Looe. William ran the outboard, while Ed and Clayton 

 gazed down through the glass as they sprawled in the bot- 

 tom of the boat. 



They were back in almost no time. They had not 

 found the Looe, but Ed had spotted a ship's bell lying in 

 the deep crater of a coral head in another section of the 

 reef. They had left a yellow wooden buoy bobbing over 

 the spot while they returned to collect the air compressor, 

 a diving outfit and a crowbar. 



Captain Budd and I watched through binoculars as 

 they returned to the reef. Soon Ed was overboard, his 

 bright-blue canvas vest just visible through the surface of 

 the water. Then all I could see was the rumps of the two 

 boys as they watched their father through the glass bot- 

 tom. Moments later the small boat leaned to the weight 

 of the bell as it was secured to a line. Ed's head and shoul- 

 ders emerged from the water, and he pulled himself into 

 the boat. 



Once the bell was aboard Eryholme, we examined it 

 closely. It was slightly coated with pastel-hued sediment 

 and sea growth. Coral had formed at the top, where an 

 iron pin thrust through the ring was imbedded in a piece 

 of black, moldering wood. Coral also encased the clapper, 

 which was of iron and much deteriorated. We let it dry 

 throughout the day, and then chipped oflF the protective 

 covering that evening after we had returned to our dock. 



The first lettering to appear was, "Gloria AO 1751." 

 We had expected the bell would prove to have come from 

 the Looe, but this date, seven years after the sinking of 

 the British man-of-war, established that it had been 

 aboard an unknown ship. Perhaps, we thought, we would 

 find the ship's name on the bell. But when the lettering 

 had been completely uncovered, it read only, "SoH Deo 

 Gloria, AO 1751." 



We could only guess that the bell had come from a 



34 Sea Diver 



