CHAPTER III 



WITH HELMET AND HOSE 



I AM twenty feet under water with a huge copper 

 hehnet on my head, tilting with my trident against 

 an olive-green grouper over a yard long, who is 

 much too fearless and inquisitive for my liking. 

 Not until I have pricked him sharply with the 

 grains does he leave off nosing my legs with his 

 mean jaws and efficient teeth. It suddenly occurs 

 to me how knightlike I am as far as the metal casque 

 goes, and then in spite of the strange world all 

 about, my mind goes back to the long-ago 

 Christmases when a new-published Henty book was 

 an invariable and almost the best gift. I instantly 

 know that if ever I succeed in shackling these div- 

 ings to mere, awkward words it must be called 

 "With Helmet and Hose," and if any modern boy, 

 grown-up or gentle reader does not know why, ex- 

 planations will do no good. 



I wi:h I could credit my present passionate en- 

 thusiasm for diving beneath strange tropical waters 

 to a life-long suppressed desire — an idee jioce which 

 would not be gainsaid. But unfortunately this is 

 not so. My only excuse is that I suffer intermit- 



71 



