Mike Dixon

„Yeah. I‟ve been watching them.‟
„Do you think they‟re for real?‟
„Yeah.‟ Tim reached for a tub of olives. „They‟re pulling in
fish. Don‟t worry about them. Lie back and take a rest. The
sun‟s up. It‟s time for a kip.‟
They dozed. David didn‟t know for how long. The boat
had swung round and the sun was shining in his eyes when
he woke.
„Come on, Davo!‟
He heard Tim‟s voice and struggled into a sitting position.
Tim was in the water, hanging onto the side of the boat.
„It‟s time for a fun dive.‟
David was in no mood for another dive. He pulled on his
scuba gear reluctantly, flopped into the water and followed
Tim down the anchor line.
It wasn‟t a textbook entry and it wasn‟t a textbook descent.
David knew that he had broken all the rules. He had
not checked his gear and he had gone down too fast. He had
often lectured his students on the dangers of rapid descent.
At thirty feet, you have added enough excess pressure to
your system to inflate the tires of a small car. It is not rea-
sonable to expect the gases in your body to reach instantaneous
equilibrium.
He arrived at the bottom feeling disoriented. Tim was nowhere
in sight. That was another mistake. Divers should al-
ways maintain contact with their buddies. David waited for
his head to clear then went to look for him. After a frustrating
search, he found Tim lying on the bottom, peering be-
neath a coral outcrop.
David knew what his friend was doing. Tim could never
resist a feed of crayfish and wasn‟t fussed by the laws forbidding
him to take the crustacean on scuba gear. He
watched as Tim probed in holes and crevices with a gloved
hand … and listened.
111