Show rm IH deep sea efel mi VICTOR ROUSSEAU A BY W G CHAPMAN CHAPTER I 1 HI I 1 continued ile he could trace the movements as of some invisible body he saw the ripples glide forward along the surface strike istrice the glass wall opposite and continue at a right angle turning again and again as the creature continued on its steady course the sensation was uncanny captain itaster bermans mans words came back to donald ive brought my specimen home he was aps vps of an impulse to bolt instead of which however he concentrated all his attention on the tank the movements in the water subsided bonald D onald had the impression that the invisible creature had stopped and was regarding him he saw a gentle swirl ns as if a body stood upright within the tank then a sound from the second tank drew him toward it it was a musical ringing exactly like that produced by drawing the finger tip around the top of a bowl of water a long drawn sound sweet and clear donald looked into this tank which was ope open n at t the h e top and not connected with the apparatus but he could see nothing there either ile he turned back to the first tank find and all at once he perceived two tw 0 black specks close together halfway between the top of the water and the glass roof ID each ach was about the sl I 1 of a small currant donald 4 nearer ile he saw them move then I 1 h started backward overcome litif horror herror the black specks were the pupils 00 agnir a pair of eyes fixed on his and follow lowing ing them I 1 like all sailors donald paget was not free from superstition any known danger he could have hae faced bravely but this unknown thing was terrifying ile he felt his knees give under him his impulse was to fly he t turned and at that moment something descended upon his head and struck him half conscious to the floor dimly through the gathering mists he made out the form of a middle aged bearded man he saw the red face the shrewd gray eyes that looked into his and recognized Mac Beard beside him lay the sandbag with which the man had felled him unable to move donald felt mac beard rifling his pockets one by one until he came upon the envelope containing Alaster Ma mans communication Mac Beard drew it forth with a grunt and stood up under the gas to examine it A brief survey satisfied him that he had found what he was seeking he grunted again and lot looked ked down at donald apparently satisfied with his work he turned toward the water tanks ile he must have heard the splashing of the monster as it resumed its for he started an instant and then as if curious burlou 9 he drew nearer to the first of the tanks with the air pipe attachment he stood quite still looking at the thing in the water donald wondered whether he had discovered it and whether he had perceived the eyes he knew in a moment for with a yell Mac Beard started backward he stumbled against one of the palms palm and sent it crashing to tho the floor Mac Beard who had bad fallen with it picked hlin himself self up and ran in terror donald dnald heard his footsteps pattering along the flags outside he heard the slam of the creaking gate he knew L new that the professor having obtained the document was not likely to return and he could not blame him for ills his nervousness for he had almost done the same thing himself donald staggered to his feet clutched tit at the wall vall to steady himself and remained thus while the swimming room gradually grew still the light from the gas jet tell fell upon the water tanks tank s and looking at the farther tank donald had a queer illusion he thought he saw the very misty outlines of the body of a beautiful woman the merest shadowy shape which swam before his eyes and was waa gone and reappeared veiled in a sort of prismatic blend of coloring but before he had time to convince himself that it was or was not the result of his injury inbur to his horror he perceived very clearly a cloudy form beginning to take shape within the nearer tank the outlines grew clearer momentarily he saw what seemed to be the body of a hairless monkey supporting itself upon webbed feet or flappers budding out from the sides were two similar arms the webbed hands pressing against the sides of the tank the outlines were at first so vague as to be almost imperceptible then the crystalline body became cent and milky resembling tho the white of an egg it hardened and as it hardened swelled donald saw the chest heave the mouth contorted and suddenly he realized that this grotesque pitiful thing was suffering I 1 lie ile saw immediately that the professors fe fes mors sors tall fall had disarranged the tubes that led from the tank that and the removal of the ganss lid which Mac MacD Beards cards tumble had knocked to the floor had reduced the air pressure to normal the creature was suffering because there were only 10 16 pounds of air upon ench each square inch of its surface it su suffered offered just as a human being suffers on a high mountain it squirmed and writhed and the water was wag churned up by its flappers the gill openings bene beneath nth the ears eara napped flapped convulsively donald could do nothing lie knew that it was grodny visible because it was dyane happens with the crystalline crabs and other invisible denizens of the teeg digma ki soon the force of the in fernn would disrupt it ile he turned off the gas and staggered out through the kitchen into the little garden ile he knew now that master mans story had some germ of truth he had discovered some species of deep water seal and his mind strained by his privations had imagined the rest why he himself had almost imagined he had bad seen a woman in the second tank I 1 lie reached the gate opened it slammed it and ran down the road he did not cease running till lie he pulled himself up under a street light he realized then that he was hatless people were staring after him and looking back he be imagined that ho he saw the shadowy shadow 7 outlines of the girls b ody body beneath the light of the lamp im going crazy lie he muttered its been a crazy night I 1 wonder I 1 wonder how much of it happened and how much was the result of the blow I 1 and he half believed Mac Beard had bad never existed and that a burglar h had ad assaulted