A Few Breaths Left. I came to a fork in the corridor. On the right was a clutter of pipes and debris， so I opted for the left and went about 40 feet before coming to a dead end.
I retreated and swam carefully around the pipes and other debris in the passageway to the right. Twenty feet along it my lamp began to dim. Without light， l' m as good as dead. Just no way I can find my way around. So now the race was against a dying battery as well as a diminishing air supply.
In the next passageway， I caught a glimpse of light through a crack in the hull—but it was not nearly wide enough for me to get through. I knew my diving companions would be heading back to the anchor line by now， so I decided to stop and take a chance of attracting their attention.
I found a piece of copper pipe and put one of my rubber gloves over its end. Then I pushed the glove through the opening and waved it. If someone noticed the glove， he could at least get extra tanks of air through the narrow gap. Sure enough， a diver appeared.
I stretched my arm through the opening， and with my knife scratched on the side of the hull： "Trapped ... Air ... Rope."
The diver headed for the surface as fast as he dared， to let the others know of nay predicament.
With only a few minutes of air left in my tank， I was panicking. I know Lars will be here ... if l can just hang on. To conserve air， I skipped every other beat in my breathing rhythm. For an instant， I considered moving on， using up the air in a last desperate effort to find my own way out. Then I heard Lars' s bubbles as he approached.
Next moment he was pushing in the first of two air tanks he had brought down. I strapped it on. Each tank would give me an additional 30 minutes to work my way out of this underwater labyrinth. I felt better already.
Desperate Choice. Lars had also brought down a light for me and a long safety line. Grabbing the lamp and one end of the line， I headed back into the wreck. Now， by pulling the line after me， I could return for more air. That is， if no more bulkheads closed in behind me.