Speaker 1: A thing that glistened. In the fall of eighteen eighty eight,
the steamship Sunda from Southampton was running along the southern
coast of Long Island, not many hours from port, when
she was passed by one of the great British liners
outward bound. The tide was high, and the course of
both vessels was nearer the coast than as usual, that
of the Sunda being inside of the other. As the
two steamers passed each other, there was a great waving
of hats and handkerchiefs. Suddenly there was a scream from
the Sunda. It came from Senora Rochita, the primadonna of
an opera troop which was coming to America. In that ship,
I have lost my bracelet, she cried in Italian, and
then turning to the passengers, she repeated the cry in
very good English. The situation was instantly comprehended by everyone.
It was late in the afternoon. The captain had given
a grand dinner to the passengers, at which the Primadonna
had appeared in all all her glories of ornamentation, and
the greatest of these glories, a magnificent diamond bracelet was
gone from the arm with which she had been enthusiastically
waving her lace handkerchief. The second officer, who was standing
near dashed into the captain's office and quickly reappeared with
chart and instruments, and made rapid calculation of the position
of the vessel at the time of the accident, making
an allowance for the few minutes it had passed since
the first cry of the Senora. After consultation with the
captain and recalculations of the distance from land and some
other points, he announced to the weeping Signora that her
bracelet lay under a little black spot he had made
on the chart, and that if she chose to send
a diver for it, she might get it, for the
depth of water at that place was not great by profession,
I am a diver, and the next day I was
engaged to search for the diamond bracelet of Senora Rochita.
I had a copy of the chart, and having hired
a small schooner with several men who had been my
assistance before, and taking with me all the necessary accouterments
and appliances, I set out for the spot indicated, and
by afternoon we were anchored we believed at or very
near it. I lost no time. In descending. I wore,
of course, the usual diver's suit, but I took with
me no tools nor any of the implements used by
divers when examining wrecks, but carried in my right hand
a brilliant electric lamp connected with a powerful battery on
the schooner. I held this by an insulated handle in
which there were two little knobs by which I could
light or extinguish it. The bottom was hard and smooth,
and lighting my lamp, I began to look about me.
If I approached the bracelet, I ought to be able
to see it sparkle, But after wandering over considerable space,
I saw no sparkles, nor anything like a bracelet. Suddenly, however,
I saw something which greatly interested me. It was a
hole in the botto the ocean, almost circular and at
least ten feet in diameter. I was surprised that I
had not noticed it before, for it lay not far
from the stern of our vessel. Standing near the rocky
edge of the aperture. I held up my lamp and
looked down. Not far below, I saw the glimmer of
what seemed to be the bottom of this subterranean well.
I was seized with a desire to explore this great
hole running down under the ordinary bottom of the sea.
I signaled to be lowered, and although my comrades were
much surprised at such an order, they obeyed, and down
I went to the well. The sides of this seemed
rocky and almost perpendicular, but after descending about fifteen feet,
they receded on every side, and I found myself going
down into a wide cavern, the floor of which I
touched in a very short time. Holding up my lamp
and looking about me, I found myself in a sea
cave some thirty feet in diameter, with a dome like roof,
in which a little to one side of the center
was the lower opening of the well. I became very
much excited. This was just the sort of place into
which a bracelet or anything else of value might be
expected to have the bad luck to drop. I walked
about and gazed everywhere, but I found nothing but rocks
and water. I was about the signal to be drawn up,
when above me I saw what appeared to be a
flash of darkness coming down through the well with a
rush and a swirl that entered the cavern and in
a moment I recognized the fact that a great fish
was swooping around and about me. Its movements were so
rapid and irregular, now circling along the outer edge of
the floor of the cavern, then mounting above me until
its back seemed to scrape the roof, that I could
not form a correct idea of the size of the creature.
It seemed to me to be at least twenty feet long.
I stood almost stupefied, keeping my eyes as far as
possible fixed upon the swiftly moving monster. Sometimes it came
quite near me when I shuddered in every fiber, and
then he shot away, but ever gliding with powerful undulations
of his body and tail, around about and above me.
