CHAPTER IV

THE REVELATION

At five minutes to nine o'clock, Bobby turned into Museum Street.

Looking at his watch and finding himself five minutes too early, he walked up and down the street opposite Behrens' shop. He was just about to cross when the side door opened, and a tall, black-bearded man came out, followed to the door-step by Behrens himself.

"Well, good-night, Visconti," said Behrens.

Bobby crossed over, and Behrens, who was just going in again, held the door open for him to enter.

"You are to the moment," said the old fellow. "A minute earlier and you would have been too early, and a minute later I would have had to come down to open for you. My servant is out. Come up."

He closed the door and led the way upstairs to a sitting-room on the first floor.

An astonishing place, considering that it was Behrens', for here was nothing that hinted of antiquity. Big saddle-bag easy chairs, an Axminster carpet, pictures of the modern French school on the walls, a centre table with an open tantalus case, a soda syphon and a big tin of cigarettes, a side table with a coffee apparatus and cups. An astonishing place.

"Sit down," said Behrens. "Put your hat on the table, make yourself comfortable. You will have coffee? That is right. I will make you the coffee. It is Bourbon coffee; fools drink Mocha. Take a cigarette. And how do you like my apartment? Bourgeois, isn't it? Well, trust me, the bourgeois knows. Stattenheimer of Bond Street--and I beat him last week at the Clement sale, as you might have seen in the papers, only young men don't read the art news in the papers--Well, Stattenheimer, he lives in Chelsea, in a Jacobean house, where there is no chair you can sit on with comfort, no pictures; he said my apartment was bourgeois. 'Very well,' said I, 'I am an old bourgeois who takes an interest in art as a business and a science, that is all I am. My shop is my art gallery, and I keep my eye fresh by looking at modern things in my home. I don't sit on my antiques, I sell them.' Here's your coffee."

He handed the cup and took his seat in an arm-chair opposite to his guest, took off his glasses, wiped them with a silk handkerchief, and then lit a cigar.

Bobby noticed that everything this old gentleman did, even to the wiping of his glasses, was done with care and particularity, and apparently to the exclusion from his mind of all other matters whatsoever. The cigar-lighting took him a full half-minute. When it was accomplished he leaned back in his chair and started to talk.

"Did you see that man I was letting out? Well, he's my agent in Italy. He's going back to Rome to-morrow. He's a pig-headed fellow. Only for that he might have taken up this business I am going to tell you about to-night, but he refused it. I went to the trouble of going into the whole of the plans with him, and he had the impudence to tell me that it would be a waste of time, that there was nothing in it. Told that to me, Jacob Behrens, who knew all about time and how not to waste it before he was born. I did not press the matter with him to-night. I had you in mind. You are younger than he is, for one thing. Also you are an Englishman, and all Englishmen love the sea."

"Oh, it's a sea job?" said Bobby.

"Yes, it's a sea job," said the old man with a little chuckle. "Very much so. A contest with Poseidon which I wish to engage you in. I do not ask if you are a sailor or used to ship matters. If we come to terms, we will engage the crew you will require for this matter. What I do want is a man I can trust, a young man full of life, and an Englishman. What made me ever think of an Italian for this business I don't know."

"Well, I believe you can trust me," said Bobby. "But why do you want an Englishman, especially?"

"Go and ask the gods who made the Great War," said the other. "It is the British who do things, even impossible things. Well, I didn't ask you to call to-night to talk of the British, but of our friend Poseidon and the little matter between myself and him. My son was a naval officer. I'm a naturalised Jew, and Isaac, my son, was swept into the net of the Great War. He was in the submarine service, employed in the Mediterranean, and out there, almost as the last gun was fired, he died of enteric fever. You can't imagine what that meant to me; you are too young to imagine the grief of a father for the loss of his only son, and may you never know it. But there it is: he died.

"Six months before his death he sent me a most interesting communication and a plan, which we would have worked out together had he lived.

"Do you know the Greek Islands?"

Behrens rose and went to a bureau near the door, from which he produced a map.

