Canton Algor was beginning to see that Percy Dale was the sort of man who did things like this for fun, but who was he, and why did he happen to be at the Spit in the midst of certain unknown activity? Perhaps he had been there on Sunday too. Still, thought Canton, this man Percy had volunteered himself for the less appealing task of making the dive, so it was the least Canton could do to trust the man and play along.

Percy tried on a pair of shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. They fit adequately enough for his purpose, and so they proceeded to position the boom on the bow of the boat, where it would most likely roll off, should the driver happen to become a little reckless.

Canton then proceeded to become a little reckless. He spun the boat around in as narrow a circle as was best possible, until the boom surrendered to the forces of gravity, and circular momentum. There were two boats just near the Spit Bridge, but they looked less than likely to come very close. Percy put on an oxygen mask and Canton's breathing tank, and dived into the water. They had planned one further measure, while Canton was demonstrating his capability at creating simulated recklessness.

While Percy swam to the bottom of the Harbour, Canton lowered a rope from the bow of the Algorithm, and tied it to one of the railings. Percy would explain the reason to him later.

In the meantime, the Sneaky Spy found the boom soon enough, and left it where it was for convenience. He also found the sack and pulled at the neck. It was knotted and light enough to lift. He could swim to the surface with his load, and then come back for the boom. 

"It won't be much use to Santa Claus down at this depth," thought Percy, "and Rudolph may well be concerned that his electric snout not be short circuited in salt water. So I would do well to take this little prize up myself."

He took the sack by the neck and swam upwards, until he saw the rope, which dangled a metre into the water. He tied the neck of the sack to the rope and then returned to the bottom for the boom, and brought it up to the surface, where Canton helped him to take it back onto the boat. 

The rest was simple. They merely started up the boat and the sack was carried along below them, invisible to any other boat in the area. They found themselves a portion of Powder Hulk Bay which was apparantly devoid of anyone else at the time;  hauled the sack onto the deck, and took it below to be opened.

"Don't bother wrestling with a wet knot. I'll use my knife."

Percy had brought his two knives, strapped to left leg and forearm as usual, and it took him a few seconds to carve a semi circular slit into the bag of goodies, and then he knew that their efforts had been rewarded. Their curiosity had been satisfied. The man from England could not resist the desire to investigate anything suspicious; and Percy himself had been pondering the possibility of some activity the night before, and had chosen to take a relaxing trip to the Spit, with the idea of enjoying the tranquility that was, and welcoming any activity that came stumbing over the hills of happenstance. 

Percy and Canton stared into a collection of jewellery that could well be referred to as a temporarily sunken treasure. Percy smiled, then laughed.

"You know Canton, if we ever see those naughty ones again - and I have little doubt in my mind that they are naughty ones - it would be fun to see them try to explain away this priceless collection of trinkets."

They went back up on deck and noticed another yacht rapidly approaching them.

"I can go down and lock the stuff away if you like," said Canton.

"No don't. They're close enough to see and approaching fast enough to be interested in whatever they think we're doing. I'll talk to them, if they come too close."

The yacht came closer, and Percy noticed the name: King of the Waves. The yacht pulled up alongside them, and Percy saw one man at the wheel and no others in sight.

"I saw you lose your boom before. Is everything alright now?" called the man.

"Oh yes, I got it back up easily enough. It took me a while to find it though," returned the Sneaky Spy, "So what can we do for you?"

"Nothing really. I just came to see how things were. So I'll leave you to get on with your boating."

"Have a nice day."

They watched the King of the Waves pull out again, and then cruised around for a little while themselves, before leaving the yacht in Pearl Bay, and walking back to Canton's Ida Avenue residence.

"Is he still following us now that he's left his boat?" asked Canton, as they wandered through the Spit Reserve. Percy looked into the special reflecting surface of his watch.

"You'd better believe it Canton, but it won't do him an awful lot of good. We couldn't have left the trinkets on the boat. He'd have ransacked the Algorithm for certain if he really wanted to find something. I came out to the boat with a loaded backpack, and I am wearing it again now. The fact that it's full of valuables this time, and was full of a certain breathing tank last time - which we've left on the ship - is something about which the owner of the King of the Waves  can only speculate."

"And you actually think that he won't?" asked Canton.

"I actually think that he will. So make sure that he sees us make it to your house. If he is the man who took these jewels in the first place, then he may well try to burgle your house tonight. So I suggest that I sleep on the couch out in the back room."

(Percy had been given a brief tour of Canton's residence immediately prior to their afternoon of boating.)

"And we'd better be sure to leave the back door locked."

