理查德·米兰达

RichardMiranda

Withaloudnoise,thecorrodedbulkheadcollased,sealingoffthediversescaeroute.Now,ashegroeddeseratelythroughthedarkmazeofdrownedassageways,hecouldmeasurehislifeexectancyrecisely-bythe25-minutesulyofairinhistan……

HadIknownwhatwasfacingmeonJune16，1979，Iwouldneverhaveleftthedock.Asitwas,reoccuiedwiththewreckoftheUSSSanDiego,Iheadedmy47-footdiveboat,theBarnacleBill,outofJonesInlet,LongIsland,N.Y.

AnAmericanheavycruiser,theSanDiegohadmetherfatesin1918assheescortedcargoshisabouttenmilessouthofFireIsland.Somecrewmembersclaimedthewarshistruckamine.AsarofessionaldiveboatcatainIdidntcarewhyshesank,onlythatIhadagoodcrewand20scubadiversaboard,alleagertohitthewaterinsearchofartifacts.

Threeandahalfhourslater,theBarnacleBillarrivedatthewreck,andwedroedourgralinghook.IsummonedcrewmembersDoreenOlsenandLarsHansen,andwerearedthevesselforthedive.SinceDoreenandLarsarebothlicensedcatains,theycouldattendtheBarnacleBillwhileIdived.

Oncethetosidechoresweretakencareof,Isuitedu,hitthewaterwithaslashandswamtowardtheanchorline.Thewaterwascrystalclear.Mostofthediverswerealreadyatthebottom,andIcouldseetheirbubblescomingtothesurface.Whatasight！

Twentyfeetdown,Icouldalreadymakeoutthewrecksdarkoutline,risingoffthebottomlikethelonelyruinsofacathedral.

Iheadedtowardthestern,lookingforanoeninginthehullthatIhadusedonearlierdives.IknewitwouldtakemetothesmallarmslockerwhereIhadreviouslylocatedboxesofammunition.Thegunsthemselvesshouldbenearby,Ifgured：Theywouldmakegreatsouvenirs,evenifcorroded.

DivingintoawreckliketheSanDiegocanbedangerous,anddefnitelyisnotforbeginners.Thevesselisusidedown,restingin102feetofwater,andyoucanimaginethefrigidlonelinessthatgrabsyouwhenyouswimintothedarktwistsandturnsofherinterior.

Isottedtheoening,movedinsideandlayedmylightaroundthefrontcorridor.Iknewthissectionofthewreckwell,butasIswamdeeerIsawthatrustingbulkheadsanddecayingdeckshadgivenwayduringthewinter,changingtheshaeoftheinteriorconsiderably.

SuddenlyIheardaloudnoise.Iturnedandswamback40feettowardthefrstbulkhead.WhenIgotthere,Iwasstruckwithterror.ThenoiseIhadheardwasabulkheadcollasingagainstthegathroughwhichIhadenteredthewreck.

Iwastraed.

IntotheMaze.MyheartbeatsoloudIcouldhearitIwantedtoscreamforhel,ray,kick-turnallthisintoanightmarefromwhichIcouldawake.Butitwasnonightmare.Moreover,mylightwasofmyownmaking,Ihadgonedownimroerlyequied-nosafetylinetoguidemeback,noalternateairsulyand,mostimortant,nodivingcomanion.Mymindflashedbackfouryearswhenmycolleaguesulledthebodyofadiverfromthesamewreck.Theyfoundhimtenfeetfromanoeningthroughwhichhemighthaveescaed.Buthehadanicked,removedtheequimentandmadealast-ditchefforttoswimtosafety.Hisfngerswerescratchedtothebonebyhisvainattemttotearthroughtheshishull.

Itriedtorelax,becauseIknewthemoreexcitedIgot,thefasterIwoulduseumyair.PhysicallyImingoodshae,Ithought,soIshouldbeabletostretchanother25minutesoutofthistank.batwhatshouldldo?Ihadtorobedeeerintothewreckandfndanoeninglargeenoughtoescaethrough.

Ithoughtofthedeckguns.Oftendiverswouldsqueezethroughoeningsinthegunturretsandworktheirwayintothevessel.IfIcangettothegunturrets,I‘llhaveachance.Sincetheshiwasinverted,however,thegunturretsmightbeburiedundersandontheocean’sfoor.Moreover,goingintodeeerwaterwouldcutintomyreciousairsuly,becausethemoreressureyouhaveonyourbody,themoreairittakestofllyourlungs.

Icringedattheossibilities,butfguredIhadtogoforthegunturretsasfastasIdared,withoutgettingoutofbreath.

