HOW SPONGES ARE PROCURED 



through one corner. The man, instead of putting his 

 foot in a loop, gives the weighted end of the line a turn 

 or two round his breast and then springs into the water like 

 an ordinary swimmer ; some prefer merely to hold the rope 

 by one hand. Sharks, we know, are plentiful hereabout, 

 and there are no shark-charmers. Still one seldom hears 

 of a diver being attacked ; there is always a gun or two 

 on board, and there is the same amount of bustle and 

 splashing and shouting as in the Gulf of Manaar. 



Arrived at the bottom, the diver if he be in the 

 habit of keeping his eyes open uses the white stones as 

 a landmark, for there is no reason to suppose that he will 

 be lucky enough to drop in the middle of a sponge-bed. 

 If the water be clear he will then leave go of the rope 

 and wander round, always able to find his way back as 

 long as he can see the stone. But, as often as not, there 

 is trouble going on at the bottom ; a fight among the 

 ground-fish, or a dolphin poking about after molluscs, 

 and the water is as thick as a London fog even the 

 man's own movements, in some grounds, are sufficient to 

 cloud everything. In such a case the diver dare not let 

 go of the rope, but must carry the stone about with him. 

 Hurriedly tearing off all the sponges that lie to his hand, 

 he stuffs them into his net-bag (some men carry no bag, 

 but tuck their gatherings under the left arm), gives a 

 couple of jerks to the rope, and he and the bag and the 

 stone are swiftly hoisted up. 



It may be asked, How is the man at the top to tell 

 the difference between the signal for hauling and the 

 natural tugs on the rope caused by the diver in moving 



253 



