“I bet the Nailer came and hid his loot out here on a moonlit night,” said Julian. “All the bearings can be seen so very clearly - even Tall Stone. We really must find out sometime what it is. It looks like a great stone pointer of some sort, put up in memory of something or somebody.”

“There’s One Chimney now,” said Anne, “We have got them all in view - we should be near our mark.”

“We are!” said Dick, pointing to a little dark bobbing thing nearby. “The cork and the box. How extremely clever we are! I really have a great admiration for the Five!”

“Idiot!” said Julian, “Go on, strip now, Dick - we’ll do our job straight away. Brrrrrrr! It’s cold!”

Both boys stripped quickly, putting their clothes into a neat pile in the middle of the raft. “Look after them, Anne,” said Julian. “Got the rope, Dick? Come on, then, in we go. We can’t see the boat now, the waters are so dark - but we know it’s just below the cork and the box!”

The boys dived in one after the other. Splash! Splash! They were both beautiful divers. The raft rocked as they plunged in and Timmy nearly went in too.

Julian had dived in first. He opened his eyes under the water and found that he could see the sunken boat just below him. With two strong strokes he reached it, and tugged at the waterproof bag there. Dick was beside him almost at once, the rope in his hands. The boys twisted it tightly round the top part of the bag.

Before they could finish the job they had to rise up to the surface to breathe. Dick couldn’t hold his breath under water as long as Julian and he was up first, gasping painfully. Then Julian shot up and the night was full of great, painful breaths, as the boys gasped in the air they longed for.

The girls knew better than to ask anything just then. They waited anxiously till the boys’ breathing grew easier. Julian turned and grinned at them.

“Everything’s all right!” he said. “Now - down we go again!”

Chapter Twenty-one

The sack at last!

Down went the boys again and once more the raft jerked violently. The girls peered anxiously over the edge, waiting for them to return.

Julian and Dick were down at the sunken boat in a matter of a second or two. They finished the task of tying the rope to the waterproof bag. Julian gave it a hard jerk, hoping to free it if it were wedged tightly into the boat. He took the rest of the rope length in his hands in order to take it up to the surface.

Then, bursting for breath again, the two boys shot up to the raft, popping out of the water with loud gasps. They climbed on board.

They took a minute to get their breath and then Dick and Julian took the rope together. The girls watched, their hearts beating fast. Now was the test! Would that waterproof sack come up - or not?