The sun., 1919-08-02
MODERN MERMAIDS
WALK UNDER SOUND
Four and Some Men Go Down
in New Salvaging Sub
,- marine.
SIMON LAKES LATEST
He Demonstrates It's Effec-
tiveness "a Feet Beneath
the Water.

the Water.
The Modern Mermaid. whose name on
dry land is Miss Ruth Byers of New
York. took a hitch In her galluses drew
the wide white duck overalls that Com.
mander Simon Lake Of the Argosy and
Argonaut III. had borrowed from a diver
and had had Numbered specially for her
tribe snugger amidships and stepped
one bare foot gingerly on the dank slip.
perry sand four fathoms below the spark.
ling surface Of Long Island Sound. In
stantly she withdrew 1t, opened her mouth
and shrieked as loud as the compressed
air the chief engineer was serving out
TO her would permit her to Shrek:
"Aow-w-w-w n crab Help A crab
he bit me r.
The party assembled above heard the
wall over the wire of the connectins
telephone and trembled lest the sea ser.
pent that used to haunt the waters OF
the Sound In the days before the wal
and the League of Nations grabbed the
| front page had returned to devour Mer.
maiden Ruth. But Commander Simon
had squirrel her down, seized his spear
and pinned the squirming crab to the
floor of the Sound. Then the Norman
and Mermaid together stepped again
INTO the water and trotted blithesomely
along.
They walk with the ship.
walk with the ship! Walk with the
| ship J" warned Norman Simon. "KeeI
a moving, or your head will be dragged
| under the water. and whatever the mer.
maids Of former times did no modern
specimen could exist long without my
| compressed air surrounding he- upper
story. Ears ring much?"
II never had such a good time in al
| my life." gurgled his companion, who 1.
| destined 70 go laundering down the
| aisles OF fame as the first girl who eves
| went walking on the floor of Long Islant
| Sound. How far are we submeued?'
"Twenty-four feet, or four fathoms,
\ replied Commander Lake.
Call It fathoms-it sounds deeper
| begged the Modern Mermaid, as sh,
scooped up scurrying fish with hei
! bare hand and plucked' some sea cabbag,
from the garden oyer which they wer,
fastening.
Such good time did they have dowr
4
| Argonaut had to call down three times
to remind the two that large ant
eager party Of reporters and moving pic
| ture men and other folks waited theii
turn to test the practicability of Sffnor
Lakes invention, the salvaglng sub
| marine. Miss Byers wasn't the onl,
! mermaids There were three others, the
woman from THE SUN and a girl photog.
| rapher and a girl reporter from Bridge.
port papers.
The rest were all men, and let 1t be
recorded right here that whereas not 6
one OF the four mermaids recoiled from
the long. creepy, Gravity trip down the
| inside of the iron tube that leads from
the mother ship, the Argonaut. dowr
to the bowels OF the submerged Argosy
six OF those men fatty refused to be-
come mermen, turning quite pale wher
urged and saying that the upper sun
| light was good enough for them.
Another man. whose name shall not
| be divulged, because having got the vote
women can afford to be generous, be
came quite panic stricken when he found
himself with Commander Simon and 9
mermaid in the little compartment be
low with compressed air sizzling In AND
the trap door opening to the floor of the
sea, and confessed that II he didn't &C
|
become very sick. He was led to tho
| upper deck by compassionate mer
maid. And still another man couldn'i
stand the air pressure.
| But It should be said In justice thai
instead OF eating sensible sandwiches
and coffee and SO forth at the luncheon
| Commander Simon served before takine
his guests down. these two men gorget
| themselves on pickles, Ice cream and
several rickeys combination well cal
culated to undermine mans courage.
Gay Party From bridgeport.
| 1t was q gay party that sailed ava.
from Bridgeport Harbor yesterday morn
ing to take part in the first public dem
onstration of Simon Lakes Invention
which he says will be the means OF sal
vaging no end Of shipwrecked treasure
even that most valuable treasure. tn,
million tons or so of hard coal that ha,
gone in barges to the bottom Of thu
waters of New York and neighborint
ports.
| There were many reporters and pic
ture men, all happy and blithesome be
cause the sun was shining and becaus,
sundry peeps into the galley and a certain
small room adjoining had revealed tina
the Argonaut was supplied not Only will
plenty of excellent food. but with many
bottles with as much kick in them a!
| the law allows OF shore, and that is
well, anyhow, everybody looked happ.
and sang and joked and told Commands
Simon. who looked like a real old sal
in his sea toys, with his beaming rec
face and grizzled hair. what a jolly goot
fellow he was
The plan had been to go out to tn,
Mary Alice. a Government patrol boa
that was rammed by an American sub
marine last February and now rests or
the bottom some distance out in tn,
| Sound, and submerge there. But Com
mander Simon said that was nearly fifty
feet below the surface, and though h,
and his men had been down in the Ar
COSY and walked on the floor of tn,
wreck and brought up its starboard ligh
he didn't dare risk such a depth FOL
landlubbers who had never been dowr
before.
"Got to get used to the air pressur,
gradually" he said. 1--WE won't go dow
more than twenty-four feet this time"
Arrived at point Commander Simon
considered right. the Argosy and Argo
naut III. halted and Miss Byers retiret
| to a cabin and with the aid of tn,
three other prospective mermaids wa
INDICTED into the white duck overalis
which were a few degrees sitter thar
sheet iron. While MermaiGen Ruth he'll
on to the side of the berth the othe