It was the doctor’s tobacco pouch and pipe.
“Bless you, my boy. Missing my pipe was the worst torture I endured during my entire captivity.”
“You people up there still interested in a metal box?” It was the diver. “Think this could be it?”
The Hawaiian diver held an oblong object above his head. Biff leaned over the side and took it from his hands. It was encrusted with barnacles, bits of shell, and slimy green seaweed.
It was a metal box. Biff handed it to his father.
“Get a screwdriver, Biff. We’ll have to pry the lid open.”
Everyone watched tensely as Thomas Brewster worked the screwdriver under the lid of the box. A small lock held it shut. Finally, the lid sprang open. Inside was a loose, dust-like substance, hardened in spots where sea water had leaked in. There was also a damp piece of paper.
“This is it. It’s got to be. Take a look, Dr. Weber.”
The doctor dipped his hand in the box. He fingered the powdery substance. He nodded his head.
“I can’t tell how this will run yet. I will have to test it. But ... well, I think we’ve really got something here.”
Thomas Brewster and Biff were pouring over the map.
“The field’s well marked. Won’t be any trouble locating it if this sample proves out to be high grade.”
“Young man, could you fly me back to Honolulu?”
“Well, Tom. I’d like to get back to my hotel. All my equipment is there. I can test this sample immediately. I want to. Is it all right with you, Henry, if I steal your plane and pilot?”
“Certainly, doctor. We’ll all go back to Hilo by boat.”
“Well then, when you get there, look for a message from me. I’ll have run my tests long before you can get back by boat. Then I’m off. I’m due at an international scientific convention in Switzerland early next week. I’ll have to leave Honolulu before you get back.”
The doctor shook hands all around. His last words to the group were:
Biff grinned in reply. It was hard to believe that this was the same old man who had been carried aboard not long ago.
The doctor boarded the plane, and in five minutes it was out of sight, winging its way to Hawaii.
Tom Brewster took the tiller of the _Easy Action_. Li was at the anchor winch, Biff at the mainmast, and Hank Mahenili at the mizzen.
“Hoist away,” Tom Brewster sang out as he felt the anchor pull free.