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How far have I coed rip on hihts of thick steaks or prih his iven far more than he expected from it

The shrunken hull of the Hovercraft struck the cavern's roof which arched doard into the water

The craft revolved in circles, buainst the rock until it worked off to one side of the rounded on a shoal Pitt lay in the pool that half-filled the interior, his legs dangling over the sides, too played out to don the last air tank, deflate the craft, and convey it through the flooded gallery ahead

He couldn't pass out Not now He had too far to go He took several deep breaths and drank a sroped for the thermos, untied it from a hook and finished the last of the coffee The caffeine helped revive him a bit He flipped the therainst the rock, too buoyant to drift through to the other side

The lamp was so weak it barely threw a beam He switched it off to save what little juice was left in the batteries, lay back, and stared into the suffocating blackness

Nothing hurt anys had shut down and his body was nuured He hated to face the thought of failure For a few minutes he refused to believe he couldn'tWindbag had taken him this far, but if it lost one more float cell he would have to abandon it and carry on alone He began concentrating his waning energies on the effort that still lay ahead

So What was it they said about ser past events in your et away before he could recall why it was so fanized a taste that hadn't been there before

Salt And then it washed over him

The smell of the sea

He had finally reached the end of the subterranean river system that climaxed in the Gulf

Pitt popped open his eyes and raised his hand until it aluish detail, but there was a vague shadow that shouldn't have been there in the eternal dark of his subterranean world He stared down into the water and detected a e ahead

The discovery that daylight ithin reach raised i

He cli and considered the torst hazards he now faced--

length of dive to the surface and decoe that ran froht hundred fifty pounds per square inch Enough air for a run of maybe 300

he stayed calm, breathed easily, and didn't exert himself If surface air was much beyond that, he wouldn't have to worry about the other proble the notorious bends