, 1888-01-21

a boat halyard round his waist, saying:
81 reckon I'm about the best swimmer,
boys. If l get back.all right one of you
can follow. There may be sharks down
there, SO keep the rope taught, and when
| jerk it pull me up as though the Old
Harry was below"
Boy Blue, like too many other brave
hearts, was reckless in his language at
times, but the others admired his frank
audacity none the less for that. We
lowered him TO the second deck, and as
he stood waist deep in water, with his
feet on the combings of the lower hatch
way, he shouted back:
''Taint like a lady's parlor below, boys,
but here goes"
And down he sank. They kept atight
grip on the rope and peered over into the
seething cavern of water. Boy Blue was
nearly as good as "a Bahama diver at
holding his breath, but his mates grew
uneasy this time over his delay in jerk
ing ther rope. Finally it was jerked with
a vengeance, nearly sending Little Dave,
VIII held it, headlong through the hatch.
Then they began pulling, astonished to
feel how heavy Boy Blue had grown in
the last minute or so.
Hes got a case of dry goods this
time"
COR q barrel of coal OIL"
"Or n of those"- .
Their comments were cut short by the
appearance of Boy Blues back and legs,
with two dark, shiny looking arms
twined round them. Then they pulled
frantically, fearing too, lest the rope
should break. His whole person slowly
came into view, held firmly in the grasp
of other similar horrible, tenacious tenta-
Giles.
The men shudderingly realized his
peril, for who has not read or heard Of
the octopusl The legend of tho Kraken
and Victor Hugo's graphic description of
the devil fish, flashed through Little
Dawes mind, as he beheld Boy Blue
hanging insensible in that nerciless, I'M
yielding clasp.
One of their number was the Bahamian
who had shot the bear. He was a
swarthy, keen eyed fellow, apparently as
much at home here as though amid the
mangoes and %pineapples of Nassau and
San Salvador. He carried in his belt a
spongeFs knife, detached from the long
polo wherein it is used. Its heavy two
foot blade rendered it a formidable
weapon.
While the rest YVES staring helplessly,
he drew this knife and, descending the
iron ladder at the side of the hatchway,
severed one of the hideou9 arms with a
bold stroke, at the same time screaming
out:
"You pull 'em-fastr
The men hoisted away like madmen.
Another arm was cut off, and they
caught a 6eeting glimpse of its dull,
cruel eyes and ball like body. as the devil
Hsh released its victim and sank ~sullenly
from sight. 1t took n good five minutes
to revive their comrade, whose back and
legs were torn as by a blister, from the
powerful suction of the monsters claws.
Boy Blue freely owned up to having re-
Cciycd the worst scare a fool ever got"
Tho Bahamiau, however, after looking
at tho severed arms that had still clung
to the lads torn undershirt, said q little
s~cornfully.
Hem not berry big. Heap bigger in
Bahama"
The southeastern had evidently blown it
from the Gulf stream shorevvard into the
breakers, and thence it took refuge in the
hold of the Ladona, through the recent
rent in the steamers side.
This incident caused our party of four
10 conclude that they had had enough of
wrccking for the present, though the
Bahama men still descended as though
nothing had happened, after arming
themselves with sharp knives for a de-
tense against further attacks. But the
sight of those gristly tentacles, with n
dark oozc exuding from their severed
extremities, and the rubber like suction
cups, that enable the devil fish to cling
so cruelty to its prey, enectually cured
even Boy Blue of any further desire to
penetrate the mysteries of the Ladona's
hold.
The following day, therefore, found
them spinning homeward over the lagoon
with n fair wind, and their little sailboat
well loaded with the results of their two
weeks experience as beach combers of
the Florida coast.-William Perry Brown
in Atlanta Constitution.