darkness stuck together. There was depth, the bottom slope went down there.
Sometimes the naked body was touched by long films of seaweed. Sometimes with scope the humpback salmon [52] will fly and will scaredly wag aside or a fancy small fish agonomat will scratch the bone guards. Vanyushka stepped on a big sink and stumbled.
He took the call which was hanging down from Volkov’s ear, brought close to the mouth, blew air from an external opening of a tube and, having pressed strongly lips, told:
– Perhaps, to light a lamp?
– It is necessary to protect electricity – Volkov answered. – Will brighten soon. Let’s go on a fukusny track, a bottom more purely and more small there.
They curtailed to the left, to the coast. It became lighter. And the sun rose above over the ocean, sticking hot beams into a cool of waters.
Through a quarter of hour Vanyushka looked up. Now water over the head was absolutely light. Vanyushka saw before himself the shaking seaweed, greenish and brown. Looking at these various figured plants, it was possible to think that they were created by the artist who tried to fill a lack of the original ideas with wealth, care and a variety of finishing. There were seaweed similar to ropes with many knots, seaweed elkovidny, web-footed, taenioid, with rough edges. At distance of two-three meters of Vanyushk distinctly saw these plants, and further everything was veiled, as on the earth in foggy day. Only this fog was special, greenish-gray. Big crabs quickly ran away from human legs, disappearing in thickets. The holothurias trepangs similar to the clumsy worms covered with shoots dug in silt. Numerous small fishes darted about between seaweed.
On a share of sea vegetation only three paints are released by the nature: green, brown and black. But the fauna sports both black, and white, and yellow, and orange, and blue, and violet. When the sun rose even above over the head, Vanyushka saw all this motley magnificence of fishes, mollusks, shrimps.
Deviating more and more to the left, to the coast, Vanyushka came to such place that his head suddenly rose over a water surface. The sun reflected by an easy ripple blinded it at once. When eyes got used a little, he looked at the sky, at the coast… No, after all the elevated world is immeasurably richer with paints, than underwater. As blueness of the sky how many light shades on clouds, mountains what woods what greens of meadows, yellowness of clay and the sands acting at the coast which are washed away by water is amazing.
Vanyushka uvidat the coast covered with the wood, a tea on waves, the Chinese fanza under a high fir-tree which is brightly lit with the sun. As distinctly everything is visible! As though Vanyushka under water looked in badly induced field-glass, and now this field-glass is precisely induced at focus.
Someone touched Vanyushka by a hand. Likely Volkov. Vanyushka wandered about an ocean floor not behind admiring a view. It was necessary to turn to work. Vanyushka plunged into water, took out from a rubber bag a geodetic chain, and Volkov – the book made of plates on which it scratched records by a stiletto. Vanyushka installed the tool, departed on the specified distance, touched the button on the head, and over his forehead the strong electric lamp was lit. Volkov directed the theodolite telescope at light and wrote down corners.
They went down below and below on a sloping bottom. Here it was more dark. Pressure of water was felt: it was more difficult to move, it was necessary to breathe more deeply and more often a nose, letting out the air from lungs through a mouth. Bubbles rhythmic took off from a mouth of Vanyushki which at the same time stuck out lips and blew out cheeks. It found what so to breathe “more tasty”.
Bright light of a lamp lit long films of brown seaweed, huge leaves an agar agar [53], similar to sheets of a burdock and covered with holes. Seaweed slowly waved and reached for the coast – inflow began. Vanyushka departed from Volkov on considerable distance. They exchanged words castanets which were held in hand between fingers.
“Semyon Alekseevich, why the sound so reaches me soon?” – Vanyushka tapped.
“Because in air the sound passes 322 meters, and in water 1450” – Volkov answered.
“And why so?”
But Volkov was busy – not time now to perestukivatsya.
And suddenly Vanyushki’s hearing caught some absolutely other sound – the remote percussion. Who it could knock? Perhaps, Pun called to have breakfast? But still early. Makar Ivanovich? But he was not going to put out to sea today.
“You hear?” – vystukat Vanyushka Volkov. “Yes – that answered. – Someone knocks in water”. Volkov and Toporkov stopped work, met together and extinguished lamps, and Vanyushka even undertook a dirk handle. The knock stopped. Vanyushka did not restrain. He pressed the button and again lit a lamp. Green dregs were lit. At distance of five meters not clear figure – more true, an indistinct spot of a spherical figure on human legs loomed. In process of approach of an outline of a figure became more and more distinct. It was now possible to distinguish that on an ocean floor there is a huge person, very slowly swinging veslopodobny hands. His trunk reminded a barrel – so it was thick and кругло. Some more steps – and the old man with the longest gray small beard which fluttered extensively as smoke, at each movement of water approached them. On it there were big points, and the rubber black nose gave to the face a strange look. The long shirt and ports twirled to knees made his suit. On huge bare feet sandals with heavy soles were put on. Around a trunk the network is wound, and in network live fishes fought. This network with fishes also gave to a figure of the old man published such extraordinary barrel-shaped look.
The old man stopped, placed hands, having lowered them down. With thumbs up these hands were reminded by the Neptune’s tridents, and the old man – sea god. Volkov and nicknamed him: Neptune Ivanovich Konobeev. Its real name was Makar. He smiled from ear to ear, starting up bubbles and baring healthy long white teeth. Volkov nodded to him and felt his hands.
In them there were no castanets. Volkov was surprised. Than the Neptune Ivanovich knocked in water? The old man had no ear trumpet, he did not know and Morse alphabets and therefore with it it was necessary to speak gestures. Volkov pointed to the castanets and again felt hands of a giant. Makar Ivanovich smiled, showed a mouth – and suddenly zashchelkat teeth. The sound much louder, than from castanets turned out. Vanyushka, having forgotten that he under water, burst out laughing, having released fireworks of bubbles, then has a fit of coughing and nearly choked. It clamped a mouth hands, somehow restrained, but for a while. The new fit of laughter captured it. Then Vanyushka quickly unfastened sandals with lead soles and, having made a start from a bottom, rose up as the children’s balloon which came off thread.
It came up on a surface. Waves downloaded it, and the surf incurred to the coast.
Vanyushka emerged near the fishing boat by which two Japanese sat. Having seen the terrible monster which came up from sea depth, Japanese with the eyes expanded for fear jumped in water as the scared frogs, and quickly floated from a chernonosy monster aside. And Vanyush – “and still struck a heat – suddenly zaulyulyukat by an inhuman voice.
On the surface of the ocean it was windy, solarly and cheerfully. It is hard it was possible to laugh, without being afraid to choke. Having laughed much, Vanyushka calmed down for a moment, lying on waves, and looked at the coast. In the distance the fanza under a high fir-tree was seen, stood near a fanza as a tolstenky strong fungus, the female figure, and at the coast howled a dog, having turned a muzzle directly to water. Vanyushka nodded, whispered “foot take!” and, having made a deep breath, fell by a bottom.
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