262 BATHYSPHERE DIVE THIRTY-FIVE 



in the sea again manifested itself; outside our window were 

 the myriad motes of creatures that scintillated in the dilute 

 yellow sunlight. 



A few minutes later we rolled at the upper edge of the 

 sea, waiting for the moment when swells were least in evi- 

 dence. Unfortunately, the sea, with its usual undependable- 

 ness, fooled those on deck by sending a number of the 

 largest swells that we had experienced just as the bathy- 

 sphere left the surface. 



As we swung in the air like a giant-child's ball on the 

 end of a string, telephone warnings came to brace ourselves. 

 The swings increased as we crossed the bulwarks and 

 through the droplet-covered window I could gather in- 

 stantaneous glances of those on deck as they watched the 

 whirling globe. A sudden shock showed us that we had 

 hit something which later turned out to be the port bul- 

 wark, and a second, uneven, tilting bump left us sitting 

 motionless on the deck. 



As we steamed homeward after the day's diving, I sat 

 gazing at the bathysphere and reliving my experiences. 

 Certain aspects of the descent stood out in strong con- 

 trast to what I had expected. As far as ability to observe 

 was concerned, I had been agreeably surprised. True, my 

 knees had hurt where they rested on the steel and my legs 

 had been badly cramped, but nothing interfered with con- 

 centration on the life outside the sphere. This I had been 

 able to observe with ease through half of the central win- 

 dow when the searchlight was on, and through the whole 



