sance. He wished to find how the land lay, as
the expression goes. If everything should prove to be in good shape,
he would venture down again, with a basket, and the real work of
gathering the pearl-oysters would begin.

As we have intimated, Abe Storms felt no misgivings concerning his
armor when he moved off from solid land and was submerged in the edge
of the Pacific, for he had constructed so many contrivances and
machines that he had learned to understand fully what they would do
before they were put to work. He carried the enormous sheath-knife in
his right hand, and when his feet lightly touched the shells on the
bottom, he began turning them over with the point of his knife. The
depth of the water being so moderate, he found no difficulty in
breathing, and indeed the conditions were such that whoever chose to
collect the oysters in this armor was not likely to experience the
slightest difficulty.

Down where he was at work the water seemed to be of a light-yellowish
tint, caused by the refraction of the sunlight as it made its way to
him. He noticed the mild glow, which, of course, would steadily
diminish as the sun went down, when all at once it was eclipsed so
suddenly by a dark shadow that he instantly suspected the true cause.

Looking upward, he saw an immense shark, certainly a dozen feet in
length, that had halted and was evidently surveying with some
curiosity this intruder upon his domains.

The man-eater being directly over the diver, was not in the best
position to use his fearful jaws with effect, but he was evidently
reconnoitering with a view to hostilities. Abe observed that this
shadowy figure was motionless, its fins slightly moving back and forth
as if it were using them like a balancing-pole, to maintain itself
motionless in position, and he marked the horridly-shaped mouth which
yawned over his head. Reaching upward with his long-bladed knife, he
touched it against the white belly of the monster, and then gave it a
strong push.

It was so keen and sharp that it entered deep into the yielding flesh
and inflicted a severe wound. Just then the gigantic man-eater
suspected he had committed a blunder, and with a lightning-like whirl
of his huge body, he dashed out to sea, leaving a crimson trail after
him.

Indeed, his charge was so sudden that the huge knife was wrenched from
the grasp of Abe Storms, and he was drawn forward off his balance.
Had it been in the open air, he would have bee