Margaret St. Clair by The Dolphins of Altair Page A

came up to the surface again, a few minutes later, I was puzzled by what I had seen and sensed. The light was poor, it was true, and I had been almost at my maximum d epth. But there was something odd about the bottom. It was other than I had remembered it, though I couldn’t be sure what the difference was. Still, the currents seemed unchanged. If I dropped the mine where I had planned to, it should drift downward with the current to the right spot.
    “All OK?” Sven asked. He seemed aware of my puzzlement.
    “I think so. I think it’s all right to drop the bomb.”
    “Good.” He got the heavy little object out of his windbreaker and stripped the plastic covering from it. “See the knob on the side? Pull it out as far as it will go, about six inches. You won’t have any trouble pulling it while the mine is in your mouth?”
    “I don’t think so. But, Sven, the sea people must start swimming north with you and Moonlight before I go down. You must be at least a mile away when I pull the knob. There is no use in having the rest of you run any extra risk.”
    “All right.” He gave me the bomb.
    Ivry and Djuna began swimming away northward with their passengers. I saw Madelaine looking a t me anxiously, her hands pressed to her breast. I went under again.
    I was a little nervous, I do not mind admitting it. Sven was familiar with high explosives, but I had never carried such a thing in my mouth before. I kept wondering what I would do if the knob stuck when it was only a little way out. My descent was necessarily rather slow, and I had time to have a good many unpleasant ideas. Then I was at the point where I would have to release the activated mine.
    I bent my head forward and found the knob on the mine with my fingers. Yes, that was it. Now. I gave a good hard pull.
    The thing in my mouth had begun to tick. The knob seemed to be pulled out about six inches —anyhow, it wouldn’t go any farther. I let it fall.
    Again I had the sense of som ething different about the bottom. Too late now to worry about it. I began to swim toward the surface in a long upward slant.
    There was no sign from the depths behind me. I reached the surface, breathed deeply and gratefully, and looked about for the oth ers.
    There was still a little red in the west. I had no difficulty at all in finding the Splits and the dolphins against the smooth, reflecting surface of the sea.
    They were moving northward at a fair speed. I exerted myself, and was soon almost up with them. I would have nuzzled Djuna’s side in a moment, when Madelaine, turning toward me, cried loudly and imperatively, “Swim! As fast as you can! All of you! Quick! Swim! Swim!”
    It never entered any of our heads to question or disobey her. Djuna and Ivry shot through the water, and I, though my acceleration is poor, kept up with them. If we ever slowed down, Madelaine screamed at us to swim faster. Her voice was harsh with fear.
    There came a confused roar from behind. “Hurry, hurry!” Madelaine cried. None of us looked back.
    A pulsation in the water struck our bodies. It was not strong enough to be dangerous, and I wondered why Madelaine was so frightened. I may have slowed down a little, for Moonlight cried anxiously, “Hurry! We’re not safe yet!”
    The water around us was full of small particles. We were almost at our limit of endurance; we would have to slacken speed soon. Madelaine must have known this, for she said encouragingly, “Only a little farther … All right. You can go sl ower now.”
    It wasn’t any too soon. For a while we were all silent, except for the noises of our breathing. The sunset glow had left the sky, and the moon had not come up. Then Sven said, “What was the danger, Maddy? Why did they have to swim so fast?”
    “Because—Amtor, when you dived in the canyon, did you notice anything unusual about the bottom?”
    “Yes.” I was still out of breath. “Thought so. Not sure.”
    “Could what you noticed have been a number of