"If they'll let me," said Joe, "I'd like to go down and try to free that diver from whatever is holding him."
"You go down? Are you a diver?"
"Not the kind that uses a suit, no. But I do a diving and tank act in the circus."
Joe's offer and his talk had aroused instant attention from the crowd about him and from the men at the air pumps and life-line.
"I guess you'll find, young man, brave and generous as your offer is," said one of the air-pumpers, "that diving in a circus tank is some different from going down forty feet."
"I realize that," said Joe quietly.
"And what about holding your breath?" asked Mr. Blair. "Can you do it?"
"He can hold it for nearly four and a half minutes," said Helen quickly.
"Whew!" whistled one of the diver's helpers. He knew what that record meant.
"If you'll let me, I'll go down without a suit," offered Joe. "I'm not saying I can save your man, but I simply can't stand here and let him die without making an effort."