him but as he thrust his hands into the pockets of his trousers he pulled out the single page of Master mans manuscript and then he knew that there was at least some basis for the remembrances that surged through his busy brain under the light of the next nest lamp be read the page my dear friend donald it began then followed the lines which paget had bad begun in the inventors club but never finished there was the warning against Mac Beard the enemy of the human race then masterman had written so much I 1 have learned but I 1 know little he has the shrewdest brain of the century and it is capable of infinite evil not a as 8 a talebearer tale bearer donald but 0 out u t of duty t to 0 humanity I 1 here set down what I 1 have d discovered covered ls about him if he knew that his past was revealed ray my life would be worth less leas than even the two months which my doctor gives me he has been tracking me spying on me I 1 learned only today that he has a fast in readiness off the coast to make the journey to the Shet lands as soon as lie he has discovered all that I 1 kno know you roust must thwart him and under no c circumstances I 1 r cum stances let him get ho hold id of this manuscript his history Is as follows donald scanned the rest of the page h hastily Mac Alac Beards past though it seemed shady and criminal had little N N X he stumbled against one of the palms and sent it crashing to the floor interest for donald then he resolved to put masterman out of his bis mind in attention to his duties of one thing only he was sure sare he was not going back to the house to see whether there were any more specimens somehow he never quite remembered how donald found a hotel explained his appearance to the landlord obtained fresh clothing sent for his valise drank three hot whisky toddles tod dies and got to bed CHAPTER IV the quest of the sea shark lieutenant donald paget stood on the upper platform of the 1755 which ran awash 14 1 the waves of tha ille north atlantic far from the mother ship which had convoyed conveyed her and others of tho the flotilla almost to the north of scotland the frail little craft hummed noisily as her petrol motors drove the awl screws through the water the one of the older type of submarine was making ton ten knots knot through a n dim cult sea within her feet by 15 silo she held an amazing potentiality for destruction above the conning tower rose the single periscope for the captain or lookout man now almost useless should the submerge herself on account of the washing seas within the tower were the observation port depth meter and tubes connecting with the engine room and torpedo station the platform quivered incessantly as the periscope motor underneath throbbed and the vibration of the engines made the entire vessel shiver in the few days that he had been at sea the sense of responsibility for his ship and the lives of ills his men had weighed on donald heavily now entering the conning tower and taking his fits stand beside the lookout man he be seemed to assume a dual personality one part of him bent itself automatically to its task the other was thinking over the events of the past few days and pondering on their significance ance on the day following his visit to baltimore donald had telegraphed repeatedly peat edly to new york but no news had been received of the beotta and he had bad been unable to obtain any in formation concerning her from any an of tho the port officials lie he had finally gone aboard at newport news in a 4 ve very r Y disappointed frame of mind hopeless of meeting ida kennedy until after the war the chances of his sa surviving it did not appear to him to be brilliant ones A last message from the mother ship informed him to keep his course toward the Shet lands he was instructed ted that a battle crul cruller s er h had ad slipped out of the kiel kid canal and and was lurking somewhere among the norwegian fjords with a view to evading the block blockade nde making for the atlantic and harassing shipping there the inference from this statement was an obvious one for the american fleets patrol joined the british in this longitude smoke to starboard sirl sam clouts clonts the lookout was speaking and instantly the two pars paris of donalds personality fused ida kennedy was forgotten upon the horizon through this glasses donald could see a tiny spiral of curling smoke he flung over the surface steering wheel w heel and headed the straight for the stranger from that distance lie he knew that while he could see the funnels of the ship the submarine was invisible owing to the curvature of the earth i relinquishing the wheel to clouts clonts he be watched the stranger grad gradually bally the smoke thickened then than there camo came into view two funnels and c r hull half invisible among the chop chopping waves it was impossible to mistake the oncoming ship she was a battle cruiser of the bluecher Blu ocher class and she could only be escaping westward to harry commerce along the atlantic trade route with her fast heels and 12 inch filch guns she could match any unit afloat except those of the home squadron donalds luck was with him after all she was proceeding west nor west evidently purposing to round the shot shet lands and so gain the shelter of the 0 open en se sens as it was a daring maneuver and she would certainly be sighted by the british destroyer flotilla still though she could hardly these fast little craft she might beat them off and escape before either the british or the american blockading vessels could come upon the scene donald spoke a sharp command into the tube of the diving station tho the hatch was jammed down the horizontal rudders at the bow were deflected ted the water rushed into the diving tanks and the began to dip the surface running light slanted seaward as the bow went under and slowly regained poise as the stern followed bringing the back to an even keel the hum of the petrol motors ceased the hull bull was filled with the roar of the water then the electric motors took up their steady throbbing five meters meter sl 1 announced the man a at t the depth indicator six meters seven aalf I 1 paget sinks a german cruiser and ida kennedy enters the story etory TO BE CONTINUED |