Evening star., 1897-03-06
THE TREASURE FISHING.
By CUTLIFFB HYNF.
tCopyrslitetf ~ cutIine Hyne.)

Written for The Evening Star.
| fancy the two divers must have been
i'm II from the very first, and, indeed. I've
a strong notion the whole plot to steal the
treasure in the beginning theirs, and
theirs alone. ] cant be sure, but I've an
idea that Miss Bradbury came into the
business soon after we sailed from Liver
pool: and IL one may hazard a guess, it
was because Willie Cameron. the diver
with the black hair. fell I'm love with her
and let out the secret. However, i didn't
arrive at any of this till later: and if it
hadn't been 1ugged into the business by the
yeriest outside chance, it's my belief the
three of them would have walked off with
all the gold. and the salvage company would
never have seen so much as the bare color
of it,
There was distinct understanding be-
tween me and Capt. Boyd when / signed
on as third of the Cleaner that i was
only doing il as a personal obligation to
himself The berths OF second and chief
engineer had been filled; they wanted
man who wouldn't mind bearing a hand
If anything went wrong with the diving
tackle; and they couldn't have picked IL
better than myself. i was thoroughly we'll
grounded in the shops before ever / thought
of the sea: and. though L say it. few better
filters and all-around mechanics have ever
stood on the foot-platen of a steamboats,
TOOln- II II WASH tne DOarO OF
trade and their rotten examinations I'd
have been chief long ago; and with a chiefs
ticket in my pocket YOU may be sure I'd
have got the master hand over the whisky,
at any rate at sea. and in sight of any
that mattered ashore.
of course. il was a condeScension for a
man like me TO be third a bit of
steamboat like the Cleaner: but i was
drawing eight pounds a month, which was
the same as the second engineer got. and
Ill not deny I was In a manner forced into
taking the first berth that offered. I'd been
paid off from my last ship in Liverpool.
and I'd met friends who knew Ballindro-
chatter, where my father had been Free
Kirk minister. and we'd got a little noisy
and found trouble. The fat English brute
of a magistrate did give the option. but
1t took all the money lad left to pay my
self out
/ might even admit too that the bus
mess of the Cleaner he'd some attraction
for me. She was OF treasure fishing to
the Canaries: she was chartered by a
little comrany that called itself the s. S.
COrinth Salvage Association, and the work
for her er rgineers promised to be light. We
should steam down channel. through the
bay and down to the spot among the is
lands where the Corinth had been sunk
And where We should swing at anchor
whilst the boats went off with the divers
to do their work We should keep banked
fires in case an on-shOre breeze came, and
We had TO steam out, but as a general
thing there would be no watches for us
engineers and full pay going all the time
It'll be the softest job you've tumbled into
for many a long day. Mr.. McTodd." said
the old man when he offered me the berth
We shall be quite a family ship. There's
a big. large cabin. and we shall all mess
together-mates, engineers. divers and pas
sengers-with your chief at one end of the
table ami me at the other
Passengers" said /, Il thought this
d salvage job
They are coming just for a cruise; a
Mr. Kent and his wife and her sister, a
Miss Bradbury OF course, the Cleaner
hasn't got a passenger certificate, SO they
will have TO sign articles like the rest of
us 10 get to windward of the board of
trade The ladies will t,e stewardesses, and
Mr. Kent can take his choice between be-
ing doctor and fourth mate"
Are they interested in this salvage bus
iness2 -r
Not a bit" said Captain Boyd They're
people of means ami Miss Bradbury writes
novels. They pay for their grub and rooms
like they would en- regular packet.
They're just coming 20 see the diving and
get blow of sea air. and shouldn't won
der but what the young lady writes a book
about il when she gets home. So keep your
hair combed straight. Mr.. McTodd. It's a
pretty big affair. anyway. The Corinth
took down s210.Do worth of gold with her
when she foundered. She was a cape boat,
you know. coming home
Her propeller shaft broke, didn't IT,,
somewhere in the after end of the tun-
nel2'
That's the idea. Mac. There was a
breeze on at the time. and l suppose she
was racing badly And it ripped the stern
plating to smithereenS when IL went. OF
course. the sliding door TO the shaft tunnel
jammed when II was wanted, and so had
Just got 10 swamp. There no help for
ii. They'd half an hour to get clear in, and
the boats saved about two-thirds of her
people / guess the rest of the poor beg
Ears in her now. and an ugly sight
they'll be for the divers when they &c
down to try TO weigh that gold
The CAPTAIN had other business TO at
tend to then so I left him, but after We
got fairly started and had dropped oui
Mersey pilot al Point Lynas. there was In
formation about the work ahead for any
one who chose to listen. The talk was
upon nothing else. The three passengers
fairly bTimmed with II. They said treas
ure diving was so romantic
For myself. when | thought of those
dead bones guarding chests Of gold fal
down in the slime ana the weed and the
cold wash Of the sea, thought the bus.
iresS was merely grisSly. But then.
us--T did understand the ways of thost
writing people They would have SUITED
Iay father better. He. was a writer tina
every one who reads Will have heard of
L. was ne who wrote "Sixty-two Years il
RaL.udruchzter, by Il ScourSer of Sin
e4uu0: say. either that Miss Bradbury
w4S my .ira Jf :; wcruau who could write :
hook t. HeCiE with, she was young. ant
"a y-lOckiuE a lasSie as you could picl
tIrln. a tarer-f.orrs search in buchanan
street. Glasgow. Shed fine color to he
checks and hiE broWn eyes that fairly Ii
when she warmed u in her talk She Wa
rot small. Hut her white canvas shoe
would stand within the TIlm of my hand
] tr.eI that Cre day when the steward Wa
pi8ecl4yilS them. Shed guitar with he
o. board. and when GOT TO South acros
hay. ana the nights grew warm, she,
st out in the moonlight and sing He
uSic was nothing in my line. though; i
ytS all OF a fighty sort. but then it wa
2 p mad directly for my pleasure. Cam
exon was the man she sang for. and though
= t.rS; she disguised this, before We ros
tse Canary mountain above the sea line
was not shy of letting IL be seen by an,
one who chose TO look And Willie Cam
'rJn liked her IN return, and if ever / say
II. love ElDwed out OF the eyes OF those two
We werS fellow cOuntrymen. Camero
a-i 81 am Scotch myself and at one tim
sai another the pair OF put in a fairis
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