“The madman laughed. ‘A hundred and six more,’ he replied; ‘and to hell with Patasy.’
“This moment the eyes of the Taote met me. He was shivering, as Mauraii had shivered when he left Takaroa.
“‘Give me the helmet!’ he ordered. ‘Help me put it on. I will know. I will know!’
“He put the pearl in a purse, and the purse in a pocket of the diving-coat. A knife was in his belt. I fastened the coat and the belt and tied the strings at the wrist. I put the lead weights on his breast and back, and lowered him into the water. Before I screwed the helmet tight, I said to him: ‘Go slowly! Walk carefully! Don’t bend too low!’
“Mauraii fed the pump as I let out the line, and when I felt the weight of the line, I took the pump myself. Now, a man like me, who has dived with the machine for years, knows every motion of the line.
The Taote was not moving slowly and cautiously. He stopped, and for five minutes there was little motion.
“Aueo!” I thought. He has found the robbed bank, and the anchor. He knows the truth. He will come up now. What will I do? He will be terrible.
“Suddenly I felt a drag at the rope, swift and hard; not the steady pull of walking.
“He has fallen, tripped and fallen, and cannot get up! That was my thought.
“‘Mauraii,’ I said, ‘you man the pump alone. Go smoothly! If you fail, I will kill you!’