er this Joe
thrust one foot. It was almost like the stirrup of a saddle, only
instead of holding Joe's foot up, the root held it down.

"Now I can have both my hands free," thought Joe, as he fixed his foot
firmly in the loop of the root.

Joe looked through the glass-windowed copper helmet. He could see the
man's face now, and on it was a look of horror, mingled with new and
sudden hope.

The boy fish pointed to the valve in the outlet pipe, and made a motion
as though prying on a crowbar. He wanted to indicate that he needed
some sort of lever to work with.

Tom Rand understood at once, and slightly nodded his big head. Then he
stooped down and, after feeling about in the mud near his uncaught
foot, he picked up a short bar of iron.

Joe nodded to show that was what he wanted, and he moved as close as he
dared to where the lead-weighted foot was caught. Joe had to be careful
in two respects. He did not dare go too near the pipe, for a stream of
water was rushing through it and there was considerable suction, though
not as much as there would be when the valve was fully opened. And
Joe's feet, not being encased in big rubber boots, were small enough to
be drawn into the same hole where Rand's was caught.

The diver was standing with most of his weight on his left foot. It was
the right one that was caught, and this was thrust forward and outward,
at an angle of about forty-five degrees from the upright one. And it
was being caught in this peculiar position that had prevented the diver
from aiding himself.

He could not lean forward far enough to bring effective pressure on the
iron lever that had been lowered to him, or he might have pried his own
foot loose, or have opened the valve wide enough to enable him to
withdraw it.

"And he's been standing in that painful position for hours," thought
Joe, "trying to help himself and not being able to. No wonder he wanted
more air. He must be pretty nearly exhausted with the water pressure
and the horror of it all."

Joe himself was suffering from the weight of water and from the labor
of holding his breath. This labor was increased at the depth in which
he was. It was deeper than he had ever gone down before--five times as
deep as his glass tank in the circus.

Joe took the iron bar in both hands and worked himself as near to the
outlet pipe as he dared go.

One end of the bar was pointed, and Joe inserted this between the lead
sole of the diver's boot and prie