I did not dare to signal to be drawn up,
for fear that the terrible creature would enter the well
hole with me. Then he would probably touch me, perhaps
crush me against the wall. But my mind was capable
of forming no plans. I only hoped the fish would
ascend and disappear. By the way he came. My mind
was not in the strongest condition, being much upset by
a great trouble, and I was so frightened that I
really did not know what I ought to do, but
I had sense enough left to feel sure that the
fish had been attracted into the cavern by my lamp.
Obviously the right thing to do was to extinguish it.
But the very thought of this nearly drove me into
a frenzy. I could not endure to be left alone
with the shark in darkness and water. It was an
insane idea, but I felt that whatever happened, I must
keep my eyes upon him. Now the great fish began
to swoop nearer and nearer to me, and then, suddenly
changing its tactics, it receded to the most distant wall
of the cavern, where with its head toward me, it
remained for the first time motionless. But this did not
continue long. Gently turning over on its side, it opened
its great mouth, and in an instant, with a rush,
it came directly at me. My light shone full into
its vast mouth, glistening with teeth, and there was a
violent jerk which nearly threw me from my feet, and
all was blackness. The shark had swallowed my lamp. By
rare good fortune, he did not take my hand. Also.
Now I frantically tugged my signal rope. Without my lamp,
I had no thought but a desire to be pulled
out of the water, no matter what happened. In a
few minutes, I sat, divested of my diving suit and
almost insensible, upon the deck of the schooner. As soon
as I was able to talk, I told my astonished
comrades what had happened. And while we were discussing this
strange occurrence, one of them, looking over the side, saw
slowly rising to the surface the body of a dead shark.
By George, he cried, here is the beast. He has
been killed by the current from the battery. We all
crowded to the rail and looked down upon the monster.
He was about ten feet long, and it was plain
that he had died for making himself the connection between
the poles of the battery well, said the captain pleasantly.
I suppose you are not going down again? Not I,
I replied, I give up this job. Then suddenly I cried,
come boys, all of you, make fast of that shark
and get him on board. I want him. Some of
the men laughed, but my manner was so earnest that
in a moment they all set about to help me.
A small boat was lowered, lines were made fast to
the dead fish with block and tackle, and we hauled
him on deck. I then got up butcher's knife from
the cabin and began to cut him open. Look here, Tom,
exclaimed the captain. That's nonsense. Your lamp's all smashed to pieces,
and if you get it out, it'll never be any
good to you. I don't care for the lamp, I answered,
working away energetically. But an idea has struck me. It's
plain that this creature had a fancy for shining things.
If he swallowed a lamp, there is no reason why
he should not have swallowed anything else that glittered. Uh oh,
cried the captain. You think he swallowed the bracelet, do you?
And instantly everybody crowded more closely about me. I got
out the lamp. Its wires were severed as smoothly as
if they had been cut by shears. Then I worked on.
Suddenly there was a cry from every man. Something glimmered
in the dark interior of the fish. I grasped it
and drew it out. It was not a bracelet, but
a pint bottle, which glimmered like a glowworm. With the
bottle in my hand, I sat upon the deck and
gazed at it. I shook it. It's shone brighter. A
bit of oiled silk was tied tightly over the cork,
and it was plain to sea that it was partly
filled with a light colored oil into which a bit
of phosphorus had been dropped, which, on being agitated, filled
the bottle with a dim light. But there was something
more in the bottle than phosphorus and oil. I could
see a tin tube corked at each end, and the
exposed parts of the corks spreading enough to prevent the
tin from striking the glass. We all knew that this
was one of those bottles containing a communication of some sort,
which are often thrown into the sea and float about
until they are picked up. The addition of the oil
and phosphorus was intended to make it visible by night
as well as by day, and this was plainly the
reason why it had been swallowed by a light loving shark.
