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Show UTAH TIIE I'AYSOMAX, aperture. Donald raised her feet and pushed lie saw the night of her Into the water swallow her. And, choking down his fears, he plunged in after her. . , ' v up M m , i.iii-n'- ooze was white fl'h which small of si the with li ,, li,,. iih,. had rojeeted after devouring that covered them. . ihe st e the the crinoid beds ended no oik in At ,, bis "nil nlcs. abruptl . They rest d on the laittom, in seating tin mselves side by side. Don' - ,,l ii nm d.i I'd tl with Don- - ald foil ...undent that he could find the ; a, ,i a sweet, V,.' d forward, put submarine. But the delay was i: w . 1, store in the It. because disappoinment v..id - h lie! ,r unbearable. III. I Sii'ldi-nlleaped backward, for ih. in might prove There Death or a little life would ! the dragging bon vmb.nl.v wnh her. nnd the difference was hard- was a si use of s, und. or vibration, rather like the closing of a trap's ly perceptible. Donald raised Idas hand to his glass to snap together jaws. T Inhead. and pressed the fingers against mask Dull. lids a foot Irma bar And be saw suddenly, as if it had at It. She let her hand fall caressingly that moment .oily hecom visible, the her torm of somo vast monster upon his shoulders. She rose to sli'dnw looked luil-iiiwithin the ri itsss of the cave. foot, and he followed her. They It w is one of the giant forms of into . aili others eyes, aud, though some re. si a life, perhaps holding the .same they could read nothing there, to seemed of pass as tini sea d beasts hope message ',i . o s J tow al sea They plunged together into the lie tnwaiil mm. It might liuve Iig'1-as to . them, It asclung of when again jell sthey fallowed the swarm If it, too, sought to sunk them down. sembled in the submarine crater, I was to their emigration south-- The light of the eleetrie lamps blindwandered grow lag obscure. They a rd. that was It was not one of the monsters that ly, struggling in a medium the boat, for Donald almost Impermeable. i' d attaeked Donald began to realize that the accould discern a fislilike bodv uud a n of the caustic alkali within the tion huge head viitb gleaming eyes, and chamber was hemming exmetallic whlim that of gaped binged jaws pair hausted. lie was beginning to choke. had ns If to sen h for the pre.V that His breath came in deep sighs, und he eluded them. The light was a phosphorescent line gulped lit the thickening atmosphere. Their steps grew slower. Ida could Used b the creature to draw Its vie raise her feet. Once she stumIt In which hardly thus within the cavern The sluggish monster re-- , bled nnd fell, picked herself up, und Imbed, then she plained quiescent, and again the lure started beside Donald again; Slink down exhausted. She could not the Juws between dangling appeared, go fariher. front the stnuit above them. Death, horrible In form, awaited Donald pushed Ida before him and It was becoming imminent. fled out of the cave until he trod upon them. In the ocean ooze again. And they con- Donald was growing delirious, and Ida with was he f aney strolling of the bottom to the crawl at tinued itowers. sea, two helpless human creatures, un- through meadows, plucking 'I hey were to be married on the mor- them around while believably helpless, the tierce, predatory swarms sought row, and he was going to get leuve of absence to take her uwuy. Where thiir diurnal food. should they speud their honeymoon? J humid had found the slope of the Off the coast of the Shetland-- , Why, 'to island when grow began In- - had been there ont-elung before thick again. All the while he was aware that he Presently a phosphorescent patch was ling on live bed of the sea, but appeared In the distance. It became hi, personality seemed divided, and Jcs.s hazy, it seemed to concentrate, The ocean suddenly became like trans- while one part of him walked lu those fields beside Ids sweetheart, parent jolly, the suffered and choked and other aw the And, facing 1dm, Donald outline of one of the sea monsters, pleaded Impotently with a Mind fate visible now aud horribly magnified. for aid not for his life's sake, but The eyes opened upon his own. They for Ida's. The girls hand wus unresponsive in were not eurrnntlike in that medium, hut expanded to the full, great orbs hN own, Ierlmps she was dead at- like sunflowers that glowered on their ready, Donald chafed It, hut was prospective prey, larger than the eyes hardly able to distinguish It In that which was of uny beast created slnoe leviathan jell like environment, thickening perceptibly now. and behemoth. The