"Here they are, right from 40 degrees to 36 degrees, from Giura to Christiana. Look at them and the way they are spread like a net across the mouth of the Ægean and the road to Constantinople. You can fancy how useful they were in the war as lurking places for submarines. Isaac's boat used to hunt round from Milo to Andros and the mouth of the channel between Negroport and the mainland. Now look here, look at this small island Polykandros, and this dot south of Polykandros which is not named on the map, but the name of which is Hyalos. Well, some time before he died Isaac's boat was ordered south to lie in wait for an enemy ship, and it anchored in a quiet little bay on the north of Hyalos.

"Hyalos is a high island, uninhabited, and consisting mainly of rock. A man was sent ashore to keep watch, and one day, having nothing better to do, Isaac and a couple of his fellow-officers put off in a small boat to fish in the bay.

"Here, under water on the eastern side of this bay, they came upon the ninth wonder of the world--a little Greek town."

Behrens paused to relight the cigar which had gone out.

"I beg your pardon?" said Bobby.

"Town. A little town submerged at a depth of only some five fathoms; a thing as old as history, yet perfect in its way, preserved in the lap of the tideless sea and by the reefs that break the storms and high waves to the north of Hyalos. The reefs have not only protected the town from the sea and its storms, they have also protected it from visitation. No ships ever go near Hyalos, not even the fishing vessels of Nios and Thera. But the British Navy goes everywhere, especially in war time, and British naval officers are born sportsmen. There were three other men in the boat with Isaac. It was he who, looking over, saw first the wonderful thing in the water below--houses, some in partial decay, some entire; streets, public buildings; an agora--all quiet down in the glittering water, and flown over by fish instead of birds.

"Do you know anything of the structure of old Greek cities and houses? I am not talking about Pompeii, which was Græco-Roman, but of the true Greek city centuries before Pompeii was destroyed. Well, the house of the old Greek was simply a courtyard open to the sky, surrounded by a covered colonnade off which opened rooms. That is roughly what it was. The courtyard, open to the sky, and the colonnade were the main things; the rooms might be more or less in number, they were generally small.

"The floor of the courtyard was as a rule done in mosaic work, and in the centre stood an altar to the Zeus of the home, and in front of the house before the door of entrance stood as a rule a statue of Hermes or a cone-shaped pillar indicating Apollo.

"When Isaac looked over first, the boat was floating above a house, the walls and colonnade of which were intact, and the mosaic-paved courtyard glimmered up at him, showing its pattern of dolphins and sea-horses.

"You can fancy his astonishment! Sea-horses prancing beneath the sea and done in mosaic; dolphins in blue and red, all brilliant in colour despite the ages that had passed since man's foot had trodden them.

"He held his breath in his surprise whilst the boat drifted across a street where ruts were still visible, left by the wheels of vehicles vanished before Christ was born. What I am telling you is the truth. Just as Mariette entered the tomb of the Apis saw on the sand the foot mark a man had left three thousand years before, Isaac saw the wheel-marks of the traffic that once had been in this street given over to silence and the sea.

"He saw also a Hermes that had fallen down before a house, and then, calling to his companions, he bade them look.

"Now these men with him were British sailors, men of the highest type of manhood, and what they saw when they looked over the side of the boat interested them, yet left them cold. A big living fish would have appealed to them more than this little dead city where people had loved and lived and traded before Christ was born or the Roman Empire--for, mark you this, Hyalos is no Græco-Roman town, but a town submerged in the flower-time of Greek art.

"Isaac who had the artistic sense and knowledge denied to his companions, and who, moreover, was my son, knew at once the extraordinary nature of the find. Knew that they had not only discovered a dead city, but a very treasure-house of ancient art. The indifference of the others so vexed him that he said nothing of this. He sealed the matter in his heart. Isaac was the son of an art collector, who is also a tradesman. I am quite frank. During the week that his ship stayed in the bay he brooded over the matter, questioning his heart as to whether, when the war was over, he would return with my help, secretly, and recover from this place all he could by diving operations, or whether he would tell the Greek Government and make the matter public. He decided on the first course. Hyalos belonged to no Government. It belonged only to the sea and to antiquity, and its art treasures to the bold diver who first laid hands upon them.

