The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-09

ture. why, they dived down and cut
off her masts below water level. They
, Just thought they were going to have
the skimming of that wreck them
selves. No wonder we couldn't pick
her up
Cute beggars,'' said Kettle.
1--WE begged a pilot. If he takes us
there straight he gets backsheesh. L
think" said Captain TazZuchi, with a
wide smile, that he'll take us there
the quickest road
Shouldn't wonder said Kettle.
But don't be surprised if his friends
come around and make things ugly"
Let them come. We were ready for
! this sort of entertainment when we
sailed. If there is any trouble we shall
shoot, and if we begin that game we
shall just imagine they are Abyssini-
ans, and shoot to kill
Under the black captive's guidance
the salvage steamer soon put term
to her search. For two more hours
she threaded her way amongst surf
which broke over unseen reefs and
swung around the capes of a rocky
archipelago; and then the pilot gave
his word and the engines were stopped,
and rusty cable roared out till an
anchor had got hold of the ground. A
boat was lowered away. with air-pump
with eager hands assisted the diver to
make his toilet.
Your chaps seem keen enough" said
Kettle, as he watched the trail of air
bubbles which showed the mans prog
ress on the sea floor below.
'"They have each got stake in the
venture
Il bet they have" was Kettles grim
comment to himself
The lxi1nanaI skinner, of dboHHr
it seemed, had done his pilotage with
a fine accuracy. The salvage steamer
had been anchored in a good position,
and between them two divers in two
boats found the Grecians wreck in half
an hour.
They came up to the air for a quar-
ter of an hours spell, and made their
announcement, and then the copper he'll
NETS were clapped into place again, and
once more they faded away into the
DEPTHS. A Sabble of excited Italians
kept pace to the turning of the air
pumps, and of that language Kettle
knew barely a score of words. prac-
tically thee people might have weaved
any kind of a plot noisily and under his
very nose without his being any the
wiser and this possibility did little to
quell his suspicious.
But still TazZuchi was all outward
frankneSs. It's as well we brought out
this little steamboat just to skim the
wreck and survey her" he said. of
they'd waited to fit out a big salvage
expedition to raise her straight off. |
reckon there wouldn't have been much
left but iron plates and coal bunkers.
These Red sea niggers are pretty useful
at loOting, once they start. The beg
gars can dive pretty nearly as well and
as long in their naked skins as their
betters can in a proper diving suit"
Each time the divers came dp from
the opaque white water they brought
more reports. Binnacles, whistle, wheels
and all movable deck fittings were
gone already. The charthouse had been
looted down to the bare boards.
Hatches were off both forward ana aft,
and already the cargo had begun to di-
minish. The black men of the district
had been making good use of their
tine.
News came from tho cool, mysterious
water to Tie baking region of air ABOVE
almost at the second hour r. the search
that the Grecian could never he re-
foated. In addition tc the holes all
ready made in two OF her CUm0art-
ments, she had settled on q sharp lag
of rock, W inch had pierced her in
third place aft. This one piece of rock
was the Only solid spot i'll the neisth-
bortood. all the rest Of the sea floor
was pulpy White clay, ana in this the
unfortunate wreck had settled, Ill al
ready 1t was flush with her lower decks.
There were evidences, too, that the
ooze was creeping higher every day so
that all that remained was to strip her
as quickly as possible before she was
swallowed up.
Tazzuchi asked Captain Kettle for his
opinion that night in the charthouse.
Tn to be guided by you, of course
he said, but my idea is that we should
go for the specie first thing. and let
everything else slide till that's snugly