OCR Text |
Show THE GRANTSV1LLE NEWS, GRANT8VILLE, MASTERMAN EXPLAINS TO THEORY REGARDING LIEUTENANT PAGET JUTAH. HIS THE STRANGE RACE. Naval Lieutenant Donald Paget, Just given command of a submarine, meets at Washington an old friend and distinguished though soinewliar eccentric scientist, 'Captain Mnstcrmnn. Mastermun has Just returned from an exploring expedition, bringing with him a member of the strange nice, the existence of whose siiecics, he asserts, menaces the human family. CHAPTER I Continued. A Paget nodded, and resigned himself to his friend's guidance. ' Well have a little dinner, first, said the captain. We have an excellent chef here, and, between ourselves, I have eaten nothing but ship's biscuit for the past three weeks. And afterward, when we have got our cigars alight, m take you into the cardroom, which is never in use, and give you my message to the world. It is embodied .more fully In my manuscript, which I shall hand you before you go. And now let us forget that melancholy exhibition of human folly and fall to. Pleased with his phrase, he led the way into the dining room, where he did full Justice to an excellent meaL After dinner the two lit their cigars, and the captain led the way out of the dining room across a small hall and into the cardroom, a little, deserted place, through the opposite door of which they could see the smoking room and bear the noisy cries of the members. Masterman closed it, and the sound subsided to a distant rumble. The cardroom was built to be he explained. It is, except in the case of voices of unusual timbre. Quite so, said Donald. The old sea captain hesitated queer-ly- , tried the choirs, and at last stretched himself out in a comfortable . one before the fire, inviting Donald to be seated opposite him. Youre my only hope now, my lad," he said in an even voice. Ive sailed sound-proo- f, on my last voyage, Donald. to die." Pm going CHAPTER II. In the March Hares? Club. answered not, captain, Donald. Pm afraid there isn't any doubt of Its an it, answered Masterman. old organic trouble, likely to carry me off at any time, and progressive in I hope character. Before I left for the Shet-lund- s, the doctor gave me a year. That was ten months ago, and my experiences haven't lengthened the exrespite. You've followed deep-se- a haven't your ploration, We A little, answered Donald. Americans seem to have taken the lead since the days of the Challenger." Yes, Yankees have done good But I've got work, said Masterman. them all beaten now. Nobody will bother his head about the earlier discoveries after the next few weeks. Youve heard about the known forms of deep-se- a life, havent you? Without waiting for a reply, he began to speak about the strange organisms that had been dredged from the ocean bottom, so that Donald saw the whole picture in Mastermans brain. He saw the eyeless fishes that had abandoned the effort to see, and fishes with eyes as large as dinner plates, with which they caught the gleams of phosphorescence that betokened the pursuit of wandering sea scavengers. There were fishes that carried their own lures in the form of luminous tentacles. In the abysmal depths, in a realm of perpetual night, these organisms perpetuated an Inferno of slaughter, preying upon each other, roving on their insatiable quest for food. Masterman leaned forward and spoke emphatically. When they are brought up up through three miles of water they If explode mostly, Donald, he said. seen that Ive didnt well, things they would make a stout man faint, my lad. Paget shuddered as his mind conthe picture that the old captain painted. He saw the giant monsters of the abyss lurking among the yellow, carnivorous lilies that bend and sway in league-longardens, catching the plankton, the floating or drifting organic life of the sea, that comes down like finest meal from above, but always ready for larger prey. It's murder enthroned, Donald, said Masterman. There isnt love not even maternal love. Nor pity, either. Suppose our world were like ceived lie was thinking of Ida Kennedy as he spoke. But once our life was like that, And weve persisted Masterman. risen above it Dont tell me there isnt a Ood when weve done that, Just as the beautiful birds evolved out of vicious reptiles. You know, of course, our ancestors were sea 'creatures. Thats why the specific gravity of the human body is about the same as that of salt water. We were made to live in the sea. We come from fishes. You believe that?" Yes, science tells us so." Now youve studied at Good. school what Ive only read in books, but you know that there was a time when the sens were warm, steaming baths, and the steam formed clouds, so that the sun had never been seen. Before the sun appeared, the world was Just diffused light and darkness. There's an answer to your Bible critics who say Genesis is all wrong, because it says light was made before the sun. Light did exist, before the sun was dreamed of, so fur as man is concerned. n, Youre right, sir, answered Donald, who like most sailors, was a re. ligious man. And then, continued Masterman, what does the record tell us? The moving creatures that huve life were made, and the great sea monsters, Leviathan and his kind, and the fowls of the air. And afterward the earth monsters, and creeping things. And Suppose