“In the bells, you know, they go down and are pulled up only in the middle of the day and at evening, when their work is done.”
“How with the men in armor?”
“Oh, they can stand it almost as well. They come up oftener, though. There is one advantage in the armor: a man can fling off his weight and come up whenever he likes.”
“Have you ever been down yourself?”
“Oh yes—oftener than any of my men. I’m the oldest diver in the country, I think. But I don’t go down often now. It’s hard work, and I’m getting old.”
“Is it much harder than other work?”
“Well, you see, it’s unnatural sort of work, and is hard on the lungs. Still, I always was healthy. The real reason why I stopped was a circumstance that happened two years ago.”
“What was that?”
Brocket drew a long breath, looked for a moment meditatively at the floor, and then went on:
“Well, there happened to be a wreck of a steamer called the Saladin down off the North Carolina coast, and I thought I would try her as a speculation, for I supposed that there might be considerable money on board one way or another. It was a very singular affair. Only two men had escaped; it was so sudden. They said the vessel struck a rock at night when the water was perfectly still, and went down in a few minutes, before the passengers could even be awakened. It may seem horrid to you, but you must know that a ship-load of passengers is very profitable, for they all carry money. Besides, there are their trunks, and the clerk’s desk, and so on. So, this time, I went down myself. The ship lay on one side of the rock which had pierced her, having floated off just before sinking; and I had no difficulty in getting on board. After walking about the deck I went at once into the saloon. Sir,” said Brocket, with an awful look at Brandon, “if I should live for a hundred years I should never forget the sight that I saw. A hundred passengers or more had been on board, and most of them had rushed out of their state-rooms as the vessel began to sink. Very many of them lay on the floor, a frightful multitude of dead.