lingers were limp and cold. However, the creature made no move They were both numbed from the ex-- ! toward him as Donald, almost remained confronting it. lie posure and Ida was dead, lie would saw the gorilla form, with Its short, follow her, then. Slowly and with deliberation he unbudding limbs, the trunk of gorillas thickness, the narrow flippers, and the fastened the copper cylinder from about his body. At once the little triangular head. He felt as some primeval man might electric light went out. It had grown have done when he looked into the so dim that only then did Donald remember that It had been burning. fae of the mastodon. He unbuckled the headpiece and The creature did not pursue him, but stood, swaying gently, dreadfully took off the mask of glass. lie flung human. Donald snatched at Ida nnd It from him. A moment he held his bronth as he felt the cftol water-jelltried to .run. lie tripped and fell, lie dragged himself to his feet again. upon his face. Then, very resolutely, He became aware of a harrier between he drew In his breath. the monster and himself, which had, CHAPTER X. perhaps, saved them. He had stumbled upon a spiny substance, a cornllold The Cave of the Idol. growth that proved to be the outpost A cry of amazement burst from his of a submarine forest. It was a field of crinoids, the yellow lilies of the sea. lips. He was breathing air air at the bottom of the sea! Beautiful plants with branching It vvns surcharged with oxygen. It arms, they bent nnd swayed before him. He felt the thrill Invigorated mins Donald's eyes they drew in the nute forms of life on which they sub- of renewed life in his body, he felt sisted. They were vegetable octopods, his shrunken arteries tingle as his carnivorous scavengers of the deep, heart pumped the new, riehened blood which feasted on the small fish that through them. It seemed unbelievable. At first he in their waving they entangled that he had died, nnd that this thought nnd drew the by branches, ciliary was the souls awakening. movements of the lining of their tenThen, with quick fingers, he unfastacles toward the central stomach. and tore the Donald saw one of the waving arms ten'd Idas body-piec- e musff from its fastenings. He heard sweep dow n toward him. lie tore at ln-sigh. it with Ills fingers. To his surprise, ,she sighed and stirred and sat up the brittle branch broke loose and settled slowly in the ooze, there to be- on the ocean bed. I i m u Id ! she murmured. I come the embryo of a plant. From I thought ns you were dead. thought if the aptentacles, every quarter Where are we? prized of their presence, came swoop"I dont know, he answered, in abslow toward them. ly ing Donald saw Ida grasped in their solute bewilderment. At that moment he heard the mel-- 1 dinging clutch. Madly he tore at the v, gnnglike sound that graceful, shrinking forms, until he had they had aboard the F.". cloven a wide swath before him, and Aral slowly, as if In answer to the the arms, balked and bullied of their i all, the jellylike medium that surprey, withdrew. Donald turned and began skirting rounded them began to drift away, to the crinoid bed. . The sea devil had be hung up, as if it were a curtain, The water was like a and before their astonished gaze there disappeared. thin, unstiihle jelly. As they made evolved the strangest stage setting their way along the bottom of the sen, that could ever have been conceived. the fleshy lily arms reached out First there came Into view the subtoward them like childrens plucking marine, oecupvtiig, as It were, the cenfingers. At last the bed of crinoids ter of this stage, her how sunk in the ended.' They trod on firmer ground. ooze, her stern still lower, They had Their pace became accelerated. been lying within a hundred paces of 11c had lost all sense of time. He hop. did not know whether he had jourNoxt appourod the sloping oilges of neyed one hour or three. lie halted the crater, seen, not through water but because there seemed nothing to do. through clear air, with a border of Then he began to lead the way back yellow crinoids, between the two crinoid beds, with the as though a breezeceaselessly stirring, ruffled them. Then intention of reaching the clear ground there began to he visible. In the flanks near the entrance to the cave. of the mountain, structures, apparThere, there might Jie a chance of ently of hardened mud. the taking picking up Davies and Clouts; or, at -- hupe of fantastic temples, with pilleast. It might ie possible from there lars and to return to the submarine with Ida Mihnmrgeddoorways with low lintels a city of