tached to his anchor. Three hundred feet of new nylon 

 Hne! As he watched, one of the men took a knife from his 

 pocket and, having pulled as much free line as possible 

 into the boat, slashed it apart. 



That was too much for Ed. With a muttered impreca- 

 tion, he wheeled the Widgeon into a steep dive, leveled 

 oflF in a quick approach to the calm waters off the reef, 

 and before the startled fishermen knew what had hap- 

 pened, taxied up to their boat. As he cut his motors, he 

 shouted indignantly, "Hey, that's my hne you're taking. 

 What's the idea?" 



Salvagers there have been in the Florida keys for 

 many centuries, both honest and dishonest. But that was 

 probably the first time that two thieving fishermen, secure 

 in the knowledge that there were no other boats in sight, 

 were suddenly apprehended from the skies. 



Sheepishly they handed over the severed line. They 

 were too startled to find an excuse for their act. Putting 

 on their motor, they quickly disappeared toward shore. 



It was not until the second Sunday in February that 

 the wind went down suflSciently for us to venture out. 

 WiUiam and Clayton were with us for the weekend. We 

 set out for Looe key early that morning, intending to 

 anchor near the remains of the Looe. Captain Budd and 

 Ed spent nearly an hour maneuvering Eryholme into a 

 safe position, her stem anchored near the edge of the 

 reefs, her bow headed out toward the Gulf Stream, so that 

 it would be possible in case of emergency to pull up 

 anchor and head seaward, away from the dangerous coral. 



There was still a good breeze from the northeast, and 

 the small, glass-bottomed boat bounced about in prodi- 

 gious waves when we pulled her alongside to load her. Ed 

 and the two boys piled into the boat and the three set out 

 toward the reef to search for the cannon that marked the 



The Florida Keys 33 



