Evening star., 1924-06-15

at the belt. Around his neck was
| sack of cocoanut fiber. and on his
right hand a glove of common denim.
Almost all his robust brown >body
was naked for his return to the sea-
slime whence his first ancestor had
| once crawled.
Down he went through the pellucid
liquid until at about ten feet the re-
sistance of the water stopped his
course and, animated bubble as he
| was. would have pushed him to the
air again. But Nohea turned in a
fash and. with his feet uppermost,
struck out vigorously. He forced
himself down with astonishing speed,
and in twenty seconds was at his
goal
He caught hold of a gigantic COB
let of coral and rested himself an
instant as he marked his object the
| ledge Of darker rocks on which grew
| the shells. There were sharp edges,
| shapes and branching plant-like
| forms. which. appearing soft as silk
from above, would wound him did he
| Craze them with his bare skin.
He moved carefully about and
finally reached the shells One he
gripped with the gloved hand, for the
| shell. too, had serrated edges, and,
| working it to and fro. he broke it
loose from its probable birthplace and
thrust it into his sack. Immedi-
ately he attacked the other and as
quickly detached it. He stopped
| down and looked closely all about
hi m. He then sprang up, put his
arms over his head. his palms pressed
one on the other, and shot toward the
surface.
l could see him coming toward me
like bolt from a catapault I held
a paddle to move the canoe from his
path il he should strike it, and to
meet him the trice he flashed into
| the ether.
The diver put his right arm over
the outrigger boom and, opening his
mouth, gulped the air as does the
bonito when first hauled from the
ocean. I was as still as death. In
seance once I was cautioned not to
speak during the materialixations. as
the disturbance might kill the me-
dium. / recalled that unearthly
silence. for the moment OF emerEence
was the most fatal to the diver His
senses after the terrible pressure or
such weight upon his body were
as Abnormal and acute as a mans
whose nerves have been stripped by
haying.
The change in a few seconds from
being laden and hemmed in by many
tons Of water to the lightness of the
atmosphere was ravaging Slowly
the air was respired, and gradually
his system-heart, glands, lungs and
blood-resumed its ordinary rhythm,
and his organs functioned as before
his descent. Several minutes passed
before he raised his head from the
outrigger, opened his eyes, which
were sunffused with blood, and said
In a low tone of the deaf person,
K tau Atua e." He was thanking
his God for the gift of life and health.
He had been tried with Meshacb.
Shadrach, and Abedenego, though
not by fire.
Nohea lifted himself into the canoe.
and took the sack of coir from his
neck. l removed the two pairs Of
| shells with the reverence one might
assume in taking the newborn babe
from its first cradle. They were Holv
Grails to me, who had witnessed
their wringing from the tie-ribs of
earth.
A FEW score strokes and we were
nearer the center of the lagoon.
out the quality of the bottom, but
only its general configuration. No
hea said the distance was twenty
fathoms. The looking glass disclosed
long ledge with a fiat shelf for a
score of feet, and he said he made
out a number of large shells. It took
the acutest concentration on my part
to find them, with his direction, for
his eyes were twice as keen as mine
from lifetime's usage upon his nat
ural surroundings. We sacrificed our
birthright of vivid senses to artificial
habits, lights and the printed page.
Nohea made ready to go down, but
changed slightly his method and
equipment. He dropped the iron
hooped net into the water by its line
and allowed 1t to sink to the ledge.
Then he raised it a few feet SO that
it would swing clear of the bottom.
1T will hold my shells and indi-
cate to me exactly where the canoe
is" he explained AT this depth, 120
feet, 1 want to rest Immediately on
reaching the surface, and not to have
to swim to the canoe. I have not
dived for many months, and am no
longer young"
He attached the line to the out
rigger, and then, after a fervent
prayer, to which echoed nervous
amen, he began his breathing exer-
cises. Louder than before and more
actively he expanded his lungs until
they held q maximum Of stored oxy-
gen, and then with smile he slid
through the water until he reversed
his body and swan.
He had number Of pairs Of shells
stripped from the shelf and in the
swinging net In q few seconds more,
and then, drawn. by others he dig
cerned farther along the lAleA h.
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