that civilization, everyman not till the last Now dont tell thing which has gone to make up the me, lieutenant, that the man who life we know family love, books, wrote the story of the creation wasn't monuments, parliaments, ships all of an scientist It is to be at the mercy of this merWell, sir, at last the day came when ciless horde, and that we ure going the waters had cooled, the clouds to fight harder than we have fought opened, and the sun streamed through. since the days when we held our own suber-tooth- ! Wliod think By that time the ocean wasnt so against the pleasant a place to live in as formerly, or care then whether he was an Engespecially as the climatic rones were lishman or a Dutchman ; wlio'd trouble appearing. No doubt there was a rush whether his friends were white men, to the equator on the part of the sur- negroes, Hottentots or Chinese, so face monsters. But the ocean beds long as they were human? Wouldn't were still warm from the hot rocks, that m&ke for the brotherhood of man, and the heat down there was good for Donald? Wouldnt we set all our conseveral thousand, or hundred thou- victs free? Wouldn't kings shake hands with anarchists and college prosand years yet. fessors with coal heavers? Wouldnt recreatures sea So some of the mained in the depths, and others pre- Mass and race vanish like dreams ferred to bask on the rocks in the sun- when the nights over? And maybe that's what God's working for, lieulight Then their gills began to be tenant I" hnd or else they replaced by lungs, But the impossibility, Masterman! gills as well as lungs, or an intermeGranting the incredible supposition diate apparatus. a organisms exist, Common today, captain. Certain that these deep-secould a pressure enorlive and under lizards develop either lungs or gills, mously increased, and breathe which in medium to the according Were supposing that, lieutenant they live." could they survive the strugIIow the understand as I it Well, sir, in an unnatural elefor existence gle first organisms that came oat on land te were armor plated, like the crabs and Bpiny fossil fishes. Their bones were on the outside, to protect them against being eaten. But after a while the progressive ones turned themselves inside out. Those that didnt, remained like the turtles and degenerated. The rest found that it was easier to escape their enemies by using their bones as props and developing speed. Now, lieutenant, suppose men had developed that way in the depths of the sea. Suppose you had a race of men who hud discovered, not necessarily turning themselves Inside out, like us, although they might hnve done so, but other means to avoid being eaten soy invisibility." There I can refute you, answered Man has developed from an Donald. extinct ape, an ancestor of his cousins, the four anthropoids, supposedly a chimpanzeelike creature with the structure of a gibbon, from which he obtained his erect posture. Your sea creatures would have had to go forms. through the lemur-ap- e But let us suppose a man who developed off the line, persisted MasA manlike organism with terman. webbed feet something like a How about mermen? Do you believe there is anything in that story?" hardly think so, captain. ' IHow about the old legends of the man-sea- L Cyclopses?" A myth, Masterman. Besides, the Cyclops kept cattle and lived upon land. But they ate men, lieutenant However, let us call our men of the sea imaginary. Grant that there might be such creatures, though. Youll admit that with life so hard under the ocean, theyd have developed more cunning along certain lines than the human race. And they wouldnt know much about pity or love, or anything except how to find their food. that!" Ill grant that" answered Donald, He was watching Donald keenly as If we accept the hypothesis that such he spoke. We take life as we find It, Lieu- creatures exist Good! Fut a pin there, my lad. But, thank tenant Paget answered. as we were saying, after thouNow, its has compensations, life heaven, sands of years the heat at the bottom which make it worth the living." g of the sea would disappear by its diffusion through the oceans everywhere. The depths would grow too cold for them. Its bitter cold in the water ut 31 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit Wouldnt the time come when they, too, would feel the Impulse to migrate into the sun? No, Masterman. Their breathing' I know what youre going to say, lieutenant Youre going to tell me that even If they could breathe air, they couldn't live when the pressure of those miles of ocean was removed. But suppose nature has been busy preparing for the change during thousands of years, while she has been modifying their gills into lungs, as she worked on the brontosaurs. Thats how nature works quietly, softly, secretly, till shes ready to launch her thunderbolt Suppose a second human swarm, mans poor cousins, is getting ready to overrun the earth, and put down man from his throne. Suppose the white, puny swarms of monkey-meyellow and black, that crawl upon the face of the globe and imagine themselves its owners, are going to be obliterated, not from Mars or Venus, but out of the earths own vituls ! Captain Masterman sat bolt upright as he spoke; he looked like some old prophet spelling out the doom of man. The Intense earnestness in his