lancing upwards, he thought he could see the
life-lines and air-pipes of the other divers. To make sure he signalled
for more air. This he did by means of the air-pipe--two pulls--instead
of using the speaking-tube, because the air-pipe and life-line are never
for a single instant let go or neglected by the attendants above,
whereas the speaking-tube, on that occasion, was merely tried for the
first time by these divers as an experiment. Immediately the puffing at
the airhole showed that the men at the pumps were on the alert. Edgar
now closed his front-valve so that no air at all was suffered to escape
through it; the dress began to inflate, and in a few seconds was swelled
out pretty tightly.

Up to that period he had felt no further inconvenience than a slight
pressure on the drums of his ears, which was relieved by the usual
method of swallowing the saliva, which action has the effect of opening
a small, and not _easily_ opened, internal orifice or passage to the
drum, and thus, by admitting the condensed air to the interior of the
ear, enables it to resist the pressure on the outside. Each inspiration
of air has the same effect on the lungs, and the pressure, inside and
outside, being _at once_ equalised, is in their case unfelt, although it
remains and tests the strength of the animal tissues. Hence it is a
recognised rule that a man who has at any time spat blood is unsuited to
a diver's work, as his weak blood-vessels are apt to burst. But now,
under the increased pressure, our hero felt his ears affected
considerably, and other disagreeable sensations came on--such as singing
in the head, etcetera; nevertheless, confident in his strength, he
persevered.

Presently the amount of air in his dress more than counterbalanced the
weight of lead about him--great though it was--and he began to rise like
a cork--slowly. In a few seconds his head was close to the lines and
air-pipes which he observed passing over the bulwarks of the wreck and
down into the hold. Afraid lest he should get entangled in them he
caught hold of the end of a piece of iron which projected near him and
checked his upward rise. At the same time he opened his valves; the air
rushed out, and he immediately descended. On reaching the bottom he
regulated the valves so as to give himself just enough of air to permit
of his _keeping_ the ground, and moving about as before.

He had observed, while up, that one set of lines diverged away fro