Pluck and Luck #139: Jack Wright and His Deep Sea Monitor — page 19: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

of fish and curious-looking shells, with which the bt etsazor loaded himself, '. The jiast door brought them into a courtyard in the center of the building, and the three divers paused and gave utterance to cries of the utmost astonishment. For there in the middle of the place stood the golden idol! It was a strange-looking object in the shape of a man squat- ting, and a face resembling that of the Sphinx; its great star- ing eyes,,made of two enormous diamonds, and the precious metal of which it was composed turned almost black by the - water. ‘ It was enmeshed in a mass of aquatic plants, covered with barnacles and shells, and a most hideous object to behold, yet its body was the purest gold, and the blazing gleam from iis diamond eyes outrivaled the glitter of the finest known gems. The three friends were so amazed at the strange sight that it was some time before they could speak; but Jack finally found utterance, and exclaimed: “The golden idol, by heaven! ” “Hurrah!” yelled Hopkins, delightedly, as he rushed up to it. : “J. vhas yust goin’ ter say dot mineselluf,” towing him. Upon close inspection they found that the idel was all that Hopkins had represented, and as soon as the first excitement wore away, Jack said: _ “We must shift the monitor into this courtyard in order to get that thing upon her deck, for, we can’t afford to lose any Said Fritz, fol- time, as there are others searching for this treasure.” “Den you shtay here, vonct, und I vhas dell Dim ter prought her in,” said Fritz, starting to go off. “Ve can get down troo der roof, ’cause der vasn’t some roof on der dop of dis place, ; -alretty.” And so saying, he started off.’ , Within five minutes the monitor came gliding through the water overhead; with Fritz on deck and Tim in the pilot- house, Settling down into the courtyard near the stone pedestal upon which the statue sat, the boat came toa pause. Fritz was just about to descend and join Jack and the pro- fessor, when suddenly two dark bodies came shooting to the bottom from the surface of the water, and landed near - Jack. Very much startied, our friends flashed the lights of their lamps upon them, when they were amazed to see that they were two men in ordinary diver’s costumes. The strangers were as much surprised to see the boat, Jack E S“and his friends there as they, were to see them, and as - they recoiled side by side, their glances fell upon the idol. Instinctively one of them pointed at it. as ‘The other nodded, and began to speak in the deaf and dumb alphabet. | Jack was keenly ‘watching the strangers, and being familiar with the spelled language they used, he easily understood all a they said, and observed that the diver implied:. “There stands the idol; but we will have to fight for it! ” The next moment one of the divers approached Jack. ; i 4 CHAPTER XIV. A RAIN OF DIVERS. on treasure, i | win that ease there was bound’ to be trouble, Shs It did not take the boy inventor more than a moment to = realize that if the strangers once went to the surface the people upon the schooner would discover that they had found Vinee Ee “But what can we aa “about it, dear carer "blankly. as to Hopkins. | ! “Prevent them from going up to their boat. and apprising Ae their friends.” “What! make prisoners of them?” 5 “Precisely. We can keep them secured on board. the mon- zh itor, “Oh, they can’t do us any harm.” “Perhaps not; but they can annoy us a good deal.” / By this time the diver who was approaching paused within a few feet of Jack and penne “hard ae him for a moment, without air-tubes and life lines, suchas cnatia with whi 7 were furnished he asec ‘hail up diver.” © i Moy “They are going | tos four nulls on their air-pipes, signifying ° “Go for them, professor!” cried Jack. ascend!” -* De The two men at that moment were being hauled up, bul _ Jack and Hopkins reached them just in time to grab ok . legs. . . Both men, very much amazed, began to struggle and fek but Jack and the professor held on tenaciously, and, strainis Q every effort, pulled them down to the bottom again, as but oO man was hoisting them above. sf Here the fight was continued, the strangers now Y arawh knives from their belts, with which they strove to stab friends. ss 2! The man Jack grappled was the biggest of the two, and made a dig’ at the boy’s throat, but the point of his bla broke against the hard aluminum suit, and left him utterly | Lenaclone. ge vey Ra Ae let him go and recoiled a step, afraid the blade x m ae 1b penetrate his suit. . ee No sooner was the man released than up he shot ‘eae surface alongside of the Sea Serpent, and he might have caped our friends, had not Fritz made a jump and caught 1 ne Clinging to his ankles, the fat Dutch boy’s weight bore hi i down to the bottom again, and the next moment Fritz cut t man’s life line, and the professor came to his assistance. They cut a piece from the life line and bound the ii then hastened over to Jack, who was struggling wane other diver. having severed his life line, “thes carried them both up on shee Sea Serpent. Peer ght = Getting them down into the water chamber, Jack cut their air-pipes, and then hastily dragged them into the boat, | | Considerable water was shipped during this. operation, it was quickly pumped out, and the half-s trangled — were revived, after which they were bound hand and fo | “Didn’t you come from the schooner up on the surfac 627 asked Jack. eee “We did,” replied one of the men, viewing his surround in ee ‘ Jack. a * “He purchased the schooner in New Orleans, ‘fit with a number of experienced wrecking divers, if here > under the change of one of his tienda to Joe ite t cc | > hse oe naka