish therun to Auburn.
The amphibian was circling overhead, hunting for the prey which now wassheltered by the trees.
"What'll we do, wait here or try to slip along the bank?" asked Tim.
"Waiting here won't do much good. We'll nose along shore and see if wecan't give them the slip."
Tim snapped the rope on the outboard and they churned ahead again,keeping as close to the trees as possible and threading their way alonga bayou which paralleled the river. For a few minutes they were incomparative safety. Then an open stretch of the river loomed ahead andthe amphibian swept down on them.
"Sladek's going to land on the river," said Ford. "We'll have to duckback into the shelter of the bayou."
"We can switch boats," suggested Tim. "I'll stay in the one with theholes and you may be able to slip away in this one."
Ford shook his head.
"Well, hardly. This is my party and I won't let you face Sladek and hisgang alone."
The amphibian, now a mile up the river, was settling down to land. Thebig ship skimmed the surface of the water, there were sheets of spray,and it glided swiftly toward them.
Above the thrumming of the amphibian's motors came a sharper sound andTim looked skyward. Then he grabbed Ford's arm.
"Here comes Ralph in the Jupiter. Now we'll see some action."
Dropping fast, the cream and green biplane roared down like an avengingbird. Ralph levelled off about twenty feet above the river and spedtoward the amphibian. Tim saw something sticking over the side of thebiplane. It looked like a gun but the distance was too great and thespeed too fast to make sure.
The men aboard the amphibian were caught unawares. The big craft sloweddown and seemed to hesitate as the pilot waited for orders from Sladek.
Ralph whipped the Jupiter over the amphibian and Tim saw the splatterof shot on the water. The biplane shot upward and around in a tightbank and came back at the clumsier plane, which again was showing signsof life.
The motors of the amphibian thundered mightily. The big ship shook itswings and lunged ahead, slithers of spray shooting out from its slide.
Overhead hummed the Jupiter and Tim could see now that Ralph wasshooting at the larger plane. As the amphibian took off, Ralph circledover them and Tim saw his flying companion wave.
"Ralph will keep Sladek busy for a few minutes," he told Ford. "We'dbetter get to Auburn as soon as possible."
While Ralph in the Jupiter chased the slower amphibian all over thevalley, Tim and Ford sped up the river as fast as the outboard motorcould chug.
"That was a timely arrival on the part of your friend," grinned Ford.
"It wasn't altogether accidental," replied Tim. "I was afraid oftrouble and Ralph remained at Auburn with the ship all tuned up andready to go at the slightest hint that I was in a jam."
"He seems to be a mighty good flyer."
"He's ace high and a fine reporter on top of that."
"Then we'd better take him along on the treasure hunt."
"He'd be a fine addition to your crew but I'm afraid the managingeditor will say thumbs down on that suggestion. One of us has to bewithin call. That's why we seldom have a vacation together."
"I expect you're right," said Ford, "but nevertheless I'd like to havea fellow with his nerve. I know that Sladek will follow me into theCaribbean and it's going to be a fight every step of the way to findthe Southern Queen and then to get the treasure up. It won't be safeuntil we get back to New York and place it in bank vaults."
"Then you expect Sladek to trail you all the way?"
"There's no question about it. With at least a cool million in gold atstake, he'll stop at nothing to get his hands on it and he seems tohave plenty of money. Then there's a little personal bitterness betweenus that dates clear back to the trouble in Guato in 1923."
"All of which means a mighty unusual trip," added Tim.
They reached the landing stage at Auburn without further trouble andFord explained briefly that they had had an accident with the otherboat. He gave the boatman directions where he could find his craft andpaid liberally for the damages.
"We'll hike out to the pasture we use for a landing field when we stophere," said Tim.
Several cows were grazing almost in the center of the pasture and Timand Ford ran to chase them into a far corner as Ralph dropped down to afast landing. He killed his speed quickly, whipped around and rolledthe plane over toward them.
"Hop in," he shouted. "I don't think that amphib has any love for me."
Tim and Ford piled into the front cockpit and Ralph opened thethrottle. There was no wind and he took off straight across the pasturejust as the amphibian roared over Auburn.
The Jupiter was a good 40 miles an hour faster than the big ship andRalph waved his fingers derisively at the amphibian as he lined thebiplane away for Auburn.