Adrift on the Pacific: A Boys [sic] Story of the Sea and its Perils

by Edward Sylvester Ellis

The two ends were secured among the coral in such a way that there was no danger of their being drawn in by any action of the armor itself, and then Storms, taking an immense sheath-knife in his hand, promptly stepped off from the shore, and as promptly sank under water.

It was a singular sight the four companions whom he left behind saw, when they approached to the edge of the water and looked over.

The mate, incased in his armor, looked like some 100 huge, curiously-shaped shellfish or monster, whose weight was such that he went as straight down as an arrow, and, a few seconds later, was seen bent over and moving about the bottom, loosening up the oysters.

This first venture of Storms’ was more in the nature of an experiment or preliminary reconnoissance. He wished to find how the land lay, as the expression goes. If everything should prove to be in good shape, he would venture down again, with a basket, and the real work of gathering the pearl-oysters would begin.

As we have intimated, Abe Storms felt no misgivings concerning his armor when he moved off from solid land and was submerged in the edge of the Pacific, for he had constructed so many contrivances and machines that he had learned to understand fully what they would do before they were put to work. He carried the enormous sheath-knife in his right hand, and when his feet lightly touched the shells on the bottom, he began turning them over with the point of his knife. The depth of the water being so moderate, he found no difficulty in breathing, and indeed the conditions were such that whoever chose to collect the oysters in this armor was not likely to experience the slightest difficulty.

Down where he was at work the water seemed to be of a light-yellowish tint, caused by the refraction of the sunlight as it made its way to him. He noticed 101 the mild glow, which, of course, would steadily diminish as the sun went down, when all at once it was eclipsed so suddenly by a dark shadow that he instantly suspected the true cause.

Looking upward, he saw an immense shark, certainly a dozen feet in length, that had halted and was evidently surveying with some curiosity this intruder upon his domains.

The man-eater being directly over the diver, was not in the best position to use his fearful jaws with effect, but he was evidently reconnoitering with a view to hostilities. Abe observed that this shadowy figure was motionless, its fins slightly moving back and forth as if it were using them like a balancing-pole, to maintain itself motionless in position, and he marked the horridly-shaped mouth which yawned over his head. Reaching upward with his long-bladed knife, he touched it against the white belly of the monster, and then gave it a strong push.

It was so keen and sharp that it entered deep into the yielding flesh and inflicted a severe wound. Just then the gigantic man-eater suspected he had committed a blunder, and with a lightning-like whirl of his huge body, he dashed out to sea, leaving a crimson trail after him.

Indeed, his charge was so sudden that the huge knife was wrenched from the grasp of Abe Storms, 102 and he was drawn forward off his balance. Had it been in the open air, he would have been hurled to the ground with great force. But he managed to recover himself, and caught a shadowy glimpse of the great shark darting off, as the knife dropped from the wound and sank to the bottom. Not wishing to lose the valuable weapon, Storms walked forward, and seeing it lying on the bottom, at a point which seemed to be the edge of the oyster-bed, he stooped over and recovered it.