words shook Iaget's Incredulity for a moment, and left him sick with horror. Good Lord! gasped Donald, And then the rcuctlon cume. Of course Mastermun was raving mad, the maddest member of the March Hares club. Wlmt a fool he hud lieeti to let the old fellow's dismal prophecies get on his nerves! He leaned forward and placed his hand ou Mu,sier man's knee. Did you go to the nuvy office with the idea of lelliug that to the secretary? he asked. I did, sir," answered Masterman. Then, if I may suy so without giving offense, it Is a mercy that you fulled to secure un interview with him, said Donald. Why, Mastermun INLAND NORTHWEST Sunday, NoyciiiImt 4, was proclaimed by Gov. Hoyle of Nevada, Day. t'liris Larsen, lieno police officer w ho shot and killed Joe Simmons while the hitler was ullempliiig lo escnjie from the chain gang, will face u clsirge of murder. The Oregon Baptist conference adsession at Tint journed a live-da- y Dalles after eliooslng Ioriland as tiie I duet for holding I he next annual meeting and electing officers. Boy Scouts of the Baptist church of cr you know how hard it is to convince unyoue of (lie truth of any- lieno raised fl.'Mi.OUU for the second thing a little out of the ordinnry. He Liberty loan bond issue, SHUMtOO of was feeling his way carefully now, this being credited lo them as a troop to avoid hurting the old fellow. Why, and not to any individual. Mustcrmun, If you were to make such conference of Hie SwedThe annual u suggestion as that ut the navy office, ish mission church in Idaho Hinl Montheyd shut you up as a us not quite tana came lo a close ut lloli-nwith right, he suid. a banquet. Hume missions und kindred problems compil'd the delegates. Mexicans brought from coast cities The inevitable villain of the have prevented a threatened shortage piece makes his appearance in of labor In the Yukinui (Wash.) beet the next Installment. fields, due lo withdrawals of ninny Japanese laborers previously delimit'd on for the harvest. ITO BIS CONTINUED.) George 11. Cutter, u ranchman, wus the driving un automobile through BOARDS ARE MORE EFFICIENT blizzard, nnd is believed to have beThis Is Explanation Given by British come so blinded by the storm Unit lie drove off a bridge near Sheridan, Officer of Acceptance for Service NYyo., causing bis death. of Men Once Rejected. men from Nevada in Thirty-sevet litWilli de. In a recent Investigation by a com- the L'killt company of mittee from the house of commons, pot brigade at (.amp Lewis have each Gen. Sir Alfred Keogh, director general subscribed for a if UK) Liberty bond, to of tiie British army medical service, de- lie iald for at the rale of $10 per a clared that while the department had month from tlieir army pay of been laboring under difficulties lllolMll. by the lack of. experienced army John ietly. u negro of Sparks who examiners, he was awure of no irreguwus convicted last week of assault larities in the examination of men un- will) intent lo kill Officer James Brpwu der the military service (review of on the night of September J4, was exceptions) act. senienced lo serve from one lo fourWhen the war broke out men were teen years in the stale prison ai Car taken for medical examination to lo- sou City. cal practitioners, who could not posWilli tiie minimum ailotment $1.V sibly know the requirements of the 000,000 ami the maximum S T.ot Kl,( it N, service," lie said, und the consequence to the Montana subscribed was that u large number of men was Twenty-fou- r second Liberty loan. recruited whom the authorities would (iiiiiilies exceeded their ulloliuciil ami not have thought of considering In its Deer Lodge county subscribed lienee times. him re three times. With such a corps of examiners. Wliile being conveyed from tiie Sir Alfred declared, it was impossible county jail to the county hosto attain a common standard, and this Silencer Wright died. Wright explained the fact that frequently men pital, over a month ago was a arrested little one were board accepted rejected by ids of liie wife, lie laid murder for by another. Many men were passinstituted a hunger strike which wus ed who ought not to huve been passed, he admitted, but, on the other responsible fur liis dealli. Frank W. Clinton, sou of Mr. and hand, a great number of men were rejected who ought to have been pass- Mrs. 11. V. Clinton of Fallon, Nevada, ed under the category system. It was had the honor of leading the Liberty bund parade in New York City, apvery difficult to get the medical practitioners to understand that a man who pearing in liis uniform of n sergeant. could do anything in civil llfo could Clinton was born and reared in Nedo that tiling in the army." vada, and is not yet Hi. The fuct that the proportion of men to Nevadans subscribed passed by luter boards, after having tiie second Liberty loan. Tiie state's been rejected by exuminers ut the be- minimum requirement was Sfli.NtiN.NTiS. ginning of the wur, steadily has in- Un the first Liberty loan Nevada overcrease during the war, Sir Alfred at- subscribed its minimum allotment of tributed to the increased efficiency of by M2 iter cent, its total subtiie hoards, but vehemently denied that x:i.p.mi,(mhi. icing scription there hnd been any lowering of the absence in southextended After ail standard for ucccptuucc. ern California and