straps of the canvas gear bag hanging from his weight belt.
"Reeder?"
"Natch," Reeder said, leaning awkwardly against the wall to ease the weight of the gear.
Amos heard the sudden, sharp sound of the rain as it struck the boat and saw the water soaking into Tanaka's trousers, turning the white to gray.
As the squall swept over them, the light outside turned soft and dark, almost like twilight, and Amos heard Tanaka say, "Oh, greatl"
The diesel changed its tone as Tanaka took it out of gear, and in a few seconds the boat lost way and began to roll awkwardly, not moving ahead at all.
"We're dead in the water," Tanaka said, leaning down, his face streaming rain. "Gear's going over."
Amos could see one of the crew rolling their supplies over the side. "Let's go," he said.
Max moved into the tunnel under the copra sacks first, and then John. Amos motioned for Reeder to
At the end of the tunnel Amos found that it was raining so hard he couldn't see twenty feet ahead, and the concealment made him feel better.
With the boat dead in the water, they would come down where the supplies sank, and there'd be no problem with propeller turbulence.
Max had already gone over, but John was still at
the rail, fiddling with the gear bag. Reeder crouched in the scupper, waiting for him to go.
"Dive, John!" Amos said.
But John just grinned and pulled a black rubber-covered box out of the canvas bag. He held it up in the rain, waving it slowly back and forth.
"CommanderI" John called. "Be sure to come back and pick us up. This is the coding board."
John pushed himself outward and fell into the water, the rubber case in his hands.
Tanaka's face turned a queer, muddy gray as the rain streamed down it.
Reeder and Amos went over the side almost together, but Reeder went in much too close to the curved hull of the boat and, when the turbulence of his dive cleared, Amos looked around to see if he had hurt himself.
It was dark in the water, but Reeder looked okay. He recovered from the jump and started swimming downward.
As Amos headed down after him, all he could think about was the Irish pennant trailing from the bow. When he got back aboard, he would haul in that frayed length of rope.
The water was dark, and getting darker the deeper Amos went. When he stopped breathing to listen, he could hear the dry-frying sound of rain on the surface.
The wall of lava beside him looked only a little grayer than the water itself.
The bottom began to appear—a rough area of gray-black boulders and coral, the colors dim. Now he could make out Max and John, who were hovering just above the coral.
For a second Amos felt a slap of panic, but then he saw the gray sacks with their supplies lying among the rocks and coral.
At a depth of twenty feet, Amos joined Max and John, all of them keeping clear of the sharp-edged coral.
The boat was still not moving, for he could see no swirl of water at the stern. He couldn't find Reeder either, and that irritated him. The man must have come down at an angle, and if he didn't have sense enough to stay in one place, they could lose a lot of time looking for him.
Amos turned and looked at the lava wall. The appearance of it was shocking, and as he stared at it in disbelief, he remembered his argument with Tanaka about that wall.
Amos had not liked the plan. He couldn't see why it was necessary to put them into the channel in the afternoon, leaving them there clinging to the wall all that day, all that night, and all the next day, and not picking them up until the following night.
Tanaka had not budged. His argument was that the copra boats could not move in the lagoon at night. There was no way, Tanaka claimed, that he could pick them up at night and get back into the channel the next day.
Sometime in the far distant past the volcanoes that made up the backbone of the largest of the atoll's islands had exploded and sent a wide river of melted, boiling rocks flowing down to the sea. This collision of
"Reeder?"
"Natch," Reeder said, leaning awkwardly against the wall to ease the weight of the gear.
Amos heard the sudden, sharp sound of the rain as it struck the boat and saw the water soaking into Tanaka's trousers, turning the white to gray.
As the squall swept over them, the light outside turned soft and dark, almost like twilight, and Amos heard Tanaka say, "Oh, greatl"
The diesel changed its tone as Tanaka took it out of gear, and in a few seconds the boat lost way and began to roll awkwardly, not moving ahead at all.
"We're dead in the water," Tanaka said, leaning down, his face streaming rain. "Gear's going over."
Amos could see one of the crew rolling their supplies over the side. "Let's go," he said.
Max moved into the tunnel under the copra sacks first, and then John. Amos motioned for Reeder to
At the end of the tunnel Amos found that it was raining so hard he couldn't see twenty feet ahead, and the concealment made him feel better.
With the boat dead in the water, they would come down where the supplies sank, and there'd be no problem with propeller turbulence.
Max had already gone over, but John was still at
the rail, fiddling with the gear bag. Reeder crouched in the scupper, waiting for him to go.
"Dive, John!" Amos said.
But John just grinned and pulled a black rubber-covered box out of the canvas bag. He held it up in the rain, waving it slowly back and forth.
"CommanderI" John called. "Be sure to come back and pick us up. This is the coding board."
John pushed himself outward and fell into the water, the rubber case in his hands.
Tanaka's face turned a queer, muddy gray as the rain streamed down it.
Reeder and Amos went over the side almost together, but Reeder went in much too close to the curved hull of the boat and, when the turbulence of his dive cleared, Amos looked around to see if he had hurt himself.
It was dark in the water, but Reeder looked okay. He recovered from the jump and started swimming downward.
As Amos headed down after him, all he could think about was the Irish pennant trailing from the bow. When he got back aboard, he would haul in that frayed length of rope.
The water was dark, and getting darker the deeper Amos went. When he stopped breathing to listen, he could hear the dry-frying sound of rain on the surface.
The wall of lava beside him looked only a little grayer than the water itself.
The bottom began to appear—a rough area of gray-black boulders and coral, the colors dim. Now he could make out Max and John, who were hovering just above the coral.
For a second Amos felt a slap of panic, but then he saw the gray sacks with their supplies lying among the rocks and coral.
At a depth of twenty feet, Amos joined Max and John, all of them keeping clear of the sharp-edged coral.
The boat was still not moving, for he could see no swirl of water at the stern. He couldn't find Reeder either, and that irritated him. The man must have come down at an angle, and if he didn't have sense enough to stay in one place, they could lose a lot of time looking for him.
Amos turned and looked at the lava wall. The appearance of it was shocking, and as he stared at it in disbelief, he remembered his argument with Tanaka about that wall.
Amos had not liked the plan. He couldn't see why it was necessary to put them into the channel in the afternoon, leaving them there clinging to the wall all that day, all that night, and all the next day, and not picking them up until the following night.
Tanaka had not budged. His argument was that the copra boats could not move in the lagoon at night. There was no way, Tanaka claimed, that he could pick them up at night and get back into the channel the next day.
Sometime in the far distant past the volcanoes that made up the backbone of the largest of the atoll's islands had exploded and sent a wide river of melted, boiling rocks flowing down to the sea. This collision of
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