The next time I saw a diver it was in deeper water.  I was sporting to and fro at another time when there was just such a panic among the fishes as I had seen before, and just such a scramble.

Down, down came the fearsome looking object, while I mixed myself in with a mass of sea-flowers, and keeping perfectly still, was not noticed.  The diver’s dress was much the same as the other’s had been; he went backwards in the same cautious way, but instead of a long-handled hook, he carried only a queer bag that was let down to him by ropes.

The bag was deep, and had a frame along the top, with a scraper fastened to it.  And what do you think again?  He began scraping in all the conch-shells he could see that had what looked like a dab of mud or a milky spot on the side.

He was after pearls!

Divers often fish for pearls midst oyster-beds, and in more shallow water, but there are nets or dredgers also used for that purpose.  But I at once knew that very valuable pearls must often be found in conch-shells and deep-sea oyster-shells, as the diver scraped in all of both that he could find.

Remember!  All kinds of shell-fish are called “mollusca,” have white blood, and breathe not only in the water, but also in the air.

And will you believe it?  I have found out considerable about the signals that a diver gives to the man at the pump on deck.

If he wants to be pulled up, be gives the life-line four sharp pulls.  If he wants more air, he gives one pull at the air-pipe.  Two pulls on the life-line, and two pulls on the air-pipe, given quickly one after the other, mean that he is in trouble, and wants the help of another diver.  One pull on the life-line means “all right.”

There are many other signals I could not find out the meaning of, so can say nothing about.  My instincts, as well as what I have noticed, tell me that a diver must be in the best of health, must be rather thin, have excellent eyesight, sound lungs, steady nerves, and a strong heart.  The work is not easy.  I wonder if work that pays well is often easy?  I do not believe it is.

There used to be a strange machine in use called the “diving-bell.”  A great cast-iron cage, shaped something like a bell, let down by ropes, and so heavy that its own weight would sink it.  Divers could sit inside, and fresh air was supplied by a force-pump.  Bull’s-eyes of heavy glass let in the light.

This must have frightened the fishes quite as much as did the diver, although it was not as frightful in appearance.

After a time, when the diver came down, some of my mates, seeing I was not a bit afraid if only hidden from sight myself, stayed near me under the broad seaweeds, but most of them fled far and wide at his approach.

The divers themselves are not free from danger.  Great sea-serpents or sharks sometimes make it hot for them, but they are watchful, spry, and being “Folks,” with power to think and plan, can generally look out for themselves and their safety.