The sight of small figures moving about the machines 

 comforted me. Should we be swamped, help was not too 

 far away. 



I breathed easier when we finally reached the quieter 

 waters in the shelter of the peninsula which was our 

 goal. We drew Wee Diver up on a lovely little crescent 

 of beach beneath white sandstone cliffs whorled into 

 hollow caverns by wind and sea, and followed a steep 

 path up the cliffs. We reached the top only to be assaulted 

 by the same boisterous wind which had plagued us all 

 across the harbor. White spray dashed high into the air 

 against rock bastions which thrust into the ocean, and 

 cascades of white foam enveloped the broken coral rocks 

 offshore. To the south stretched an irregular coast, and 

 on the highest piece of land gleamed the white exclama- 

 tion point of the lighthouse. 



Returning to the shelter of the inner beach, we waded 

 through shallow water to investigate the break which 

 separated this picturesque rocky point, making an island 

 of the outer portion at high tide. At low tide it would 

 indeed be possible to walk across the intervening pas- 

 sage. It was easy to imagine Columbus viewing this spot 

 and envisioning a fortress upon its extremity. 



But somehow the harbor itself failed to satisfy his 

 description of a sea "no more disturbed than water in a 

 well." Neither had we found "deep water and a harbour 

 large enough for all the ships of Christendom, the en- 

 trance to which is very narrow." And we wondered how, 

 in a limited time, the Santa Maria's longboat would have 

 been able to cover these great distances. 



Although we had succeeded in arriving at our desti- 

 nation safely with Wee Diver, we found ourselves in 

 trouble immediately we set out to make the return trip. 

 Salt water had at last worked into the outboard. At first it 

 only sputtered and protested; then it gave up completely. 



322 Sea Diver 