cliff dwellers, and to replenish their oxygen reservoirs. each identical with Its neighbors, These still seemed ample, hut it was - that they seemed to have been fashimpossible to determine how much ioned with the same unchanging ox gen romahe'd. as the Cells of the bee. They threaded the mazes of the And the whole crater swarmed with winding path between the beds, while the no longer invisible, from either side the fleshy arms but outlined in phosphorescent fire stretched out to grapple them. The And standing in front of Donald touch of them was hko fiery velvet. l!, font tiros Ihe suction (lf t1( brum lies made I, clearly visible .rough the glass of his own them cling, nnd had to exercise diving surveying them with a cool, all his might to break awHy. Somegaze, was ira MacBeard ! times their ankbs became entangled ' sn'r"'1 111 him he and they would stumble. Alwa.vs ,h his "i lm and tn,ek m nothing arms 1ml formed a network 'about suspended f hIs ntck-- . Svlng out the mellow - , , bic to side. ri- oning to roircat I '"tiuld ;i'! no d !,i um lie mask, OM m i i s siili-ian- , , I fi, der their feet the -- ee i , CHAPTER IX. their heads before they could .regain their feet, and these had to be broken. no ngnt grow nearer. Ion swung to , i i , On the Sea Floor. fa VICTOK ROUSSEAU Oer wcCHAPrtAtt oh- least when the fog made the air oeure. And last night theie was It oeciirs to me that possibly; course that, hear ;lit . eiint they would he natural, and they left us about the time the moon rose. So If thut they are noeturnal In their habits would ueeount for our Immunity now. If I am right, we are learning their limitations fast." Youre right, sir," replied the middy with conviction. "Only Well have some Information to a lurry bark then, Davies, besides sea re. And It looks as If humanity wont have to light so very hard to suit Itself, I beg your pardon you Vi re going to say something? I was thinking, sir, that they teemed to go when the tOilstle blew. What whistle, lales?" "That one note that sounded like 1 cant remember what It was like, but I know Ive heard a Hound like that before, only much softer. "So have I, answered Donald, musing. "Well, get to your post, Davies, liaise Her a trltle, then lock the rudder ami come Into the conning tower to take care of Miss Kennedy." He returned to the girl. "Miss Kennedy. 1 dont think you have met Lieutenant Davies," he said formally. "Now, Davies, Ill go and help Clouts with the engines. Dont he alarmed to be alone for a minute or two, Ida. The middy sainted, and wont to his post at the diving station. Already1 the Fm was throbbing with tin vibration of the engines, and the sound was the most grateful that their ears could 1 have Imagined. "Dont open the doors, said Donald, kissing Ida hastily. He was off, and the girl remained steel. She alone within the tower glanced almut her In dismay. It felt She felt the floor like a steel prison It began to dip. and then quivering, The sea splashed the observation port. Quickly the green translueenoy that followed gave place to darkness. Ida slipped on the tipping floor. Donald ran In; slip heard him calling to her through the darkness, and felt Ida anna grope for her. "Its all rfcht, dear," he said hastily. "Davies has probably got tun-gle- d up with the diving rudders. Its a hit stiff for him to handle ulone. It doesnt mean nnything particular Hut Ilu could read the fear In his voice, and she knew that It meant everything. The diving apparatus had. In fact, jammed when' the FM grounded upon the bench, and the rudder had become twisted. Under Davies hands it lmd been released, and hail worked In the wrong direction. With her how pointing downward at an angle of 30 degrees. The F55 Bank until her nose dug Into the ooze 800 feet beneath the surface, Into the crater of the submarine peak. Then, slowly settling under the weight of the wnter, the stern followed, and the little craft remained submerged on the seuhed. Darkness covered her. The Inmutes felt their eardrums 'throb tinder the pressure. At the first indication of danger Clouts had contrived to shut off the petrol engines. That alone prevented nn explosion when the sea rushed through the aft escape hatch. Fortunately, the after part of the sddp remained above the surface for . a few moments after the bow went under, and only a couple of sweeping eeas came in. Short hs the period of respite was. It enabled Donald and Clouts to grasp the hatch ami replace It. They fought In a deluge of water that swept them from their feet and dashed them, half stunned, against the walls of the engine room. But they got the hatch Into place. Clouts came In, and presently Davies Joined them. He began to stammer brokenly, hut Donald laid his hand In kindly fashion on the lads shoulder. You ure not to blame, Davies," he said. "It was my own fault fair trying to run the old boat instead of putting you all ashore. No doubt the vertical-rudder blades are bent and fouled the rocks. Now weve got to think, and harder than we have ever thought before." "We aint to drown like rats tu traps, sir," said Sam Clouts heartily. , Not If I kuow It, Clouts Donald returned. Now, first, It Isn't possible to adjust the rudder, and we ennt ' rise 'without It.