"THREE MEN IN A BOAT" 



he held his head out of water while the helmet was lowered over it 

 by Carol, after the hose had first been passed under Eddie's arm. In the 

 meantime, John had the pump in motion. When the helmet rested on 

 Eddie's shoulders, he lowered his body until he saw the surface of the 

 water disappear above his windows. Obeying instructions of a friend 

 from whom the boys had received their information regarding the en- 

 tire project, Eddie stopped to make sure that he felt no discomfort. 

 They had been told repeatedly to "take it easy." All was well, and Eddie 

 let himself down about two feet and stopped again. Air pressure clogged 

 his ears, and he yawned to clear them. There was no other discomfort, 

 and he let himself down until his feet touched bottom. Carol watched 

 intently, and fed the hose out as needed. There must be no kinks in it. 

 Eddie, now standing on the bottom, remembered that he expected to 

 look about him. His windows were fogged, and he recalled what he 

 had been told to do if this occurred. Inclining his head forward, his lips 

 touched the water in the bottom of his helmet. This enabled him to take 

 a mouthful and squirt it on his windows. He could then see the sandy 

 bottom, and after he had walked a few steps away from the Hne, he 

 turned around and could see the bottom of the boat. He then began to 

 walk carefully away from the point of descent. After progressing about 

 ten steps he decided to return, knowing that he had nearly reached the 

 limit of the hose. Turning around he was surprised to find that the boat 

 had disappeared in a sort of fog, and he did not at once locate his hose 

 although it passed under his arm. He lost for a moment his sense of di- 

 rection and had an unexpected feeling of loneliness and helplessness. The 

 only connection he seemed to have with the world he had become sepa- 

 rated from was the steady clicking of the pump-valves through which 

 the air that kept him alive was being fed. Looking upward as high as his 

 helmet would permit, he spied the hose vanishing into the fog. He re- 

 traced his steps, using the hose as a guide for no slack appeared in it. This 



165-2 



