the table. At the end of the meal, the notables left : they said they had to 

 attend a meeting to make important decisions. Result: two new 

 honorary freemen of Ponza that evening take a well-earned rest. 



The following day, on board the Tenace^ we left the island. The 

 municipality presented us with the sword of a swordfish as a souvenir : 

 this trophy worthy of a museum of natural history had been brought 

 back from the Red Sea by a Ponza fisherman. 



The Tenace was now running along the Island of Ischia : there it 

 was that my son, with de Sanctis, carried out the intended dive to 

 357 fathoms. 'So as not to lose the habit!' he said. This trial made a 

 much greater impression upon me than the descents in which I myself 

 took part. For this once I had to give up my place in the bathyscaphe, 

 as the cabin would be very small for three people plus a 3 5 -mm. 

 cine-camera. I was present at the series of preparatory operations : 

 up till then I had known them only by having heard the orders given 

 through the telephone. 



When everything was ready, the sluices of the air tanks were opened, 

 and the bathyscaphe sank. The tower was halfway in when the two 

 last sailors who had been handling her plunged into the water and 

 swam back to the tug. The aerial, then the two flags which float at the 

 masthead, sank in their turn. The Tenace and the Fenice moved away. 



The place chosen, situated to the south of Ischia, is off the sea 

 routes: but the wind and the currents carried us away towards the 

 island. Scarcely had the Trieste disappeared, when vessels appeared on 

 both sides. At full speed, the Fenice went to meet them to ask them to 

 withdraw. 



At last, in the distance, the Trieste emerged. But why was the 

 flagstaff bent .'' Why did the deck rise higher than usual ? When they 

 emerged, my son and de Sanctis told us what had happened. During 

 the descent all had gone forward according to programme and the 

 bathyscaphe landed gently on the bottom at 357 fathoms. But during 

 the ascent, a suffocating gas had invaded the cabin. 



Jacques knew what had to be done. If sea water enters one of the 

 cases containing the accumulators, chlorine is released. Several 

 submarine crews have been victims of this toxic gas. Although he 

 could not detect any leak of water, he decided to ascend as quickly as 

 possible. He grasped the handle of the switch : all the ballast fell out 

 and the Trieste rose at full speed : her rate of ascent exceeded the 

 critical speed of which we have spoken (page 122). Without a 



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