elsewhere, Tasker L. Oddic, former governor of Nevada, RIFLE STILL POTENT WEAPON has returned lo Ucuo and will inake that eiiy his permanent home. Oddic Military Authorities Recognize Value still retains important mining interof Infantryman Despite Changes ests in souiliiTii Nevada. in Modern Warfare. lloy Snyder, u ranch foreman, anil Melvin Siillon, a ranch employe, went The Army and Navy Gazette of Lonand Wyn.. limiting near Sheridan. don, commenting on tiie great value of when failed to ivturn a searching they good rille shooting in tiie present war, of .100 men was sent out for says: Happily the military authorities party Tin men had fallen over a cliff them. have not been misled by tiie results it blizzard and perished. during achieved by tiie big guns, the bombs, men Bello's contingent of colored nnd the various selected for been who have military trench weapons into imagining that lliu infantry soldier lms ceased, or was service have depart'd for tin training likely to cease, to be primarily a rifle- camp at American Luke, and were especially by man, nnd the good work which was Ini- given it hearty send-ofThere tiated before tiie war ut Ilytlic und at tin colored pisiplc of lit no. meetin men the rille three nt and wen' squad. only rcglinentul Ilisley, lieno Eagles proved their right to a ings, lias been continued und expanded at tiie many musketry schools which place in the front ranks of patriotism have lice u established behind tiie front by a lodge purchase of four $HHi LibIn France, where selected officers and erty loan bonds. Tiie Eagles hud purmen of our forces have been taught all chased four bunds of tin first issue, that was to lie got out of the service hut decided they should do their part weapon. The result has been shown in making Hie second a success in tiie account we hear of the wonder- also. ful rifle puclice made by our troops in A training school to prepare national the fighting around Bullecourt, remind- army men to become line officers will ing us of the stories that used to reach he established at Camp IjCwIs, Wash., us during the retreat from Mons of a. In addition a certain numhow German mass attacks withered up January und of ber graduates under the fire of our Infantry of the of ami schools universities, colleges American. Scientific old army. which have military training under unity offei'rs will be admitted. Oh, Dear! That Hie ijiSTi.lKN) government irrigaAunt Elvira rushed into the house, tion project on the Truekee river in hystericul. Luke Tahoe ami PyrIve lost my hearing she shouted. Nevada between lie will amid lake completed within a her frightened sister You have? year is tiie prediction of 11. W. Diets, shouted buck ; "how do you know?" See that man out there playing that in charge of federal Irrigation projects There hand organ? Well, I cant hear n ill I'tnh, Idaho and Nevada. single note! and Aunt Elvira wept are WHK) lien's under the project. When A. T. Brawn, u traveling salesafresh. "Thats a moving picture photogra- man, rammed to his home at Walla. several Walla after an ubsemv of pher ut work snapped her sister. days, lie found his wife nnd tlieir baby Like Dog In Manger. dead in Hie bathroom at tlieir home. Bout all de experience some men It was evident they had been overrnim gits wif happiness. said Uncle Ebon, by lack of oxygen in the room, caused is trylu to spoil it fob somebody by a pis heater, which was still ment? Lieutenant, man has existed since tertiary times, but he never learned to fly till 1908. He never went up in a balloon until a hundred und fifty yeurs ago. Our imaginations can't rise to the realization of what this generation bus done, but our descendants will look on us us demigods, and the Wright brothers will become myths, like that chap that invented cooking, Prom Prom ?" Prometheus. Yes, sir. Well, then, after living for thousands of years at the bottom of five miles of air, an ocean of oxygen and nitrogen, weve found out how to get up on top of it They are living at the bottom of un ocean of oxygen (ind hydrogen. Suppose they learned to fly, tool You cun see whnt theyd do. Some of their scouts, who had gone on ahead, would discover that the dry land was teeming with food. Food in such quantities ns these hungry monsters had never dreamed about Food In solid chunks, instead of dissolved particles of plankton, varied with an occasional cannibul dinner. And light tfy which to capture it sunlight I No more hunting down their prey with phosphorescent torches! At first they'd nibble the grass and leaves of the trees. But theyd find that cellulose is pretty indigestible stuff. Then one of them would discover a dead bird or rabbit, and another that sheep and cattle make good eating, and then Then man I muttered Donald, gripping the arms of his chair. The madman's picture had become dreadfully real to him. Other bodies would follow the scouts, Donald. They wouldnt be quite adapted to dry land at first Theyd make their way along the river beds. Theyd swnrm up the Hudson, the IUilne,-thSevern, the MisThat's what we did, and sissippi. even today we haven't got very far from the river banks. Well, theyd rest and recuperate, eating the fish they found, until the supply became else. exhausted. Then " n - 1 im-lsis- 1 To-iiop- I missile-throwin- g f. Is'-u-e iimler-grailual- I I x |