very
quickly settled into his place, and then, whenever he had a spare
moment, he got to work with a pencil and paper, making sketches and
calculations. Then, one evening in the second dog-watch, he brought to
me a sheet of paper on which he had sketched the outline of a human
figure; he first showed me this, and then, producing a tape measure, he
desired me to measure him very accurately, jotting down upon the diagram
the several measurements as I called them out.

Then, a day or two afterwards, I found him busily at work with a
quantity of light, thin, iron rod, which he had routed out from among
the ship's stores. This rod he cut up into carefully measured lengths,
and he welded and riveted these together, with the aid of a portable
forge which he had rigged up on the lee side of the fore deck, until, in
the course of a week, he had constructed some half a dozen light but
strong skeleton frames. Having tried and proved these to his
satisfaction, he procured an empty oak barrel, and, taking it carefully
to pieces, set the carpenter to work to saw, cut out, and carefully
plane up a number of thin strips from the staves. Then, when he had got
as many of these strips as he required, he had small holes bored in them
in certain positions, and, by means of a quantity of fine wire,
proceeded to bind them carefully and strongly to the skeleton frames
which he had previously made. And when he had done that, to my
amazement he calmly proceeded to induct himself into them, with my
assistance, and I then saw that the whole affair constituted a complete
body armour of a kind, helmet and all. But, even then, I had no idea of
what he was driving at until he condescended to explain.

"This," he said, "is the foundation of my diving suit, which will be
complete when I have covered it with a double thickness of well-oiled
canvas. The framework of thin rod will keep the water pressure off my
body; the battens will support the outer covering of canvas and prevent
it from bursting; and you will see that by the arrangement which I have
adopted I secure ample flexibility for my purpose. Then, as soon as we
arrive at our destination, I intend to have one of the screw deck-lights
bodily removed and temporarily fixed in my helmet, which will enable me
to see what I am doing when under water. Of course I shall need weights
to hold me down; and my air will come down to me through the rubber deck
hose, one end of which will be let into