Ifoundanoeningthatallowedmetogolowerintotheshi.AsItwistedthroughamazeofnarrowcorridors,athousanduglyvisionsfashedthroughmymind.EachoneremindedmethatIwasrobablygoingtodie.

AFewBreathsLeft.Icametoaforkinthecorridor.Ontherightwasaclutterofiesanddebris,soIotedfortheleftandwentabout40feetbeforecomingtoadeadend.

Iretreatedandswamcarefullyaroundtheiesandotherdebrisintheassagewaytotheright.Twentyfeetalongitmylambegantodim.Withoutlight,lmasgoodasdead.JustnowayIcanfndmywayaround.Sonowtheracewasagainstadyingbatteryaswellasadiminishingairsuly.

Inthenextassageway,Icaughtaglimseoflightthroughacrackinthehull-butitwasnotnearlywideenoughformetogetthrough.Iknewmydivingcomanionswouldbeheadingbacktotheanchorlinebynow,soIdecidedtostoandtakeachanceofattractingtheirattention.

Ifoundaieceofcoerieandutoneofmyrubberglovesoveritsend.ThenIushedtheglovethroughtheoeningandwavedit.Ifsomeonenoticedtheglove,hecouldatleastgetextratanksofairthroughthenarrowga.Sureenough,adiveraeared.

Istretchedmyarmthroughtheoening,andwithmyknifescratchedonthesideofthehull：“Traed……Air……Roe.”

Thediverheadedforthesurfaceasfastashedared,tolettheothersknowofmyredicament.

Withonlyafewminutesofairleftinmytank,Iwasanicking.IknowLarswillbehere……iflcanjusthangon.Toconserveair,Iskiedeveryotherbeatinmybreathingrhythm.Foraninstant,Iconsideredmovingon,usingutheairinalastdeserateefforttofndmyownwayout.ThenIheardLarssbubblesashearoached.

Nextmomenthewasushinginthefrstoftwoairtankshehadbroughtdown.Istraediton.Eachtankwouldgivemeanadditional30minutestoworkmywayoutofthisunderwaterlabyrinth.Ifeltbetteralready.

DeserateChoice.Larshadalsobroughtdownalightformeandalongsafetyline.Grabbingthelamandoneendoftheline,Iheadedbackintothewreck.Now,byullingthelineafterme,Icouldreturnformoreair.Thatis,ifnomorebulkheadsclosedinbehindme.

AsIworkedbackintothewreck,Larsfastenedtheothersaretanktothesideofthenarrowoening,andthenbeganlookingalongtheoutsideofthehullforaossiblewaytogetmeout.

Pacingmyselftokeefromgettingoutofbreath,Iswamcautiouslythroughaconfusionofnarrowcorridorsandclutteredsaces.Iketbumingintoies,jabbingmyselfwithrotrudingobjectsandtakingwrongturns.Fearwassqueezingthebreathoutofme.

SoonIcametoasotthatresembledtheinsideofagunturret.Therewasanarrowoeningtoitthatmightjustaccommodatemy200-oundframeifIremovedmytankandulleditthroughafterme.Ihadtochanceit.

ButasIsqueezedthroughtheoening,thetankfellfrommygras.Theregulatorwasjerkedfrommymouth,nearlyullingmyfrontteethout.Ihadafastchoicetomake-eithersearchforthetankIhaddroedortrytofollowthesafetyline70feetbacktotheothertankLarshadleftforme.IdoubtedthatIcouldmaketheswimontheairremaininginmylungs.ButcouldIlocatethedroedtank?

PerhasIshouldjustgiveu,oenmymouthandfllmylungswithwater.Itwillbeoverinafewseconds,andthenIcanrest.

Thiswascrazy！

Somethinggrabbedmyrightshoulder.Inearlyjumedoutofmywetsuit.ItwasLars.Hehadmanagedtofndawaydownaroundthegunturret,viaanotheroeninginthewreck.

IgrabbedLarssmouthieceandgasedinafewbreathsofair.IwasalmostoutofmyjamLarsandIcouldbuddy-breathefromhistankandworkourwayclearofthewreck,followingthesafetylinehehadulledbehindhim.

Wewriggledoutthroughthegunturretwithouttoomuchtrouble.ButIhadbeennearthebottomfor70minutes；Idhavetosendoveranhourdecomressing.Wefollowedtheanchorlinetotheten-footlevel.Therewefoundtwosetsofdoubletankswaitingforus,loweredbyouralertshimates.

Wheneventuallyweeasedtothesurfaceeveryoneonboardgreeteduswithsighsofrelief.ItseemedthatadarkcurtainhadliftedasIgazedatthebeautifulseascaeglitteringinbrightsunshine.

