George switched on the torch and then swung herself down the ladder.
The others followed.
The light from the torch showed a very queer sight. The under-parts of the ship were low-ceilinged, made of thick oak.
The children had to bend their heads to get about.
It seemed as if there were places that might have been cabins, though it was difficult to tell now, for everything was so battered, sea-drenched and seaweedy.
The smell was really horrid, though it was mostly of drying seaweed. The children slipped about on the seaweed as they went round the inside of the ship.
It didn't seem so big inside after all.
There was a big hold under the cabins, which the children saw by the light of their torch.
"That's where the boxes of gold would have been kept, I expect," said Julian.
But there was nothing in the hold except water and fish!
The children couldn't go down because the water was too deep.
One or two barrels floated in the water, but they had burst open and were quite empty.
"I expect they were water-barrels, or barrels of pork or biscuit," said George.
"Let's go round the other part of the ship again— where the cabins are.
Isn't it strange to see bunks there that sailors have slept in— and look at that old wooden chair.
Fancy it still being here after all these years!
Look at the things on those hooks too— they are all rusty now, and covered with seaweedy stuff— but they must have been the cook's pans and dishes!"
It was a very queer trip round the old wreck.
The children were all on the look-out for boxes which might contain bars of gold— but there didn't seem to be one single box of any kind anywhere!
They came to a rather bigger cabin than the others.
It had a bunk in one corner, in which a large crab rested.
An old bit of furniture looking rather like a tablet with two legs, all encrusted with greyish shells, lay against the bunk.
Wooden shelves, festooned with grey-green seaweed, hung crookedly on the walls of the cabin.
"This must have been the captain's own cabin," said Julian.
"It's the biggest one.
Look, what's that in the corner?"
"An old cup!" said Anne, picking it up.
"And here's half of a saucer.
I expect the captain was sitting here having a cup of tea when the ship went down."
This made the children feel rather queer.
It was dark and smelly in the little cabin, and the floor was wet and slippery to their feet.
George began to feel that her wreck was really more pleasant sunk under the water than raised above it!
"Let's go," she said, with a shiver.
"I don't like it much.
It is exciting, I know— but it's a bit frightening too."
They turned to go.
Julian flashed his torch round the little cabin for the last time.
He was about to switch it off and follow the others up to the deck above when he caught sight of something that made him stop.
He flashed his torch on to it, and then called to the others.
"I say! Wait a bit.
There's a cupboard here in the wall.
Let's see if there's anything in it!"
The others turned back and looked.
They saw what looked like a small cupboard let in level with the wall of the cabin. What had caught Julian's eye was the keyhole. There was no key there, though.
"There just might be something inside," said Julian. He tried to prise open the wooden door with his fingers, but it wouldn't move. "It's locked," he said. "Of course it would be!"
"I expect the lock is rotten by now," said George, and she tried too.
Then she took out her big strong pocket-knife and inserted it between the cupboard door and the cabin-wall.
She forced back the blade— and the lock of the cupboard suddenly snapped!
As she had said, it was quite rotten.
The door swung open, and the children saw a shelf inside with a few curious things on it.