It was the following day that the old butler handed Locke a letter
addressed to International Patents, Incorporated, from the Diving and
Salvage Company. Locke was about to read it, when Eva entered and they
read it together.
"We are reliably informed," read the letter, "that the Under Seas
Corporation is trying to obtain possession of the self-liberating
diving-suit which you control in our interest. This must be prevented."
Locke was immediately interested. At once it occurred to him that here
was a patent which the company had suppressed which might prove of
incalculable value.
"This suit might be very valuable to the government," he exclaimed to
Eva. "I am going to try it myself."
"Please don't," pleaded Eva. "It isn't worth it. It's not worth the
risk."
Locke, however, realized that here was something of extreme importance,
and as he visualized to Eva the helplessness of a deep-sea diver, his
air-line cut, struggling in vain to release himself and rise to the
surface, he began to win her over.
At the moment when Quentin and Eva were in the library, Zita was taking
advantage and was ransacking Locke's laboratory, not with any definite
purpose in mind, but searching in every nook for some clue which might
tell her what he was about.
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