Dolphin Island

They started to walk homeward across the great plateau of living coral, using the beacon on the radio mast as their guide. That bright red star seemed miles away in the darkness, and Johnny was uncomfortably aware that the water through which he was wading had become much deeper while they had been exploring the pool. The tide was returning; it would be very unpleasant to be caught here, so far from land, while the sea went pouring in ahead of them.

But there was no danger of that; Mick had planned the excursion carefully. He had also, quite deliberately, used it to test his new friend, and Johnny had passed with flying colors.

There were some people whose nerves would never allow them to dive at night, when they could see only the tiny oval of a flashlight beam and could imagine anything in the remaining darkness. Johnny must have felt scared, as everyone did for the first time, but he had conquered his fears.

Soon he would be ready to leave these safe and sheltered pools and to do some real diving off the edge of the reef, in the ever-changing, unpredictable waters of the open sea.

Chapter 12

It was two weeks before anyone on the island saw the first of the Professor’s ideas in action. There were, of course, many rumors, for as soon as the details of the dolphins’ request were released, everyone had his own theories about what should be done.

The scientists of the research station were, as might be expected, actively pro-dolphin. Dr. Keith summed up their views when he remarked, “Even if killer whales do turn out to be the more intelligent of the two, I’ll back the dolphins. They’re much nicer people, and you don’t choose your friends for their brains.” When Johnny heard this, he was quite surprised, as he still did not care for Dr. Keith’s patronizing attitude and regarded him as a cold fish with few human emotions. However, he must have some good qualities for Professor Kazan to have made him his assistant; by this time, anything that the Professor did was, as far as Johnny was concerned, beyond criticism.

The fishermen were divided. They, too, liked dolphins, but recognized them as competitors, for they knew at first hand the arguments that Dr. Hirsch had put forward. There were times when dolphins had torn holes in their nets, stolen most of their catch, and made them say things about his friends that Professor Kazan would have been very unhappy to hear. If killer whales kept the dolphin population from getting too large, then good luck to them.

Johnny listened to these discussions with interest, but he had already made up his mind; no mere facts were going to make him change it. When someone has saved your life, that settles the matter; nothing that anyone else can say will turn you against him.

By this time, Johnny had become quite a skillful diver, though he knew that he would never be as good as Mick. He had mastered the use of flippers, face mask, and snorkel, and could now stay underwater for periods that would have astonished him only a few weeks ago. Though the healthy, open-air life was making him bigger and stronger, this was only part of the story. The first times he had dived he had been nervous, but now he felt as much at home undersea as on the land. He had learned to move smoothly and effortlessly through the water, and so could make a single lungful of air last much longer than when he had started his lessons. Whenever he felt like it, he could stay underwater for a full minute without straining himself.

He was doing all this for fun, and because diving was a skill worth acquiring for its own sake. Not until Professor Kazan called for him one afternoon did he learn how quickly his hobby would be of use.

The Professor looked tired but cheerful, as if he had been working night and day on some project that was going well. “Johnny,” he said, “I’ve a job for you, which I’m sure you’ll enjoy. Take a look at this.”

The piece of apparatus he pushed across his desk was something like a very small adding machine, with twenty-five buttons arranged in five rows of five each. It was only about three inches square, with a curved, sponge-rubber base, and was fitted with straps and buckles. Obviously, it was intended to be worn on the forearm, like an overgrown wrist watch.

Some studs were blank, but most of them carried a single word engraved in large, clear letters. As he ran his eye across the face of the little keyboard, Johnny began to understand the purpose of the device.

The words he read were: NO, YES, UP, DOWN, FRIEND, RIGHT, LEFT, FAST, SLOW, STOP, GO, FOLLOW, COME, DANGER! and HELP! They were arranged logically over the face of the keyboard: thus UP and DOWN were at top and bottom respectively; LEFT and RIGHT actually on the left and right. Opposing words like NO and YES or STOP and GO were as far apart as possible so that the wrong stud could not be pressed by mistake. The studs marked DANGER! and HELP! were covered by guards that had to be slipped aside before they could be operated.