“Why not, sir?” cried Bigley. “It’s only like diving for fun.”
“But if anything happened?”
“Why, nothing can happen, sir. It’s as easy as can be.”
“One moment,” said my father; “let’s see how the tackle works.”
He gave the word, the men slackened the rope, and the bag with the pig of lead in it went down with a splash and sank rapidly to the bottom, where it was allowed to stay for a few minutes and then hauled up.
“There, sir, that goes right enough, only when it went down it would have taken me with it, and when it came up it would have brought the first chest of silver.”
“If you have not been mistaken,” said my father drily. “Well, sir, we shall see,” said Bigley colouring; and standing up in the boat he made a spring and dived off, curving down and rising again like a seal before swimming back to the side with a mastery over the water that I never could approach, though there was a time when I could swim and dive pretty well.
“Now, then,” cried Bigley, taking hold of the bag without waiting for farther orders, “let the rope run quite clear, and don’t haul till I come up and tell you.”
“Do you feel sure that you can do it, my lad?” cried my father eagerly. “Oh yes, sir!”
“Then, mind, if there is any difficulty you will give up at once.”