“It was very quiet on Tafahi the next day. Fishing, a daily task for us, had grown suddenly unpopular. I pointed out there was still a chance to recover the bodies or . . .” he winced, “, . . parts of them. But no one would return to that reef.
“I went alone. It is a small atoll . . . very tiny, not on any but the most detailed of your maps, I should guess. That was where our two men had gone to fish. To the northeast of it, I believe, the ocean bottom disappears very fast.”
Poplar nodded. “The northern tip of the Kermadec-Tonga Trench runs across there. In spots the sea floor drops almost straight down for, oh, 3500, 3600 fathoms … and more.”
“As you say, Doctor. The sun does not go far there. It is where He dwells.
“I anchored my paopao behind the protection of the little reef, safe from the breakers on the other side. It was where the men had anchored. Swimming was not difficult, despite a slight current.”
“If you thought you might encounter a big Great White prowling around down there, why’d you go in?” asked Poplar shrewdly.
The chief shrugged. “My family have been chiefs and divers for enough generations for my genealogy to bore you, Doctor. I respect Niuhi and know him. I was careful. Anyhow, someone had to do it. I did not swim too long or too deep. I had only mask and fins
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and did not use the weights. I also have respect for age, including my own.
“The small lunch I had brought with me did not take long to eat. The afternoon was long, the sun pleasant. I dove again.
“I had given up and was swimming back to the boat when I noticed a dark spot in the water to my left. It was keeping pace with me. The water was clear, and so it must have been far away to be so blurred. It paced me all the way back to the boat. Despite the distance I knew it was Him.”