beloved sailboat and the substitution of a sturdy, sea- 

 going shrimp trawler. 



Neither did I foresee that I would soon be following 

 Ed about the bottom of the sea in waters surrounding the 

 most dangerous and frightening reefs in our part of the 

 world, even to the most remote sections of the Caribbean. 



In fact, at that time I did not even consider taking 

 part in this underwater adventure, for I was a very poor 

 swimmer. But I was keenly interested in the romance of 

 an adventure involving sunken ships, the lure of possible 

 treasure finds, and the sudden, mysterious disappearance 

 of ancient Spanish galleons, pirate ships, slavers and 

 square-rigged men-of-war into the sea. The finds which 

 Bill Thompson had exhibited to us teased my imagina- 

 tion. What exciting objects might be found beneath coral 

 and sand which had concealed them from human eyes 

 these hundreds of years! 



Having been unable to join the diving expedition at 

 its start in the latter part of May, I finally arrived in Mara- 

 thon on June sixth. The party had been at work more than 

 a week. When the diver-explorers came in from the reefs 

 that night, and we gathered about the outdoor grill to 

 broil fresh-caught barracuda, which they had brought 

 with them, I met nearly thirty men, women and children 

 overflowing with enthusiasm and anticipation of what the 

 next day's diving would bring forth. 



I felt immediately as if I had always known the 

 warm-hearted Crile family. I admired the way blonde, 

 pretty Jane unconcernedly managed her brood of four, 

 even as she and Barney performed a complicated sleight 

 of hand with a half dozen cameras and underwater cases 

 which they were reloading. And I was entertained at 

 the masterly fashion in which Barney divided himself 

 between assisting with the cameras and supervising the 



The Florida Keys 9 



