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For a minute I thought my brain cells were rubbing together." Zircon sighed. "I am stumped. And not only by your Wailing Willie, either. This whole affair baffles me, including the presence of Steve's former tail on this island. Hasn't it occurred to you that those fancy frogmen, as you call them, would have made some overt move by now if they were really interested in us?"
At first, the captured frogmen were defiant. They insisted that the Navy had nothing on them. The brass ball wasn't theirs. They were only sport divers having some fun. Then, faced with the unassailable fact that Rick had taken motion pictures of their activities, they lapsed into sullen silence and refused to talk.
Then he held his legs still and let inertia carry him in a silent glide. He had to get close close! The light grew in intensity, and details grew clearer. He saw the frogmen, and their backs were to him! Between them, he caught a glimpse of something brassy and round, and he saw the octopus, clinging to the reef to one side of the cave. He held the camera button as long as he dared.
Once in the water, the weight of the heavy tanks vanished. The boys had removed weights from their belts to allow for the extra tanks and for more than ten additional pounds of air on the descent. A pair of frogmen payed out a heavy rope, taking the reel down with them in order to provide a direct link from wreck to ship.
But they had stayed in the cabin so long that enough water had been displaced to bring the pool of exhausted air close to the entrance, which was only a few inches below roof level. In a moment the air would spill out, and rising bubbles would warn the frogmen! He gripped Scotty's shoulder and pointed to the silvery mass of exhausted air that curled perilously close to the entrance.
Bud, astride his opponent's chest with knees pinning the man's arms, unlooped from his belt the wire he had brought. "Here! Take some of this and wire your man's wrists together!" Bud told Mel. When the frogmen were safely bound, Bud and Mel allowed them to stand up. Neither captive tried to escape. "Now, my sneaky friends, talk!" Bud snapped. "What kind of a sightseeing trip did you plan?"
The coppery ramparts were close, not more than three or four miles distant; in front of us the plain lifted in a long rolling swell, and up this the corial essayed to go with a terrifying lessening of speed. Faintly behind us came shootings, and we knew that Lugur drew close. Nor anywhere was there sign of Lakla nor her frogmen.
Rick looked around and oriented himself by the position of the Water Witch, then led the way with Scotty, Steve, and Jimmy swimming along with him while the Navy frogmen stayed closed behind. It was a thrill for Rick to be swimming with the famous UDT frogmen. He looked to the side and saw that Steve was perfectly at home in the water, and he marveled at the adaptability of the JANIG agent.
Rick peered through his mask and saw that the boat was still anchored in the same place. There were figures on its deck. Four of them Four! He ripped his mask off for a clearer look, and his heart skipped a beat. The frogmen had Tony! How Sings the Gay Sardine? Rick and Scotty held a hurried consultation, mouth to ear. "We'll have to get him," Scotty whispered urgently. He held up his spear gun.
It was hard to see, but Rick thought it had a golden glisten and that it was round, about the size of a basketball. The frogmen took it and went under. Zircon's big hand took Rick by the shoulder, then he turned and motioned to the others that they were going under. Rick shifted from snorkel to aqualung mouthpiece. He took the end of rope that Zircon held out and snapped it to his weight belt.
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