"No. You'd better be sure to leave it unlocked, so that the naughty one can gain easy access to your house. Not that it will help him at all, my good friend, because I shall sleep on the side of the room that the door opens away from, and I will have a fishing line connecting my left thumb and the door handle. He'd never spot that in the dark, but it will wake me up."

"Alright then... if you want to risk it."

"If you  want to risk it, Canton."

"It's the best idea we've got, and I see what you mean. If we tried to follow him now - he's seen us turning into my driveway, and now he's turned around - then he'd know we were up to something, but with your approach, he might well come to us."

"Canton, you're not even looking at your watch."

"But my front window reflects the affairs of most of Ida Avenue. Now why are you so well suited to this business, Percy Dale?"

"It's just become something of a habit, I suppose. With you, it seems to be more of a coincidence, a sequence of interesting events that brought out your more adventurous nature."

They stepped into the house and continued talking, as Canton went about the task of preparing some dinner.  

"I may as well confide," thought Percy, "If he did turn out to be one of the naughty ones, I can still rely on my usual talents and measures of defence. A successful Sneaky Spy need not always rely on the element of secrecy, especially when considering potential allies."

Percy told the man of some of his exploits and the people he had faced. The main thing he left out was his giantess vore fantasy and any mention of Ingrid. Yet he did bring up Donna and the adventure that introduced her to him.

They dealt with their dinner, and watched some television until the suitable hour of ten bade them move towards their respective sleeping positions. Percy had no concerns at all in his mind as he dropped off to sleep. With a knife under his pillow, and a warning signal tied to his finger, and a trap laid at the door with means of triggering the warning signal, Percy was absolutely certain that he could cope with any situation that would be likely to evolve from the presence of an uninvited guest.

But there weren't any.

Percy was disappointed when he woke up at seven. There had been no surprise guests. Why would a man who had the unwarranted indecency to follow a boat for a quarter of a mile - simply to ask after a recovered boom, when there was obvious evidence of an ulterior 

motive - simply fail to put in an illegal appearance at the house he had laboured to find?

"Oh Percival you prize idiot!" he thought to himself, "There's one obvious question I haven't asked yet, even though I shouldn't really need to ask it if Canton knows the answer."

He wandered into the kitchen, sat down to breakfast, and asked a pertinent question.

"Canton, I don't suppose the owner of the King of the Waves was one of the men in the power boat on Sunday."

"No. I would have told you if he was."

"I thought so, but I had to be sure. I take it that you have found no evidence of visitors last night either."

"None at all. The jewellery's still located in the cupboard where we left it."

Percy said nothing for a while. He knew that he had to Think It Through.

Which did not take long.

"Canton, it has only just dawned on me that this scenario would take a whole new turn if we had had a visitor last night."
"Why do you say that?"

"Well think about it. When did you see the two fellows in the boat?"

"Sunday afternoon."

"Exactly. Afternoon, while all good Spit people are out enjoying the sun. Why should the three naughty ones we've met so far deal with us any differently? Why come at night? They knew we would be in the house. They consider it their turn to strike in broad daylight. Give it a few hours, and you'll have your visitor. Those baddies cannot possibly want to let these goodies get away."

"But I will be at work."

"And I will be in the car with you, when you go, until we get to Mosman. Then I'll catch the bus back and spend this Friday morning reading books in your bedroom. Leave one of the windows closed but unlocked."

"That's a plan."

"A plan that works, Canton. If they're watching the house when we go, they'll still have to come back later, when most of Ida Avenue's residents have gone off to work. My plan can only fail if one thing happens."

"What's that?"

"I cannot find any of your books that I like enough to read."

Canton drove them to Mosman, and there was no sign of their being either watched or followed. The rest of the plan proceeded according to their arrangements. It was not until Percy was halfway through the fifth story in an old issue of "Mystery Magazine," that he heard the back room window sliding upwards.

"I do not need to see him," thought Percy, "I'll hear him wherever he goes. He will only be quiet enough to prevent the neighbours from hearing. He has obviously made sure that nobody saw him, and he is on his own, because I can only hear one set of footsteps. I wonder whether it's King of the Waves or one of the merry twosome."

Percy heard the man wandering into the room two doors down the hallway, presumably to start his search for the jewels. The room was a living room, which the man entered with as much silence as can be expected from any class D burglar. The room contained the locked cupboard with the jewels in it, but the man had only started to open an unlocked cupboard when the silent feet of the Spy brought Percy up behind him. The next thing he knew he was in the grip of the Sneaky Spy's hand, who held his neck firmly in a lock provided by Percy's own left arm.

"The King of the Waves, I presume," said Percy.