this consisted of heaps of rich jewels and precious stones.

there was a mighty fortune in these alone. they were eagerly examined by the explorers.

the pirates’ treasure was certainly a magnificent one.

the find far exceeded the most sanguine expectations of any who were in the party, particularly prof. von bulow.

“it is beyond belief,” declared the scientist. “i cannot believe but that i am dreaming.”

“no,” declared captain bell; “it is a reality. if you don’t believe me, professor, allow me to punch you.”

“i will accept the fact and forego that test,” declared prof. von bulow. “but what shall we do with it?”

“what?”

“the treasure.”

“take it aboard the submarine boat, of course; then we can return home as princes and roll in wealth all the rest of our lives.”

captain bell’s eyes shone like stars.

it was evident that he set more by the treasure than the others. frank was wealthy, anyway, and von bulow was well-to-do.

captain bell, on the other hand, was poor, which explained all.

but before engaging in the transportation of the treasure to the dart, it was decided to carry the examination of the ship further.

this was done, and from one end to the other it was ransacked.

but nothing more of value was found.

at least nothing which could be transported. in the lower hold were discovered many casks of rich wine. but it could not, of course, even be removed.

so the party finally returned to the treasure chamber.

they took as much of the coin with them as they could carry, and started to return to the dart.

it was their intention to return later and make regular trips, until it had been all transported aboard the dart.

leaving the sunken pirate they had soon reached the dart.

going aboard, they were met by barney and pomp.

the two jokers were wildly enthusiastic over the find.

“begorra, it’ll make the whole av us millionaires,” cried barney. “shure, i’ll wear a diamond in me shirt now as big as a cart wheel!”

“i done fink dis chile git married!” declared pomp.

“married!” declared barney. “shure, is it a mormon yez are? phwat’s the matther wid yer prisint woife?”

“she jes’ don’ agree to agree wif me!” declared pomp, succinctly. “and the only point we’s sartain sure agreed on is not to agree fo’ to lib togedder any more.”

“oh, yez have a divorce, eh?”

pomp looked scornful.

“wha’ fo’ i want a divorce?” he retorted. “don’ yo’ fink cullud people am mo’ ’spectable dan dat?”

“but, begorra, the law wud make yez support her!”

“golly, i don’ beliebe it. dis chile hab got all he kin do to support hisse’f. no, sah! i jist go down to kyarline an’ i find jes’ de most likely cullud gal i kin find dar. den i say: chloe, yo’ jes’ hitch hosses wif dis chile an’ i make yo’ wear diamonds. see! lor’ sakes, chile! money catch de best ob dem!”

“begorra, it’s a bigamist ye’d be!” declared barney, contemptuously. “if yez do that, naygur, i’ll cut yez acquaintance.”

“suit yo’sef, sah,” declared pomp; “but atween yo’ an’ me, i don’ beliebe eider one ob us will leabe marse frank right away.”

“yez are roight there,” cried barney. “shure, we’ll sthick to misther frank, for all av the foine gold.”

plans were at once made to transport the treasure to the dart.

but an incident now transpired to put a stop to the entire project. this happening was a most startling and unlooked for one.

suddenly the dart received a shock which seemed to fairly hoist it a dozen feet from the bottom of the sea.

everybody on board were thrown from their feet.

then followed a distant rumble and a vibrating motion which lasted for full a minute.

in some way the shock had disconnected the lever, and the electric lights were extinguished.

all was darkness aboard the submarine boat.

for a few moments a literal panic reigned.

frank reade, jr., was the first to recover.

he ran into the pilot-house and quickly produced light. by this time the others had recovered.

“for the love of heaven! what has happened?” gasped von bulow.

“we have been run into by a whale!” averred captain bell.

but frank shook his head.

“no,” he said; “it is worse than that!”

the young inventor knew well enough what the trouble was.

“well, what was it?” asked von bulow, rubbing his bruised shins.

“an earthquake,” replied frank, calmly.

“an earthquake?”

“yes.”

“mercy on us! is it possible?”

