For awhile the sponges came up from below every half hour, but towards noon a full hour went by without the basket making its appearance. The lads, at last, became somewhat alarmed at the delay.
"Do you suppose they are in any trouble down below?" Charley enquired of Manuel.
The Greek shook his head. "They would have signaled if anything had been wrong. There, they are signaling now."
There came several jerks on the life-lines and the Greeks in charge of them pulled the divers up and into the boat. The men had been below for only an hour and the boys were puzzled to account for their coming up before their time had expired. When their head-pieces were removed the lads could see that the divers were greatly excited. They spoke rapidly to those around them, and a hum of excited conversation arose from the before listless crew.
"What's the matter?" Charley demanded of Manuel, who seemed to be the most excited of all.
"It is nothing," was the quick reply. "The men grew faint for a minute but they will be all right soon. That often happens to one when diving."
The Greek's excitement was too great for such a trivial cause and Charley decided promptly that he was lying.
In a few minutes the divers resumed their head-pieces and prepared to descend again. As they stood on the ladders one of the crew handed one of them a coil of light rope to the end of which was attached a piece of light wood.
"What does he want with that buoy?" Charley demanded, sharply.
"There's a bad hole in the bottom which he wishes to mark so that there will be no danger of his blundering into it," replied Manuel promptly, but, again, Charley decided that the fellow was lying.
"There's something in the wind," he remarked to Walter. "The crew seem greatly excited, and Manuel, I am sure, is lying."
A strange change had suddenly taken place in the crew's manner. Before, they had been silent, sullen and listless, now, they were animated, their eyes glittered with excitement, and they chattered back and forth like so many magpies.
Manuel evidently noticed that the boys were watching them closely, for he addressed them in a low tone and their chattering ceased. They resumed their work with something like a return of their former manner, but it was easy to see that their sullenness was now assumed.