Now, when the morning came, at once we made our preparations for the descent. Woods and I were to go down first, he telling me that it was nought to do; that to begin with I should feel a suffocation which would soon pass away, and that, excepting I would seem to be surrounded by green glass full of bubbles, 'twould not be so very strange. Moreover, he told me to fear nothing, no, not even a shark if he came near me, for he would be more affrighted than I, since he knew not what I might be.
So down to the carrack we descended.
First went Woods, saying he would wait for me at the bottom to set me on my feet, and so, as easy as ever, over he went and disappeared from all sight, and then my turn came, and the sailors lowered me from the gunwale.
In a moment I was sinking through the waters, all blue and green and bubbling, passing as I went the cannon sticking up from its port--it had been left run out when the ship sank, and was a long Spanish one, its muzzle formed like a snake's mouth, and looking three times the size it really was, since the water much magnified it--and so down, seeing fishes dart all around me, looking with frighted eyes at my strange figure. Then I felt my feet clasped by Woods and placed firm upon the bottom, and I was there.
And what a strange sight did meet my eyes! Firstly I perceived I was not on the bottom at all, but standing on the upturned starboard side of the ship, quite near by the great cannon, and also to an open port. Yet, as she was not entirely canted over but lay at an angle, 'twas very hard work to support oneself steady, and I was very glad to cling to a stanchion for the time. But, now, Woods taking me by the hand did lead me up the chain wales and so over the bow, until I stood with him upon the deck, which was here not difficult; and then I look'd around.
The first thing to be perceived was that the whole of the deck was swept clean of most that had been on't, except such things as the hatch-hoods which were fixed, the after bittacle, the stumps of the broken masts, and so forth. The cannons, too, had slid down owing to the incline of the wreck, and did all lie huddled on the lower, or larboard side, and the hatches were mostly open. Wedged in among the cannon were some bones and a skull, so that now I knew that the negro had seen this in his descent, and had thought the black muzzle of the cannon was a porthole.
And now, Woods making to me a sign to follow him and pointing to my air-pipe--which, he had told me before he came down, I must by no means get twisted, or the air would cease--he set his foot upon the after hatch-ladder, and, so, slowly descended, I following. So did we go down to the middle deck, around which were placed the cabins or berths. And now I was to see a sight enough to freeze anyone's blood, even though so old a sailor as myself. For first we went into the main or living cabin, and there we observed what Death had done in its most grisly way. We saw huddled into a corner of it the clothes of a man and woman, within them still their bones, and they were, or had been, locked in each other's arms--the long hair of the woman lying close by the fleshless head. Then did we see in another corner another woman--her mass of hair pale and golden, like to an Englishwoman's, and in her bony arms she held also some little bones and a skull, which told a sad tale--it was a mother and her poor babe, who had perished together. And, around and about all, there swam and darted away as we drew near hordes of fishes, though 'twas long since they had made a meal of these poor dead things.
But now I could stay no longer, being as yet not used to my strange head-dress of copper, so I made to Woods a sign that I must go above, and so we went forth, and, giving of the signal, were drawn up to the surface again. And once more I breathed the air of Heaven and was very grateful therefore.
Then Phips took both me and Woods aside, asking us what we had found, and we told him--he sighing at the sad news from below--and also did we tell him how, as yet, we had done no more; so says he,
"Well, courage, Nick; when next you go down you shall find better than these poor dead ones--what think you, Woods?"