"I shall not stoop to that," I said. "I cannot afford it. My love in the future shall go out to every human being and I still regard Captain Ganoe, with all of his prejudices, as one of the best. I have forgiven his weakness and want to forget. What I need now is something better to think about."
"Well," said Oqua, "the excursion beneath the waters of the lake in the Sea Rover this afternoon and the one on the Silver King down the Cocytas to-morrow will give you a great many things that will doubtless, very thoroughly engage your attention."
"That," I said, "is just what I need. Something to arouse my interest and exclude disquieting reflections. But what of this excursion beneath the waters of the lake? I had not heard of that."
"Oh yes," said Oqua, "the Superintendent of Festivities would not think of slighting the Sea Rovers who make the navigation of our shallow lakes, bays and rivers safe for such vessels as the Silver King and their numerous passengers. They wanted to entertain our visitors from the outer world on their own vessel and of course the excursion beneath the water was made a part of the program."
"Well, the arrangement," I said, "is better than I anticipated and it surely will be, to me, a novel experience to be able to see the world of marine life as the fishes see it."
"And as the Sea Rovers see and improve it," said Oqua. "But see! They are signaling for us to come on board."
In a few minutes we had passed out upon the dancing floor of the Rovers and descended into an elegantly furnished cabin. I was the only one present who had not become acquainted with the crew, and Oqua introduced me as the Scientist of the Ice King, to Captain Doris of the Sea Rover who gave me a cordial greeting and introduced me to a number of his comrades. In answer to my inquiries, he gave me an entertaining and instructive description of the duties of the submarine service.
"Our work," he said, "is to keep a careful lookout for obstructions that might impede navigation and endanger life. This is especially necessary in rivers like the Cocytas, where huge stones are sometimes loosened from the rocky shores and fall into the channel, and sand-bars form rapidly. These are discovered and removed by the submarine patrols."
"But how," I asked, "can you get at them?"
"Nothing easier," said Doris, "as I will show you."