- - Thats I think. We are comparatively safe for some time to come, because we have Just taken on a supply of natural air, and vie havent opened the yet. Hut, of course, It moans only two days respite." "If 1 might say so, sir, snhl Clouts, fit means that we must put on the diving suits. Youre right," answered Donald. We arent in a hopeless position by any meansf we manage to keep our beads. Miss Kennedy, well get you out of here In a Jiffy If you dont mind getting your feet wet. You see," he continued, lu explanation, fortunately very fortunately for us we have the new Siebert diving apparatus aboard, which was to .have been used for a special purpose tf cup-shape- d t. air-flas- connection with our work for the government. said Davies. "One moment, sir, "Dave you a mutch?" Donald handed him one of the few Davies struck It, that remained. looked at the depth meter, and whistled expressively, "Two hundred and eighty feet, sir, he said In a low tone. "Yes, that svas about what I imagIs about ns ined, replied Donald, much as the old F55 would stand without buckling." But two hundred Is the extreme limit of deep-sediving, sir, Davies protested. The Rlebert apparatus Is especially devised for going deeper than that," returned Donald, "In fact, Siebert himself went down to six hundred, though he was all in when he cuuie up, You see, Davies, the new factor in th Sickert dress Is Jjuit it has a compensating pressure. I didnt specialize on it, hut I understand It Is u sort of comInternal oxygen arrangement, pressed, which partly neutralizes the pressure outside. It has enough compressed oxj gen to last six hours. "Now, my phm Is this: We must leave the airlock one by one, with rather a light weight of metal oq our feet, calculated to enable us p) walk, and yet not to keep us down. W& shall then simply climb the slopes of Fair Island under the wuter." "I think it Is the only feasible plan, sir," said Davies briskly, "How do you feel about It, Ida?" asked Donald In a low tone, I am Idu put her hand into his. ready to do anything you wish, Donald, dear, she answered, "Iil answer for the Indy with my own life, sir," said Clouts heartily. "Then were decided," snhl Donald, "Now, follow me in single file, hands on The shoulders of the one in front of you. All ready?" lie led the way through the darkness, down the ladder at the base of the conning ower toward the storage room In which the diving apparatus wus kept. Then he lit a candle. The Siebert apparatus possesses the merit of simplicity. Donald, us he adjusted It on each with the aid of Davies, did not think It necessary to explain the mechunisift, Jt consisted, (Irst, of a waterproof uniform, then of a glass nin.sk and copper cylinder, the latter covering the upper part of tilt body and fastening about the shoulders. It contained a supply of compressed oxygen for several hours. The carbonic add exhaled passed Into a receptacle containing caustic soda, which purified It, thus liberating the oxygen, while the nitrogen could be Inhaled over and over again. There was also a single sleeve attached by wires to a little storage buttery worn on the neck, In which, when the apparatus had been properly adjusted,- a small electric light could be made to bum by the pressure of a button. They waited a moment while Ida put on the waterproof uniform; then ull followed suit. Donald and Davies dressed themselves after (.Touts, and attached the weights about the feet of each and to their own. Flnully. when all were In readiness, Donald snuffed the candle and lit Ills eleetrie lamp, which was Inclosed In a specially devised glass, calculated to resist a greut pressure. Each of the party was now sealed from all sound. They saw each others faces very dimly through the gfltss masks. Donald indicated to Davies that he was to bring up the my, his hands upon the shoulders of Sam Clouts In front of hint, lie placed Ida In front of Clouts, and, raising her hands, put them upon Ills own