UNDERWATER ADVENTURES

From Amason Adventues (1949, p. 555) Hal and Roger Hunt head for the South Seas on another expedition for their famous animal collector father, but if their doings live up to Price's good record for informational content (see his non-fiction), the plot is as slightly incredible. Dr. Blake, head of the expedition, has hired Sylvester Inkham, ""Skink"", as a diver- and Skink turns out to be an old schoolmate of Hal's who was expelled for putting a sidewinder in a professor's pocket. Thinking Skink may have taken a turn for the better, Hal decides not to tell his past, but to no avail. Using nature as his handmaid, Skink contrives to gum up the works and get the others into as many difficulties as possible with cels, giant clams, jammed lines, etc.- to the point of killing Blake and giving Hal and Roger a run for the treasure they discover. Unconvincing melodrama this spotlights the fantastic to its detriment.