"Without doubt many a Greek fisherman had looked down through the ages and seen what Isaac saw, but without caring or knowing or understanding, not guessing that here lay a treasure worth all the fishing fleets of the islands. Without doubt through the future years the place would be equally neglected, for no one comes to Hyalos, which is only a rock surrounded by reefs.

"Yes, he felt quite easy in his mind on the question of secretly looting this place, and during the week of his stay laughed at by his companions as an antiquarian, he would put out every day in the smallest boat of the destroyer, and spend hours exploring and mapping this town where nothing moved but the fish and their shadows. This is the map he made."

Behrens rose and took from the bureau a large sheet of paper, a map carefully made, and showing the minute and complicated city in its entirety. The agora, the streets, a tiny theatre, houses, some half-ruined, some entire, complete just as when some subsidence slow or sudden had brought the waters of the sea above the market-place, the streets, the house tops. Bobby brooded over this thing, fascinated by the story of Behrens.

"When the destroyer left Hyalos," went on the old man, "she was ordered north, and was mined off Eubœa, by a floating mine from the Dardanelles. No one was saved but Isaac and an old quarter-master. Isaac died later, as I told you, of enteric fever. But he had sent me home all I have told you and this map. Had Isaac lived he and I would have gone together to this place, taken divers with us, and reaped the harvest of the centuries and the sea; but I am too old now; his death aged me ten years in ten minutes, and I have lost the appetite for adventure, unless it is the adventure of the sale rooms. Yet I want to secure from this place some part at least of the treasure it holds, not from greed, for I am worth most of a million, but for three reasons. One is sentiment. Isaac had his heart set on this business, it was his desire that I should profit by it. Another reason is that it would grieve me to the heart should Gundermann, or François Boucy, or any of the big men in the world of antiquities get hold of this business by any chance. Another is the desire for acquisition which is part of my nature. I am frank with you. I spoke of a risk. There is a risk of the sea and there is a risk that, should the Greek Government find you removing things from this place, of which they do not know the existence, there might be trouble. I cannot tell you the law on the subject; the case is quite unique, but I can at least say that should there be trouble, I will stand by you--should you care to take the matter up and work it for me. I will give you half the worth of the things recovered, and that may be a very large sum of money. I would, of course, pay for the expedition."

Bobby was silent for a moment, looking at the map on his knee. The thing fascinated him, but he was the son of Nicholas Lestrange, a business man with a level head, despite his losses in post-war industries. Then he said:

"There's nothing I'd like better, but I can't say right off. I'd like twenty-four hours to think of it."

"That is only fair," said Behrens. "I do not wish to rush you into a business that has its dangers. One question you will be asking yourself--is it honest? Well, I think you can be sure on that point. I care nothing for what the Greeks might say about the law. Morally, I am sure that whoever comes first on these treasures, that belong to nobody by right, since the owners had vanished before Rome was an Empire, morally I say, I am sure that the first finder of them is entitled to keep them. Besides," finished the old fellow grimly, "I am no friend of the Greeks either in the sale room or the world of politics--but that is another question."

"Oh, I'm not bothering about the morals of it," said the other. "The stuff's there, whatever it is, to be dredged up by anyone, it seems to me, and I'm ready to run the risk of the Greeks jumping on us. It's only I want to think things over. I've done some sea work down in Devonshire, and can handle a boat. It's only just I want to think things over. It's a big proposition. Are you sure the treasures, whatever they are, will be all right and worth anything after being in the sea all these years?"

"In 1901," said Behrens, "the sponge-fishers off Cape Malea found an old ship on the sea-floor laden with Greek bronzes and statuary. It was a ship of the fleet of Sulla, and had been lying there for two-thousand years. The bronzes and statuary were perfect. In 1905, or thereabouts, divers brought up from the Lake of Nemi bronze beam-heads and ornaments from the ship of Calligula. They were perfect, yet Calligula died on January 24th, forty-one years after the birth of Christ. No, Mr. Lestrange, you need not fear that the treasures of Hyalos are not worth taking. The only thing you need trouble about is the expedition. Should you take this matter up, I will do the paying; you will have to do the leading. You will have to get the proper men together and a small ship, an outfit for diving, and so forth. The men must be selected: men who will not talk, and men who will be content with a salary, not a share in the business. Have you any idea how to set about all this?"