shoulders, himself leading the proeesslon. lie made Ids way Into the conning tower again. He opened the Inner chamber of the airlock, admitting Ida aud himself, and closed It again. He knew that Clouts uud Davies could take care of themselves. The airlock, built to be used for escape In just such an emergency, was meant for one temporary tenant alone. But two could just manage to squeeze In, and Ida could not have undertaken the pluuge alone. They were breathing the stored oxy-ge- n within the copper cylinders. They were safe for the present. The transit was not especially perilous In itself, hut there were dangers to face the possibility of being too heavily weighted and sinking Into the ooze; that of being too light and losing balance. These had to he met. Through the glass mask Donald suw Idas face. She was composed, and, in spite of the dlstortlug medium, he was sure that he saw a look of trustful hi it a -- love In her eyes. He started the compressed-ai- r apparatus to keep the sea water out of the lock, and opened the outer door. They looked Into the nothingness of the wean bottom. The wall of inky water was hardly Illumined by the faint light that shone from their sleeve-lampDonald pressed Idas hand. lie felt her fingers flutter In his. She understood what she was to do. She placed her head and shoulders within the s. as the sea He crop d lie struggled for depths enveloped him. lu the water as In a fog. 1 he swiut of bubbling air from the oxygen apparatus in the lock curried him some distance from the submarine, and then he felt himself sinking. He sunk very slowly, and as he sunk lu groped for Ida. He could not find her. The submarine lmd disappeared completely. He waded to and fro clumsily. He was like a dead umn who wakes in an uninhabited purgatory of desolation. There was nothing anywhere nothing. Only the yielding water, at which his fingers clutched fruitlessly. He began to walk for six paces In every direction, calculating that in this way he could bound a parallelogram and return to his starting point. But he siiw nothing, and he dbl not know that he had returned to the place from which he hud set out. lie bfarted wildly backward, believing that the submarine lay behind him. As he walked, drugging his weight like a convicts chain and hall, suddenly the outlines of the Fb.T appeared before him, lie realized that she was lying with Imr how higher than her stern. At Mie once ho grasped the situation. had sunk with her ln-toward laud, halam-- t . . i , 11 j 1 - i v I tile-wat- er para-l.vze- He Struggled for Balance as the Sea Depths Enveloped Him. and from this end, therefore, he must start on the ascent of Fair islands subterranean base. And this discovery renewed Ills courage. Of course, the others were endeavoring to make the ascent, while Jio lmd gone floundering In the wrong direction, downward toward the heart of the erntir. He made his way parallel with the submarine's how, keeping well within sight of the elusive craft, ' ich would disappear momentarily before Ids eyes and suddenly appear again, almost he wlihin arms reach. Huddenly stopped, lie stared at the oozy floor. His light hud enst his shadow in front of him. But that was Impossible, It was no shadow. It was a flattened man, a dwurflsh figure, ridiculously liiisproportloncd, resembling an Image seen In a curved mirror. It approached slowly and uncertaydy. For a moment Donald felt his heart stand still with fear. It was a nightmare figure, terror incarnate. A little glow flashed from its arin. They drew together. They stood looking at each other, peering through their thick masks. But in that vague medium recognition was Impossible. Donald saw only the blurred features behind the thick gluss that covered the face, distorted and twisted He surmised that by the refraction. It was not Davies. Davies could have made himself known by any of a number of symbols of the seamans freemasonry. But then, it could not bo Clouts either. He caught at the figure's hand and raised it to his sleeve-light- . It was a womans hand It was Ida's. They knew each other. Donald took her fingers in Ids, and together they started on the ascent. To his horror, Donald perceived that the water was becoming opaque. It presaged the of the sea monsters. They were in this lair, and this substance was no food, no plankton that those devils pukliod forth before them like a veil, hut a material designed to shield them from the filtering sunlight. Donald grasped Idas hand and fought Ills way through the dinging muss. As lie swung Ids free arm. upraised, it struck against a rocky barrier overhead. The