of the water like a cork, gave a loud gasp and a frightful roar,
and struck out for the land with the utmost possible haste.

Now, all this pleasure we were to forego, and when we thought
thereon, Jack and I felt very much depressed in our spirits. I
could see, also, that Peterkin grieved and sympathized with us,
for, when talking about this matter, he refrained from jesting and
bantering us upon it.

As, however, a man's difficulties usually set him upon devising
methods to overcome them, whereby he often discovers better things
than those he may have lost, so this our difficulty induced us to
think of searching for a large pool among the rocks, where the
water should be deep enough for diving yet so surrounded by rocks
as to prevent sharks from getting at us. And such a pool we
afterwards found, which proved to be very much better than our most
sanguine hopes anticipated. It was situated not more than ten
minutes' walk from our camp, and was in the form of a small deep
bay or basin, the entrance to which, besides being narrow, was so
shallow that no fish so large as a shark could get in, at least not
unless he should be a remarkably thin one.

Inside of this basin, which we called our Water Garden, the coral
formations were much more wonderful, and the sea-weed plants far
more lovely and vividly coloured, than in the lagoon itself. And
the water was so clear and still, that, although very deep, you
could see the minutest object at the bottom. Besides this, there
was a ledge of rock which overhung the basin at its deepest part,
from which we could dive pleasantly and whereon Peterkin could sit
and see not only all the wonders I had described to him, but also