Victor Appleton

“ Ned heard a muffled silence.
"Tom! Tom!" he shouted frantically. "What's happened? Are you all right?"
For nearly ten minutes Ned crouched by the instrument trying to get in touch with his friend. Just as he was giving up hope he heard a weak voice gasp:
"Not so loud, old man! You've nearly broken my ear-drums. Everything's under control!"
"Hurray!" shouted Ned. "He's found 'em, Captain Britten!"
"Easy!" protested Tom from the depths. "Don't shout like that so near the phone! Yes, the men are O.K. A big fish had 'em--don't know what it was, as I never heard of anything like it. ”

“ To avoid the dreaded "bends," an affliction suffered by divers drawn to the surface too rapidly, they made their ascent as slowly as their descent. Thus it was that the great meteorite reached the top long before Tom and the two natives did.
"What in the name o' tarnation did he want with that?" demanded Captain Britten as the giant stone was lowered cautiously to the deck. Weighing many tons, it had tilted the barge far over to one side as the powerful derrick drew it up. "It looks like some old rock a man might pick up 'most any place." ”

“ But a couple of shots from the rifle killed it."
"Tell Captain Britten to send down some heavy chains. We've found the meteorite!"
The now jubilant crew, who had feared their companions lost, scurried about. In a few minutes the stout chain was snaking its way down through the blue-green ocean.
"Seems to me they're taking a mighty long time about it," said Ned to Captain Britten after an hour had passed with no word from the three divers.
"You're right," agreed the other. "Working at that depth it's decidedly unsafe to stay below so long. I'll warn Tom." ”