Dolphin Island

“There’s a lot of neat solid-state electronics inside that,” explained the Professor, “and a battery good for fifty hours’ operation. When you press one of those buttons, you won’t hear anything except a faint buzz. A dolphin, however, will hear the word which is printed on the button, but in its own language—at least, we hope it will. What happens then is what we want to find out.

“If you’re wondering about the blank studs, we’ve kept them until we decide what other words we need. Now, I want you to take this gadget—we’ll call it a Mark I Communicator—and practice swimming and diving with it until it seems part of you. Get to know which stud is which, until you can find the one you want with your eyes shut. Then come back here, and we’ll move on to the next experiment.”

Johnny was so excited that he sat up most of the night pressing buttons and memorizing the layout of the keyboard. When he presented himself to the Professor immediately after breakfast, the scientist looked pleased but not surprised.

“Get your flippers and face mask,” he said, “and meet me at the pool.”

“Can I bring Mick?” asked Johnny.

“Of course, as long as he keeps quiet and doesn’t make a nuisance of himself.”

Mick was intrigued by the communicator, but not too happy that it had been entrusted to Johnny.

“I don’t see why he’s given it to you to try out,” he said.

“That’s obvious,” Johnny answered very smugly. “Dolphins like me.”

“Then they’re not as intelligent as the Professor thinks,” retorted Mick. Normally, this would have started a quarrel, though not a fight, for the simple reason that Mick was almost twice as heavy as Johnny and more than twice as strong.

By a coincidence that was not particularly odd, Professor Kazan and Dr. Keith were discussing the same problem as they walked down to the pool, heavily laden with equipment.

“Sputnik’s behavior toward Johnny,” said the Professor, “is right in line with the cases in the history books. When a wild dolphin makes friends with a human being, it’s almost always with a child.”

“And Johnny’s exceptionally small for his age,” added Dr. Keith. “I suppose they feel happier with children than with adults because grownups are big and possibly dangerous. A child, on the other hand, is just about the same size as a young dolphin.”

“Exactly,” said the Professor. “And the dolphins who make friends with bathers at seaside resorts are probably females who’ve lost their young. A human child may be a kind of substitute.”

“Here comes our Dolphin-boy,” said Dr. Keith, “looking very pleased with himself.”

“Which is more than one can say for Mick. I’m afraid I’ve hurt his feelings. But Sputnik’s definitely scared of him. I let him go swimming in the pool once, and even Susie wasn’t happy. You can keep him busy, helping you with the movie camera.”

A moment later the boys had caught up with the scientists, and Professor Kazan gave them his instructions. “I want complete silence when we’re at the pool,” he said. “Any talking may ruin the experiment. Dr. Keith and Mick will set up the camera on the east side, with the sun behind them. I’ll go to the other side while you get into the water and swim to the middle. I expect Susie and Sputnik will follow you, but whatever happens, stay there until I wave you to go somewhere else. Understand?”

“Yes sir,” answered Johnny, very proud of himself.

The Professor was carrying a stack of large, white cards, bearing the same words as the studs on the communicator.

“I’ll hold up each of these in turn,” he said. “When I do so, you press the right button—and make sure it is the right button. If I hold up two cards at once, press the button for the top card first, then the button for the lower one immediately afterward. Is that clear?”

Johnny nodded.

“At the very end, I want to try something drastic. We’ll give the DANGER! signal first, then the HELP! one a few seconds later. When you press that, I want you to splash around as if you’re drowning, and sink slowly to the bottom. Now, repeat all that to me.”

When Johnny had finished doing this, they had reached the wire-net fence around the pool, and all conversation ceased. But there was still plenty of noise, for Susie and Sputnik welcomed them with loud squeaks and splashings.

Professor Kazan gave Susie her usual titbit, but Sputnik kept his distance and refused to be tempted. Then Johnny slipped into the water and swam slowly to the center of the pool.

The two dolphins followed, keeping about twenty feet away. When Johnny looked back, with his head below the surface, he was able to appreciate for the first time the graceful way in which their rubbery bodies flexed up and down as their flukes propelled them through the water.

He floated in mid-pool, one eye on the Professor, the other on the dolphins, waiting for the cards to go up. The first was FRIEND.