310 I N A G U A 



dred thousand sea tragedies. 



The diving at this rendezvous of the seas promised to be good, 

 so I lugged the heavy helmet with its hose and line down to a 

 little shelf on the very edge of the breakers. Instead of diving 

 from a boat I decided to crawl from dry land to the depths on 

 foot, so that I might experience the full sensation of the transi- 

 tion from dry to wet and examine the structure of the cliff wall 

 and its life on the way. A small oblique opening in the sloping 

 rock made an easy entering wedge without making it necessary 

 to battle the full force of the surf. In addition, the opening was 

 well padded with algae on its upper slopes and was reasonably 

 free of the ubiquitous spiny sea urchins. 



With a tremendous heave I hoisted the eighty-pound helmet 

 on my head and settled it on my shoulders. It was so top-heavy 

 that I staggered and nearly fell. The native boy that I hired 

 for the task, started the pump, and, like a drunken man, I felt 

 my way across the padded algae and stepped into the first 

 gradient of the slope. The foam whirled slightly about my 

 knees and then about my hips. In a second I had advanced to 

 my shoulders and the intolerable weight was suddenly lifted. 

 Once more I assumed control of my feet. I paused a moment 

 at eye height gazing at the strange sight of a world divided in 

 half and enjoying the unusual perspective of being exactly at 

 the level of the water. Most impressive was the definiteness of 

 the division; above was dry air and sunshine, all the familiar 

 sights, flowers and white clouds; below was a strange blue 

 cosmos of tumbled rocks, vague shadows and dancing bubbles. 

 The surface was as rigid a barrier for most life as if it had been 

 made of hard metal instead of the light-transmitting, yet 

 opaque, film that it appeared from beneath. 



The amount of life that clung to the film itself was surpris- 

 ing. On the upper side it was dusted with yellow grains of 

 pollen drifted from the bushes on shore, and with down and 



