The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-10

gills that very young rays and sharks
possess. But the humanity OF the face
was not the most extraordinary thing
about the creature; it was u biped, its
almost globular body was poised on a
tripod Of two frog-like legs and long
shaft of bone tipped with copper The
color of the creature was variegated, ITS
head hands and legs We're purple, but
its skin. which hung loosely upon 1t
even as clothes might do. was phos-
phorescent gray. And it stood there,
blinded BY the light.
At last this unknown creature of the
waves blinked its eyes open, and, shad-
ing them with its disengaged hand
opened It's mouth and gave vent to u
shouting noise. articulate almost as
speech might be, that penetrated even
the steel case and padded jacket of the
sphere. 1t then moved sideways out
Of the glare into the mystery of shadow
that bordered 1t ON either side. and FL
stead felt rather than saw. that ii was
coming towards him. Fancying the
light had attracted it. he turned the
switch that curt of the current. In an
other moment something soft dabbed
upon the steel and the globe swayed.
Then the shouting was repeated, and
1t seemed to him that distant echo
answered it, The dabbing required and
the globe swayed and ground against
the spindle over which the wire was
rolled. He stood In the blackness and
peered out into the everlasting night
of the abyss. And presently, he saw,
Sat. 4 a.
rescent quasi-human forms hurrying
towards him. Hardly knowing what
he did. he felt about i'm his swaying
prison for the stud of the exterior cleo
tric light and came by accident against
his own small glow lamp in its padded
recess. The sphere twisted and then
threw him down: he heard houts like
shouts of surprise. and when he rose to
his feet ne saw two pairs of stalked
eyes peering into the lower window and
retieting his light.
In another moment hands We're dab
bing vigorously at his steel casing, and
there was u sound. horrible enough in
his position, of the metal protection of
the clockwork being vigorously ham
mered. That. indeed. sent his heart
into his mouth, for il these strange
creatures succeeded i'm stopping that.
his release would never occur. Scarce
ly had he thought as much when he
felt the sphere sway violently and the
floor Of ii press hard against his feet.
He turned off the small glow lamp that
lit the Interior and sent the ray of the
large light i'm the separate compart-
ments out into the water. The sea
floor and the man-like creatures had
disappeared. and a couple of fish chas-
ing each other dropped suddenly by the
window.
He thought at once that these
strange denizens of the deep sea had
broken the wire rope and that he had
escaped. He drove up faster and fas-
ter, and then stopped with Il jerk that
sent him flying aginst the padded roof
of his prison. For half "a minute per
haps he was too astonished to think.
Then he felt that the sphere was
spinning slowly and rocking. and 1t
seemed to him that it was also being
dra wn through the water. BY crouch
ing close to the window he managed
to make his weight effective and roll
that part of the sphere downward, but
| he could seen nothing save the pale
| ray Of his light striking down inef-
fectively into the darkness 1t occurred
to him that he would see more II he
turned the lamp off and allowed his
eyes to grow accustomed to the pro-
found obscurity.
In this he was wise. After some min
| utes the velvety blackness became a
translucent blackness. and then far
| away. and as faint as the zodiacal light
Of an English summer evening. he saw
shapes moving below. He judged these
creatures had detached his cable end