ooze underfoot had yielded to solid rock. lit? thrust out his arms on either side, and still found rock. lie realized that they were no longer ascending the mountain, but had struck a cave. Donald stood still, reflecting. Did Ida understand? There was no way In which to tell her. lie was about to retrace his steps when he perceived, a long distance in front of him. a tiny glimmer of light. At first he hoped that it was daylight But that was Impossible. fier Idn raised hand and pointed. She, too, hud soen It, und had placed the same interpretation upon it apiK-arane- d, y pre-ct-i- l 1 sound which they lind heard before Immediately he disappeared from vle In the midst of u swarm of the won. siers. which, surrounding Donald and the girl, began to push them tuward the cavern In the mountain side. The push was gradual, nnd : ppar. ently the result of some nuturi.i quality not known on land. There was no sense of muscular moveim-ipi seemed to he momentum devoid of th accompanying factor of speed, irresistibly, und yet quietly, the two were pushed toward the entrance iu the think of the Island. Iu vain Donald resisted. In vein he tried to force a path toward tl e submarine, dashing his fists again-- i the bodies of the monsters. He made not the least impression upon those forms. A under water and one In the air hqd very different pmvirs 0f resistance. lie might as well have fought an army of animated I" . sea-ma- i n Slowly, without strain or attack, he felt himself being forced forward. He was held tialitly on every side, except for the narrow gap that opened In front of him. lie was forced to devote himself to supporting Ida. On every side the globular, trim lucent, phosphorescent forms seemed to crowd In on him, leaving only a tiny way in the direction of onp of entrances. Yet, even the thus, Donald had the impression of some unconscious force thut animated these monsters; It seemed like the scouting expedition of a colony of red ants, returning with its booty, ne could sense no conscious impulse in the sea monsters. His pace became accelerated, and ' jl suddenly, swept off their feet, Donald and Ida found themselves within a huge cavern, faintly illumined by and roofed with the same I J cloudy substance that they hud seen t f Upon the ocean bed without. The monsters left them. The two f cf stood there together, still In bewilderment. But they were not alone, for, with a shout, Puvies emerged from the dim recess, and ran toward them, followed by Clouts. Their cylinders und headgear had been removed. The four stared at one another in incredulous joy. "They nabbed us the moment we cried Davies, grableft the bing the lieutenant by the hand and forgetting his discipline for the firt And Clouts, too. They time. of edged us in here, you were dead. "They gave us a little longer res- pite, answered Donald. "Davies, am I mad or dreaming, or are we breathing under water? "If youre dreaming, then Clouts and I are too, said the little middy V, Hello! There Clouts goes again1-- -. Ive tried to keep him resigned, he gets frunttc occasionally. With a sudden howl that seemed tof ?1 rise from the depths of an outraged' - j' nature, Clouts, lowering his head?' rushed like a battering ram Into the; doorway. The watchers saw him re ' C coil as if he had hutted a feather bed N He looked up, rubbed his head In pet plexlty, and then, retiring a fe paces, repeated his experiment more I furiously than before. Again he wps Mined back, as a ball?. rebounds from the of a bl'( SJ. Hard tabic. The monsters bodlrfblocked the entrance as effectlvelj,'.A as if they were of rubber. Slowly Sum Clouts with drew, loot-Ing back v.iih u puzzle 1 expression tire-- ' glanced about I if Meanwhile tl They were iu a huge natural caw.v A in which the sea monsters had been at work, for the hiterta i was coated with mud, hardened In' some peculiar manner to resist the . water. And yet Donald had the saiw mud-pillare- d air-loc- J j : cu.-djo- - -: - , Look I" Exclaimed Donald impression of a beehive. There w something of sameness every the same sense of automatism, It was quite bare, except at end, where arose a mud mound, dec rated with seashells, and upon tbr was wlmt looked like the or skeleton of a small mammal. Look ! exclalmea Donald. 1 It came from from behind &f curtain!" said Da vies .In awe. D01 aid, the air was thicker . . thing keeps rolling back . ; They looked at each other, still convinced that they were awake alive. Then they went toward the el, f ject at the end. , Sara Clouts, who had precede them, fell hack with an exclaniad of horror. , (To be continued) |