356 THE STORY-BOOK OF SCIENCE 



to which is tied a large stone that drags them rap- 

 idly to the bottom. The man about to dive seizes the 

 weighted rope with his right hand and the toes of 

 his right foot ; with his left hand he closes his nos- 

 trils; to his left foot is fastened a bag-shaped lu-t. 

 The stone is thrown into the sea. The man sinks 

 like lead. Hastily he fills the net with shells, and 

 then pulls the rope to give the signal for ascent. 

 Those in the boat pull him up. Half-suffocated, the 

 diver reaches the surface with his fishing. The ef- 



Shark 



forts he has made to suspend respiration are so pain- 

 ful that sometimes blood gushes from his mouth and 

 nose. Sometimes the diver comes up with a leg 

 gone; sometimes he never comes up. A shark has 

 swallowed him. 



6 ' Some of those pearls that shine in a jeweler's 

 windows cost much more than a fine bag of crowns : 

 they may have cost a man's life." 



' i If Arabia were at the end of the village, I would 

 not go pearl-fishing, " declared Emile. 



"To open the shells, they are exposed to the sun 

 until the animals are dead. Then men rummage in 

 the pile, which smells horribly, and get the pearls. 

 There is nothing more to do except pierce them with 

 a hole." 



