The Coconino weekly sun., 1895-05-09
"In the midst of this exhilara,ins

"In the midst of this exhilarating squirt pulled up suddenly.
 "As if it had instantly materialized from the sea water, was face tc face with gigantic shark. I quickly re. membered, however, that while naked native divers are occasionally dev cured by these demons of the deep, they never attack the arruored diver.
 Indeed! I fancy now that the shark was quite as startled as the diver, for after second he wheeled and glided of to ore side.
 "As l started on once more ! was stopped second time, not by ap ob- stacle before, but by 8 sharp pull on the air pipe behind my helmet, which jerked me over sprawling on my back.
 My first thought was that the shark had attacked me in the rear, but ou scrambling to my feet and facing about l saw that the air.pipe, which, in my first sudden stop, had probably slack ened till it lay on the bottom, was ap, parcntly caught against some protrud. ing object
 'i hasteaed back to release it, when, to my surprise, found it held fast be. tween the shells of a giant clam.
 "I gave the stout wire-lined tubing a twitch, then strong pull, bracing my feet against the great bivalve. Then clutched the rims of the shell and strove to separate e them.
 But the vise-like jaws were relent. less. As easily might have rended a granite ledge at some seam in its center.
 Then turned to the lifeline to sig. nal the tender in the boat As did SC saw that it, too, had become slack, and was tangled iu branching coral. dashed forward to disengage it, but before Preached it Twas again twitched backward by the air-pipe.
 "Then, for the first time, realized the full significance of the situation. My air supply was stopped, communi. cation with the upper world cut off, and l, Jack Ballantine, in all the vigor of young manhood, chained to my death at the bottom of Torres strait.
 And now a sudden sense of suffoca. tiou warned me that my struggle was limited to seconds
 Tn flash of memory recalled the tale of one like disaster, where the diver cut his air-tube with dash freed his lifeline, and was drawn up half dead. But l had no knife; in that sud den backward fall had lost hold of it.
 ''Then, as lifted my eyes in a last despairing search for succor, beheld resting in the branching coral before me-and to this day I marvel at the miracle of it-an iron bar, pointed al one end-a veritable crowbar.
 'In an instant I was prying at tre jaws of the giant clam, with the lever age of the bar and the strength of des' peration. For a suffocating moment the struggle was unava fling, then one rim split away and the pipe was free, ,'I turned toward the lifeline, stag. gered and fell across 1t, insensible!
 ''I suppose the weight of my falling body gave the line the one jerk which was the signal to the tender to pull up Anyway, the tender got the sig nal, and the next I knew I was lying on the deck of the lugger, the old Nan tucketer on his knees at my side, and all the scared crew standing about"
 Truly most extraordinary tale, as we'll as a terrible experience" I ex claimed, as Ballantine ended his story and the waiter brought on the dessert That crowbar, for instance, is strair on an everyday businessman's creduli ty," and 1 looked past my friends face to the bronze face of Franklin across the street.
 And yet it is only another instance of truth stranger than fiction," assert ed Ballantine. "Why, the first time the old Nantucketer l have mentioned went down, on recovering from the daze of sudden descent, he saw in { crotch of the coral before him Q bottle of pale ale, and if beer, why not 8 | crow Globe.