"Not the slightest," said Bobby.

"Good--you at least know where you stand, and will be open to suggestions."

"I haven't the slightest idea how the thing is to be done," said Bobby; "but I'm perfectly sure if I tackle it I'll do it. With your help, of course."

"Good. And you will have this great assistance--the treasure you are after is neither gold nor silver; the things you go to seek will not rouse the demon of cupidity in the breast of any ordinary Englishman of the seafaring type. They are indeed useless to any man except a person like myself, who is able to dispose of them. And there are only four persons like myself in Europe, that is to say men who have the American market in their hands, and who are known and trusted by the great American connoisseurs--not that I am likely to dispose of the treasures in my lifetime. I buy these valuables not yet recovered from the sea, and it is I who will pay you half their worth. A good bargain for me, Mr. Lestrange, and I venture to say a good bargain for you. They may be worth five, ten, twenty thousand pounds or half a million, it is all the same. You shall receive your half, and the valuer shall be Jacob Behrens, who though working for his own hand, will be just with you."

"That I am certain of," said Bobby. A new flame was burning in his breast, not lit by cupidity, but by the challenge in this affair. He would have to get this expedition together and lead it, choose his men, get the vessel and equipment, and bring the thing to a triumphant conclusion. The difficulties were not the least attractive part of the affair, and Behrens would back him financially.

He sat for a moment brooding. Then he looked up.

"I'll do it," he said. "I asked for twenty-four hours to think it over. I don't want them. If you are willing, I'll clinch the matter now."

"Think twice," said Behrens. "I would not have you go into this matter without full consideration. There are the risks of the sea and the risk of trouble with Governments, not only the Greek, but the British Government. Nothing, I am sure, would please the British Government more than to spoil a little deal like this, quite forgetting that Britain herself stole the Elgin marbles, not from under the sea, but from their only true setting, the Acropolis of Athens. So if you obtain these things and bring them in safety to the English coast, you will still have the difficulty of landing them unknown to the Custom House. There is no duty on objects of art, but, all the same, questions would be asked."

"I know," said Bobby. "I can see the whole clearly. All the same I'll take the business on."

"I bind you to nothing," said Behrens, "and if to-morrow or next day you should wish to withdraw, you are at liberty. Having said that, I would like also to say that I think you have chosen rightly. Any Government risk would only amount to a fine and confiscation; the fine would fall on me. The sea risks are only what any young man ought to be prepared to face.

"Now, as to the money side of the business. I am prepared to allocate a sum of three thousand pounds to be used for ship hire and so forth, all accounts to be presented to me for payment. I believe that amount will cover the business. I will deduct it from the amount at which I value any treasure found before dividing that amount with you. Have you need of ready money?"

"No," said Bobby. "I have about fifty pounds loose in the bank--enough to carry on with."

"Well," said Behrens, "any money you may spend in this business make a note of, and I will refund it. You understand the position? There are three thousand pounds for you to use. I am not going to tie your arms. I trust you to spend nothing foolishly. I give you _carte blanche_ so that you may make your dispositions, hire your men, hire your ship, get your diving apparatus and so forth. You say you have been used to fishing on the Devonshire coast. I would advise you to go there for your men and your vessel. They are honest men down there."

"Thanks," said Bobby. "It's nice to be trusted like that, and I shan't waste your money. Yes, I might try Devonshire. Anyhow, I'll think the whole thing over and get to work as quickly as possible. I'll keep you informed of what I am doing."

Half an hour later he was in the street.

It was twenty minutes past eleven. In two hours and twenty minutes the course of his life had been changed; he had been turned from a humdrum existence to face Adventure and the deep sea, with a chance of making a fortune at a single coup, and with a credit of three thousand pounds to back him.