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Vanessa wanted to screaulator She wanted to give a swift kick with her flippers, burst up the few feet to the surface, leave the water and never co she had been fighting to do!

Maybe she had let it all play on herinto her life, and she wasn’t crazy at all, she was si that she could

The iurehead was probably some other minor clue that went into the fantastic computer of the human brain and manifested in an eerie manner

She had to believe that, and she had to follow the figurehead, because, so far, it had led her to a ht lead her to…

She couldn’t let it scare her She had to believe in a logical explanation

She kicked, and her body surged into the depths rather than surfacing

She was about fifty yards west of where she had found the locket She eased more air out of her BCV to settle on the botto structure of the wreck Jagged and beautiful coral rose to her right--the drop-off pitched to a hundred feet and then two hundred feet to her left

She began tofor There wasn’t a spark of light--the reflection of the sun on an object--or anything to suggest that she would make a find

She felt Sean come down near her, concerned--she had made a swift descent, but they were still no more than fifty feet down

He tapped her shoulder

She looked at hi sand

Her heart skipped a beat and thundered After severalhard

She turned She could see Sean’s eyes behind his ht his hand and brought it down to the sand

He felt what she felt He still frowned, but he see in the sand She carefully set the shoulder strap of the ca, as well

Whatever they had discovered, it was large A fair aht the It was about five feet by three, and appeared to go deeply into the sand With what they had--their hands--they weren’t going to be able to dig it out

Sean motioned to her that they needed to surface She nodded

He went up first on the dive ladder; she knew that he did so should she need help with the weight of her tank She was good, though, and seldom needed help, but she allowed him to steady her as she cli each other remove their tanks and vests

"I was about to come after you," she said sternly "David and Jay have been up--they’re in the cabin David was convinced you knew your air consu," Vanessa told Katie breathlessly

"What?" Katie asked

"Ah--so

"As in? A cannon? An anchor? A big fish?" Katie asked, exasperated

"I don’t know," Sean said He went over to the ice chest for water, brought out two and tossed one to Vanessa "We have to go back down I have two blowers I don’t know if it will be enough, but it will definitely help Whatever it is, it’s buried deep I honestly think it’s a treasure chest To the best of ht up many times, but treasure chests…I think only one or two have ever come up This is buried It’s like it sank into the sand, and because of that, it’s preserved It’s the right size, and it seems that it ood, covered in leather I believe the leather is disintegrating, but the chest is very solid Lead-lined ot to tell David" He paused, turned, took Vanessa’s cheeks between his hands and kissed her quickly on the lips

Katie stared with surprise

Sean, oblivious, headed for the cabin

Katie stared at Vanessa "I guess you two are getting along all right"

Vanessa nodded She felt so around, but no one was there Katie, watching her, looked guilty suddenly

"Is everything all right?" Katie asked

"Yes, of course This boat just gets…strange drafts, I guess," she said

Katie gasped suddenly "A treasure chest! Do you think he’s right?"

Vanessa shook her head "I don’t know It’s so in the sand"

"How did you knohere to dig in the sand?" Katie asked

"I don’t know So led you to thethat Katie wasn’t looking at her so probingly "I don’t know--I really don’t"

Katie nodded, frowning The threefrom the cabin "New tanks, all of us, and two blowers…if it’s heavy, we’re probably going to need some kind of winch and tackle," David said