was undoubtedly weak from centuries of immersion in 

 salt water. 



So next morning, with Sea Diver anchored directly 

 above the cannon, Ed and Art disappeared over the side 

 carrying a fuse attached to a roll of fine insulated wire, and 

 the necessary sticks of dynamite. As soon as they had 

 climbed back on deck, Sea Diver's anchor chain rattled 

 through the guides as Pete allowed her to shp back a scant 

 fifty feet. 



With a flashhght battery, Ed made contact with the 

 end of the coated wire. Almost instantly we felt a sharp 

 blow on the bottom of the boat as the concussion wave radi- 

 ated upward from the explosion. Just off the port bow there 

 was a slight disturbance on the surface of the water. 



Sea Diver's winch whined as she was moved back to 

 her original position. A scattering of small fish floated on 

 the water surrounding her. As I looked over the side, I saw 

 hundreds more of the silvery minnows which ordinarily 

 hovered deep in the water over the v^nreck, darting crazily 

 about near the surface, the perfect pattern of their mass 

 drills completely disrupted. 



As soon as the water had cleared a bit. Art and Ed 

 went overboard again, soon returning to report the com- 

 plete success of their effort. The four cannon, freed from 

 the bondage of centuries, now lay separate yet unharmed, 

 they said. The water below was still murky from the explo- 

 sion, and the bottom was littered with tiny fish. How- 

 ever, not one of the large groupers or snappers which in- 

 habited the wreck had been hurt, for, fortunately, the 

 two men had remembered to chase them away just before 

 coming up to set off the charge. 



Clayton and I followed Art overboard to watch him 

 prepare the cannon for moving, while Ed stayed aboard 

 with Pete to operate the deck tackle. After Art had secured 

 a grappling hook and chain about each cannon and had 



The Florida Keys 99 



