, but once you're below the wave motion it's
quiet as ever. They could dive."

Scotty stood up. "If they can, so can we."

There was no denial to that. They made a trip to the _Water Witch_ and
collected their equipment, then planned what they would do.

"We'll all use lungs," Tony said. "We have three regulators and there
are plenty of full tanks, enough for two dives each. However, we have
only two pairs of glasses for the dark-light camera. I'll yield to
Scotty as the more experienced diver, so you and he use the glasses,
Rick. I'll stay on top, or near the top, with a single float, and a gun.
If I use the lung I can stay submerged most of the time and not have to
fight waves."

"Lash yourself to the float," Scotty cautioned.

"And we'll use a buddy line," Rick added. "The same one the professor
and I used. Scotty, you take a gun, and I'll take the camera."

"If I see any trouble in the making, I'll bang on my air tank," Tony
said. "You should be able to hear that for quite a distance."

There was nothing else to be planned in advance. They picked up their
equipment and went out the back door into the storm, crossing the island
through the palms. As they emerged onto the eastern shore, Scotty
called, "Look--about five hundred yards north."

The lights of the frogmen's boat, visible as bright halos through the
rain, were tossing violently just inside the eastern reef. Apparently
the boat was anchored. The rain was too thick for them to see any
movement aboard, or to see details of the boat itself.

"Move carefully," Rick cautioned. He had to raise his voice to be heard
above the storm. "We haven't explored this shore. It may be full of
coral heads."

"I doubt it," Scotty returned. "It would be too dangerous for the boat
in this kind of weather, even if they knew a channel."

"Rick's right about careful movement, nevertheless," Tony replied. "We
must move with care, especially near the reef." He indicated his float.
"I'll never be able to tow this through that water, so I'll leave it in
the palm grove. We can pick it up on the way back. We shouldn't need it
with lungs, anyway. Do you boys have rescue packs?"

The packs were plastic floats compressed into packages no larger than a
cigarette pack. They contained a carbon-dioxide cartridge and could be
inflated simply by squeezing them, which punctured the cartridge. The
boys had carried them on their weight belts for so long that they took
them for granted.