Snorkeling
by Nick Niels Sanders
A Series of Books for the Queen of the SeaMarcella, Julia, Valerie, Michelle and Maria selected masks, snorkels and fins and started toward Bathing Beach for another session of snorkeling. Marcella and Julia were becoming competent snorkelers by this time, enjoying the myriad colors of the fishes and the coral filter feeders. Val and Shelly were catching up.The spears were assembled of four segments that screwed into one another. Attached to the hilt was a rubber loop that would allow the wielder to "load" the spear with a charge of additional power by stretching the loop. Aim would then be the problem, as the loop tended to pull the spear off of a straight-ahead trajectory. At the other end were four straight barbs, each about a hand span long and moderately sharpened, spreading slightly.