ce the rebuilding. But I think she is coming
through it all right, and we can soon start off again. Before we do,
though, I want to try the new diving outfit. Ned, are you game for it
now? This is a little deeper than you have gone out in for some time,
but--"

"Oh, I'm game!" exclaimed the young financial manager. "Get out the
suit, Tom, and I'll put it on. I'll go for a stroll on the bottom of
the sea. Who knows? Perhaps I may pick up a pearl."

"Pearls aren't found in these northern waters, any more than are
sharks," said Tom with a laugh. "However, I'll have the suits made
ready. I'll send Koku with you, and I'll stay in this time. Mr. Damon,
do you want to go out?"

"Not this time, Tom," answered the eccentric man. "My heart action
isn't what it used to be. The doctor said I mustn't strain it. At a
depth not quite so great I may take a chance."

"How about you, Mr. Hardley?" asked Tom. "Do you want to put on one of
my portable diving suits and walk around on the bottom of the sea?"

"I--I don't believe I've had enough experience," was the hesitating
answer. "I'll watch the others first."

Tom felt that it would be this way, but he said nothing. He ordered the
diving suits made ready, a special size having been built for the
giant, and soon preparations were under way for the two to step outside
the craft.

Those who have read of Tom Swift's submarine boat know how his special
diving outfit was operated. Instead of the diver being supplied with
the air through a hose connected with a pump on the surface, there was
attached to the suit a tank of compressed air, which was supplied as
needed through special reducing valves.

The diving dress, too, was exceptionally strong, to withstand the awful
pressure of water at more than five hundred feet below the surface. The
usual rubber was supplemented by thin, reinforced sheets of steel, and
this feature, together with an auxiliary air pressure, kept the wearer
safe.

Thus Ned and Koku could leave the submarine, walk about on the floor of
the ocean as they pleased, and return, unhampered by an air hose or
life line. In dangerous waters, infested by sea monsters, weapons could
be carried that were effective under water. The diving suit was also
provided with a powerful electric light operated by a new form of
storage current, compact and lasting.

"Well, I think we're all ready," announced Ned, as he and Koku were
helped into their suits and they waited for the