“you shall see.”

frank quickly repaired the slight damage to the electric light apparatus. then he turned on the searchlight.

the region about was plainly illuminated, and it was seen that a great change had taken place in the bed of the ocean.

in places it had been upheaved by the mighty forces of nature, and vast ravines were created.

all gazed in the direction of the treasure ship, and gave a start of surprise and dismay.

“my goodness! what has become of it?” asked von bulow.

captain bell looked aghast.

“it has gone!”

“disappeared!”

“not a trace remains.”

this was true.

the vestal virgin had vanished as completely as if transported bodily to another sphere. only a mound of sand remained where it had been.

“great jericho!” exclaimed captain bell, in horror. “what has become of it?”

“golly, i done fink dat it hab been blowed to pieces!” declared pomp.

“bejabers, maybe it’s buried!” said barney, at a venture.

“yes,” replied frank. “it has been buried by the earthquake. no doubt the great revulsion of nature’s forces has covered it many feet deep with sand.”

“and the treasure ——” began von bulow.

“is gone!” groaned bell.

for a time there was a painful silence.

all stood looking at each other with dismay depicted upon their faces. bell was now completely disgusted.

“it’s only a sample of my dad-gasted luck,” he declared. “every time i get a fortune within my grasp it is whisked away.”

“hard luck,” said frank.

“perhaps we can dig down to the wreck,” ventured von bulow.

but frank shook his head.

“i’m afraid the pirates’ gold will never do any human being any good,” he declared. “it’s buried forever.”

captain bell was completely overwhelmed.

he was so confident from the first of reclaiming the treasure, that it was a terrible disappointment.

but frank said, cheerily:

“don’t get downcast, captain. perhaps we may find another treasure ship somewhere in the atlantic valley.”

bell’s face brightened.

“do you think so?” he asked.

“it is not at all impossible.”

but the captain shook his head.

“if we do,” he said, “i would have no just claim upon it. it would be yours.”

“you shall have your share,” replied frank; “so cheer up, man.”

the captain became a little more cheerful. von bulow, on the whole, did not care greatly.

but frank yielded to bell’s desire to first inspect the spot where the pirate ship was buried.

there was a lingering hope in the captain’s mind that the treasure might yet be reached.

so frank and bell put on diving suits and went out to examine the locality.

the work accomplished by the earthquake was marvelous.

it seemed as if the whole bed of the ocean had undergone a transformation.

great hills and ridges were raised, deep valleys created, and countless forms of fish and marine life lay dead upon the white sands.

truly, it had been a terrible action of nature’s forces. the vestal virgin had seemed to literally sink into the shifting sands which now were high over her.

it was a wonder that the dart had not been buried also.

but she had rested upon a more rocky and solid foundation.

bell was wholly satisfied that the treasure could never be recovered.

“i give it up,” he declared. “let us go back.”

they were soon aboard the dart again. frank took his bearings as well as he could. he was not exactly sure whether he was half way through the valley or not.

it was, however, decided to go on and explore the valley thoroughly. then they would make for the english channel and pay a visit to london and the thames.

the spirits of all revived greatly.

the dart once more shot forward on her way. a good outlook was kept for sunken vessels.

“we will search every one of them we find,” declared frank. “there certainly are vast treasures under the sea, and we are not brilliant if we do not find them.”

this revived bell’s hopes greatly, and he was once more glib and gay.

for miles, however, the dart now sailed on over unknown depths into which it was not safe to descend.

these were the lowermost depths of the great deep where the pressure would be so great that a huge ship sunken there would be crushed into a shapeless mass.

but it was not likely that many interesting things would be found down there even if the dart was able to go.

so none were much disappointed.

the sea soon began to change again.

the water seemed a peculiar olive tint, and frank, who had studied the phenomena, said:

“we are coming to a submarine forest. you shall see.”

his prediction proved correct.

soon the tops of trees were seen far below. at least they looked like trees, with branches, foliage and all, but frank said:

“it is a queer coral formation. a very common mistake is made by divers who consider them petrified.”

von bulow was deeply interested in the submarine forest.

but soon a new scene spread before their view.

it was such a scene as none of them had ever seen before.

one and all gave expression to startled cries of interest and wonderment, and frank slackened speed.