BackontheBarnacleBill,IulledoffmygearandthankedLarsandmyotherresourcefulcomanions.ThenIwentdownintothecabintorest.Larsaearedinthedoorway,aslightgrinonhisface.“WhatwouldyouhavedoneifIhadntshownu?”hekiddedme.

Iconsidered.“WhenIgotbacktotheboat，”Isaid，“Idhavefredyou.Nowletmeslee.”

伴着一声巨响，那面被海水长久腐蚀的舱壁坍塌了，潜水员的退路被封死了。此刻，他在黑暗中拼命地在这座水下迷宫里摸索着前进。他可以精确地预计他还有多长的寿命——氧气罐里储存的氧气只够他呼吸25分钟了……

如果我早知道会在1979年6月16日碰到这种事，我说什么都不会离开码头。事实上，当时的我一心只想着打捞那艘失事的美舰“圣地亚哥”号里的物件。于是，我便开着我那47英尺长的潜水船“北极鹅嘴”号，驶出了纽约长岛的琼斯湾。

“圣地亚哥”号是美国的一艘重型巡洋舰，1918年为一批货船护航时，在位于火岛以南约10英里处的海域上失事遇难。有的船员认为，这艘军舰撞上了水雷。我，作为一名职业潜水艇船长，对它如何沉没并不感兴趣，我关注的是自己拥有一批优秀的船员和20名配有水下呼吸器的潜水员，而且他们都和我一样，渴望到水下寻找沉船里的物件。

三个半小时后，“北极鹅嘴”号到达了舰只残骸所在地。在那里，我们抛下了铁锚。我把船员多林·奥尔森和拉斯·汉森喊来，然后开始准备潜水用的船只。由于他们都取得了船长资格证，所以在我潜水期间，他们可以照看我们的船只。

当安排好了水面上的工作后，我就穿上潜水服，纵身跳入水中，游向锚索的方向。海水像水晶一样清澈。大部分潜水员已经到达海底。我可以看见他们呼出的气泡冒出水面。多么神奇啊！

下潜至20英尺时，我已经能辨识出沉船的大概轮廓。它看起来就像从海底升起的一座大教堂的废墟。

我朝船尾游去，找到那个我前几次下潜时所用的入口。我知道，那个入口通往一个存放轻兵器的小铁柜，之前我还发现有几箱弹药。我想，那些枪支应该也在不远处。我觉得，即使它们已经被海水腐蚀，也仍然可以成为极好的纪念品。

潜入像“圣地亚哥”号这样的沉船是非常危险的，初学者肯定无法胜任。这艘沉船已经彻底翻了过来，长眠于102英尺深的水下。当你游进内部那些黑暗、迂回曲折的通道时，可以想象出那种孤独感是多么的可怕。

我发现了入口，游了进去，用手电筒向前廊四周照射。我对沉船的这一部分了如指掌。当我再向深处游去时，我看到生锈的舱壁和朽坏的舱面在过了一个冬天后全都坍塌了，而这也使船体的内部结构发生了很大变化。

突然，我听到一声巨响，之后，我便立刻转身向第一个船舱回游了40英尺。当游到那里时，我惊呆了。那声巨响竟是一堵舱壁倒塌的声音，而它恰好把我进船时的那个入口堵死了。

我被困在沉船里了。

我似乎进了迷宫。我的心跳声大到连我自己都能听到。我想大声呼救，祈祷，奋力挣扎——想把这一切变成一个我能从中醒过来的噩梦。但这不是噩梦，而且，这样危险的处境是我自己一手造成的。我没有把自己武装妥当就潜入水底，我没有系上可以引领我往回游的保险绳，没有可替换的空气瓶，最重要的是，我没有同伴。我的记忆一下被拉到了四年前，当时我的同事们就是从这艘沉船里抬出了一具潜水员的尸体。他们发现，其实那个潜水员距离出口只有10英尺。他原本可以从那里逃脱，但当时惊慌失措的他卸下了潜水设备，一心只想着游出去。他试图扯裂船壳，他的手指因此变得皮开肉绽，骨头都露出来了。

我试着让自己放松，因为我知道，自己的情绪越激动，我的氧气消耗得就越快。我想：我的体质很好，罐里的氧气应该可以够我用25分钟。但我现在应该做什么呢？我必须潜到更深处，找到一个足够大的出口逃出去。

我想到了甲板上的大炮，潜水员经常从炮塔中间的通道挤进去，然后设法进入船只内部。如果我找到炮塔，就有一线生机。但这艘船已经底朝天了，那个炮塔可能已经被埋在沙子里了。而且，再潜往深处，消耗的宝贵的氧气就更多，因为身体所受压力越大，肺部需要的氧气就越多。