passed at that moment over the appearance of the bay. It
was no more that clear, visible interior, like a house roofed with glass,
where the green, submarine sunshine slept so stilly. A breeze, I
suppose, had flawed the surface, and a sort of trouble and blackness
filled its bosom, where flashes of light and clouds of shadow tossed
confusedly together. Even the terrace below obscurely rocked and
quivered. It seemed a graver thing to venture on this place of ambushes;
and when I leaped into the sea the second time it was with a quaking in
my soul.

I secured myself as at first, and groped among the waving tangle. All
that met my touch was cold and soft and gluey. The thicket was alive
with crabs and lobsters, trundling to and fro lopsidedly, and I had to
harden my heart against the horror of their carrion neighbourhood. On
all sides I could feel the grain and the clefts of hard, living stone; no
planks, no iron, not a sign of any wreck; the _Espirito Santo_ was not
there. I remember I had almost a sense of relief in my disappointment,
and I was about ready to leave go, when something happened that sent me
to the surface with my heart in my mouth. I had already stayed somewhat
late over my explorations; the current was freshening with the change of
the tide, and Sandag Bay was no longer a safe place for a single swimmer.
Well, just at the last moment there came a sudden flush of current,
dredging through the tangles like a wave. I lost one hold, was flung
sprawling on my side, and, instinctively grasping for a fresh support, my
fingers closed on something hard and cold. I think I knew at that moment
what it was. At least I instantly left hold of the tangle, leaped for
the surface, and clambered out next moment on the friendly rocks with the
bone of a man's leg in my grasp.

Mankind is a material creature, slow to think and dull to perceive
connections. The grave, the wreck of the brig, and the rusty shoe-buckle
were surely plain advertisements. A child might have read their dismal
story, and yet it was not until I touched that actual piece of mankind
that the full horror of the charnel ocean burst upon my spirit. I laid
the bone beside the buckle, picked up my clothes, and ran as I was along
the rocks towards the human shore. I could not be far enough from the
spot; no fortune was vast enough to tempt me back again. The bones of
the drowned dead should henceforth roll undisturbed by me, whether on
tangle