The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-01-31

eyes began to start from his head, and his
jaw fell. Some six or seven feet above the
port buiwarks, framed in fog. and as ut
teriy unsupported as the full moon, hung
face. 1t was not human, and it certainly
was not animal, for it did not belong to
this earth as known to man. The mouth
was open, revealing a ridiculously tiny
tongue, as absurd as the tongue of an ele-
plant: there were tense wrinkles of white
skin at the angles of the drawn lips, white
feelers like those of barbel sprung from
the lower jaw, and there was no sign of teeth
within the mouth. But the horror of the
face lay in the eyes, for those were sight
less-white, in sockets as white as scraped
bone, and blind. Yet for all this the face,
wrinkled as the mask of a lion is drawn on
Assyrian sculpture, was alive with rage
and terror. One long white feeler touched
our bulwarks. Then the face disappeared
with the swiftness of a blind worm. and
the next thing that remember is my own
voice in my own ears, saying gravely 10
the mainmast: But the air bladder
ought to have been forced out of its
mouth, you know"
Keller came up to me, ashy white. He
put his hand into his pocket, took a cigar,
bit 1t, dropped 1T, thrust his shaking
thumb into his mouth and mumbled: 1.-The
giant gooseberry and the raining frogs!
Gimme light-gimme light | say.
gimme a light" a little bead of blood
dropped from his thumbnail
respected the motive, though the mani
festation was absurd. "Stop, you'll bite
your thumb off" I said. and Keller
laughed brokenly as he picked up his cigar.
Only Zuyland. leaning over the port bull
warks, seemed self-possessed. He declared
later that he was nothing of the sort.
We've seen il" he said, turning round.
"That is it,"
"What?" said Keller, chewing his cigar.
As he spoke the fog was blown into
shreds, and we saw the sea, grey with mud,
rolling on every side of us and empty of
all life. Then in one spot it bubbled and
became like the pot of ointment that the
Bible speaks of. From that wide-ringed
trouble Thing came up-a grey and red
Thing with neck-a Thing that beloved
and writhed In pain. Frithiof drew in his
breath and held it till the red letters of
the ships name. woven across his Jersey
struggled and opened out as though they
had been type badly set. Then he said
with q little cluck in his throat, "Ah,
me II is blind. Look That poor thing is
blind" and a murmur of pity went
through US all. for We could see that the
Thing on the water was blind and in pam
Something had gashed and cut the great
sides cruelty, and the blood was squirting
out. The gray oOZe of the undermost sea
lay in the monstrous wrinkles of the back
and poured away IN sIuices. The blind
white head flung back and battered the
wounds, and the body in its torment
rose clear of the red and gray waves
till We saw a pair of monstrous
shoulders streaked with weed and
rough with shells, but as white in the
clear spaces as the hairless maneless,
blind, toothless head. Afterwards. came
dot on the horizon and the sound of a
shrill scream, and it was as though a
shuttle shot ali across the sea in one
breath, and q second head and neck tore
. H-44 7erh ha Il
wall of water to right and left. The two
Things met-the one untouched and the
other in its death throe-male and female
we said, the female coming TO the male
She circled round him, believing, and
| laid her neck across the curve of his great
turtle back, and he disappeared under
water for an instant, but flung up again
| grunting In agony while the blood ran.
| Once the entire head and neck
| shot clear of the water and stiff
ened, and heard Keller saying,
| as though he was watching & street acct
| dent. Give him air! For Gods sake
| give him ARP Then the death struCsIe
| began, with crsmpings and twistings and
| lerklngs OF the white bulk to and fro.
| Still our little steamer rolled again. and
/ each gray wave coated her plates with
| the gray slime. The sun was clear, there
! was no wind, and We watched-the whole
/ crew, stokers and all--in wonder and pitv
]
/ less, and save for his mate, so alone. No
! human eye should have beheld him; it
| was nonstrous and indecent TO exhibit
/ him there IN trade waters between
/ atlas degrees of latitude He had
! been spewed up, mangled and
! dying from his rest on the sea floor.
/ where he might have lived till the iudg-
! ment day, snd We saw the tides Of his life
/ go from him as an angry tide goes out
/ across rocks in the teeth Of landward
| gale. The mate lay rocking on the water
| little distance off, believing continually.
/ and the smell came down upon the shin.
/ making Us cough.
/ Al last the battle for life vas ended in a
! battle OF colored seas. We saw the with
/ ing neck fall like fail, the carcass turn
| Sideways showing the CLINT Of white
| belly and the inset OF gigantic hind leg
/ or haPper. Then sil sank and the Sea
| boiled over II, while the mate
/ swan round and round, darting
| her blind head IN every direction.
| Though we might have feared that
= one sould aItack tie steamer no power on