"Exactly!" croaked the Read Bird, "and whoever heard of such a thing? A hole in the ground, certainly, but a hole in the sea, why that's just plain past believing. Ahoy, DECK AHOY!" Wagging his head, Roger lifted his voice in a long warning wail. "Heave to, Master Salt! Heave to! Danger on the bow!" Somewhat surprised, but without stopping to question Roger, in whom he had the utmost confidence, Samuel hove his vessel to. And not a moment too soon, for barely a ship's length away yawned an immense and unexplainable hole in the sea. Round its edges the waves frothed, tossed and bubbled, making no impression on that quiet curious vacuum of air. Crowding into the bow, the ship's company stared down in complete wonder and mystification. "Now, goosewing my topsails, this'll bear looking into!" puffed Samuel, breaking the silence at last. "Now, now, NOW!" Ato snatched wildly at Samuel's coat tails as he raced aft bellowing loudly for Kobo to come alongside. "You'll not go a step off this boat. We can sail round this air hole and no damage done, but as for looking into it! Help, HELP! Avast and belay and I'll knock eight bells out of anyone who leaves this ship!" Seizing an iron belaying pin, Ato made a desperate rush after Samuel Salt, and failing to catch him before he slid down the cable to Kobo's raft, he grabbed Tandy firmly and angrily by the seat of the pants. "Not a step!" panted the ship's cook savagely. "Not a step! Roger! Roger! Come back here this instant." But Roger, with a screech of defiance, had already flown after Samuel. Tandy, pinned against the rail by Ato's two hundred and fifty pounds, was forced to watch Nikobo, with Roger and Samuel on her back, moving cautiously toward the edge of the air hole. Over his shoulder Samuel had a huge coil of rope the end of which he had attached to the capstan of the boat before he dropped over the side. "Oh! Oh! and OH!" wheezed the ship's cook, "If Sammy goes down that cavern we're as good as lost. No one to navigate, to up sail or down sail or lay to in a storm. My, My and MYland!" "Well, there he goes!" cried Tandy as Samuel flung the rope down into the sea hole. "Don't worry, Ato, he's always come back before, hasn't he? Let me go! Let me go, I tell you!" With a sudden jerk Tandy tore out of Ato's grasp, climbed up on the rail and dove into the sea. Swimming rapidly toward the hippopotamus, he climbed on her back and with Roger fluttering in excited circles overhead Nikobo swam as close to the edge of the sea hole as she dared, watching in terrified fascination as Samuel calmly lowered himself into the clouded blue depths. With mingled feelings of interest and alarm, Tandy saw the Royal Explorer of Oz go down lower and lower and finally disappear altogether into the deep blue air below. Now not a glimpse of Samuel was visible and not a sound came up to reassure them that he was still there.