I poured out the oil and extracted the tube, wiping
it carefully, I drew out the corks, and then from
the little tin cylinder I pulled a half sheet of
notepaper rolled up tightly. I unrolled it and read these
words before I jump overboard. I want to let people
know that I killed John Polhemus, so I have fixed
up this bottle. I hope it may be picked up
in time to keep Jim Barker from being hung. I
did think of leaving it on the steamer, but I
might change my mind about jumping overboard, and I guess
this is the best way. The clothes I wore and
the hatchet I did it with are under the woodshed
back of Polhemus's house. Henry Ramsey, I sprang to my
feet with a yell. Jim Barker was my brother, now
lying in prison under sentence of death for the murder
of Polhemus. All the circumstantial evidence, and there was no other,
had been against him. The note was dated eight months back, Oh,
cruel fool of a murderer. The shark was thrown overboard
and we made best speed the port, and before the
end of the afternoon I had put Ramsey's note into
the hands of the lawyer who had charge of my
brother's case. Fortunately he was able to identify the handwriting
and signature of Ramsay, a man who had been suspected
of the crime, but against whom no evidence could be found.
The lawyer was almost as excited as I was by
the contents of this note, and early the next morning
we started together for the house of the Polhemus family.
There under the woodshed we found carefully buried a blood
stained shirt and vest, and the hatchet. My impulse was
to fly to my brother, but this my lawyer forbade
he would take charge of the affair, and no false
hopes must be excited. But he confidently assured me that
my brother was as good as free. Returning to the city,
I thought I might as well make my report to
Signora Rochita. The lady was at home and saw me.
She showed the most intense interest in what I told her,
and insisted upon every detail of my experiences. As I
spoke of the shark and the subterranean cave, she nearly
fainted from it excitement, and her maid had to bring
her smelling salts. When I had finished, she looked at
me steadily for a moment, and then said, I have
something to tell you, but I hardly know how to
say it. I never lost my bracelet. I intended to
wear it at the Captain's dinner. But when I went
to put it on, I found the clasp was broken,
and as I was late, I hurried to the table
without the bracelet, and thought of it no more until
when we were all waving and cheering, I glanced at
my wrist and found it was not there. Then, utterly
forgetting that I had not put it on, I thought
it had gone into the sea. It was only this
morning that, opening what I supposed was the empty box,
I saw it. Here it is. I never saw such
gorgeous jewels, Madam said I. I am glad you thought
you lost it, for I have gained something better than
all these. You are a good man, said she, and
then she paid me liberally for my services. When this
business had been finished, she asked, are you married? I
answered that I was not. Is there any one you
intend to marry? Yes, said I. What is her name?
She asked, Sarah Jane McElroy. Wait a minute, said she,
and she retired into another room. Presently she returned and
handed me a little box. Give this to your lady, love,
said she. When she looks at it, she will never
forget that you are a brave man. When Sarah Jane
opened the box. There was a little pin with a
diamond head, and she gave a scream of delight. But
I saw no reason for jumping or crying out, for
after having seen the Signora's bracelet, this stone seemed like
a pea in a bushel of potatoes. I don't need anything,
she said to remind me that you are a brave man.
I am going to buy furniture with it. Py laughed
and remarked that every little helps when I sit with
my wife by my side before the fire, and our
comfortable home, and consider that the parlor carpet and the furniture,
and the pictures, and the hall and stair carpet, and
all the dining room furniture with the china and the
glass and the linen, and all the kitchen utensils, and
two bedroom suits on the second story, both hardwood, and
all the furniture and fittings of a very pleasant room
for a single man the third story front were bought
with the pin that the signor gave to Sarah Jane.
I am filled with profound respect for things that glitter.
And when I look on the other side of the
fire and see Jim smoking his pipe, just as happy
as anybody. Then I say to myself that if there
are people who think that this story is too much
out of the common I wish they would step in
here and talk to Jim about it. There is a
fire in his eyes when he tells you how glad
he is that it was the shark instead of him.
That is very convincing, and of a thing that glistened
by Frank R. Stockton