WITH HELMET AND HOSE 75 



this goes and the weight of the hehnet with all the 

 lead is only a gentle pressure, suiRcient to give 

 perfect stability. Meanwhile Ruth Rose has 

 started the pump. 



From a blurred view of the water surface and 

 the boat's stern, I sink instantly to clear vision 

 under water. I descend three rungs and reach up 

 for the short harpoon or grains which is put into 

 my hand. At the fourth or fifth rung the air 

 presses perceptibly on my ears and I relieve it by 

 swallowing. For the first moment there is a muf- 

 fled rumble of bubbles escaping, which I never 

 noticed until I heard Ruth exclaim about it. This 

 ceases as soon as the helmet is entirely under water. 

 I descend slowly, swallowing now and then, and 

 when the last rung has been reached, I lower my- 

 self easily by one arm, and lightly rest on the 

 bottom. If serious danger threatens or the pump- 

 ing should go wi'ong for any reason, I have only 

 to lift up the helmet, duck out from under it and 

 swim to the surface. The level of the water keeps 

 constantly at the level of my neck or throat, and if 

 I lean far forward it gradually rises to my mouth. 

 But there is no splashing, no sense of oppression. 



In most of the great changes or experiences 

 which come to us humans, such as seeing our first 

 palm tree or circus or volcano, the first reading of 

 Alice, diving, a battle, discovering the method of 

 complete relaxation or really being in the only 

 Borneo in the world, it is not, as so many people 

 think, the first few minutes which are the most 

 wonderful. It is the subsequent gradual apprecia- 



