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"I said you and Scotty would teach her how to use the aqualungs." Rick breathed a sigh of relief. That would be no hardship. He and Scotty needed practice, anyway. They had hardly used the lungs since returning from the Virgin Islands. Mrs. Brant summoned them to breakfast and they walked in to find Steve and the scientists gathered at the big table. "Got everything settled?" Rick asked.
"It's still early. Why can't we give Jan another swimming lesson?" They had started the day before teaching Jan how to use underwater breathing apparatus. She was an excellent swimmer, almost as good as Barby. But she had never had experience with mask, fins, and snorkel, so lessons in the use of those were required before she could graduate to the aqualungs. "Let's go," Rick said.
"Let's say it was a good plan. What happened?" Jan took up the tale. "We didn't want to try to swim all the way from Spindrift, so we took the rowboat and did exactly what Cap'n Mike did yesterday. We rowed along the shore with the aqualungs and got into the water right where we could see the houseboat. We had to. Otherwise, we would have gotten lost underwater."
Ernst had taken care of Zircon's requests. By lunchtime they had picked up their equipment and supplies, Scotty had tested the twin diesel engines on the Water Witch and announced himself more than pleased, Rick had checked over the aqualungs and compressor that had come down with his camera and other equipment by freight, the supplies had been stowed, the Sky Wagon refueled, and nothing remained but to check in at the hotel.
Once the dive starts, the snorkel has no purpose, since its short length only allows it to project a few inches above the surface while a diver is floating face down. On the other hand, the Scuba Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, like the boys' aqualungs, really does allow the diver to get down among the fish. "Thanks for the invitation," Steve said. He smiled.
To anyone not aware of being tailed, he would have appeared to be with any of the other casual figures that went unhurriedly about their business in the neighborhood. If Scotty hadn't pointed him out, Rick would not have suspected that the shadow had the slightest interest in the Spindrift party. "We going to rig the aqualungs?" Scotty asked. "Let's not bother. Masks, snorkels, and fins.
If they planned to get aboard the houseboat, they wouldn't be using the aqualungs. Or would they?" "Search me." "Wouldn't they just row up to the houseboat on some excuse or other? I wish I'd looked. Barby might have taken those clothes Dad wore home last night." "We can't just float around and talk," Scotty said urgently. "Let's do something." Rick felt the same way. "Okay.
The boys hurried to the front of the lab building again and found Joe Blake still getting a bit of sunshine. "Did you see the girls?" Rick asked hurriedly. Joe nodded. He motioned across the island. "They came and got aqualungs and hauled the cart across to the north side. They're probably swimming over there." Rick doubted it. He doubted it very much.
The boys reached the Whiteside pier without seeing the girls or the boat. Scotty put the plane into a tight circle and looked at Rick helplessly. "Now what?" "They can't have gone far," Rick mused. "Not in the rowboat." "They had the aqualungs," Scotty pointed out. "They must have expected to use them." "Right. But how?
Then he and Scotty, equipped with their aqualungs, would be towed behind the Water Witch, scanning the bottom as they went. He wasn't worried about finding material for the towing boards. Any kind of planks would do, or they could even make a tow board out of a fallen log, although that would be harder to control. "Come on," he invited. "Let's walk through the palms.
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