Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1905-03-08

in black triangles and the broad arrow
Of the British government.
'Rifles, by all the gods!" shouted the
sailor.
The Sirdar carried consignment of
arms and ammunition from Hongkong
to Singapore Providence had decreed
that practically ineXhaustible store
Of cartridges should be hurled across
the lagoon to the island. And here
We're rifles enough to equip half COM
pany. He would not risk the precious
AK in an attempt to open the case. He
must go back for crowbar
What else was there in this store
house thrust by Neptune from the
, ocean bed? A chest of tea, seemingly
undamaged; three barrels of flour, ut
/ tcrly ruined; saloon chair, smashed
from its pivot; battered chronometer
For the rest, fragments of timber in.
termingled with pulverized coral and
broken crockery.
A little farther on the deep water
entrance to the lagoon curved between
sunken rocks. On one of them rested
the Sirdar's huge funnel The north
west section of the reef was bare.
Among the wrecllage he found coil
of stout rope and a pulley. He instant
ly conceived the idea of constructing
an aerial line to ferry the chest of tea
across the channel he had forded.
lie threaded the pulley with the rope
and climbed the tree, adding n touch
Of artistic completeness to the ruin Of
his trousers by the operation. He had
| fastened the pulley high up the trunk
before he realized how much more SIM
pie it would be to break open the chest
where it lay and transport its contents
in small parcels.
He laughed lightly. 81 am becoming
addle headed," he said to himself
anyhow, now the job is done, may
as well make use Of it,"
Recoiling the rope ends, he cast them
across to the reef. In such small ways
do men throw invisible dice with death.
With those two lines lie would within
n few fleeing seconds drag himself
back from eternity.
Picking up the AK, he carelessly
stepped into the water, not knowing
that Iris, having welded the inciplent
sage into a fiat pancake, had strolled
to the beach and was watching him.
The water was hardly above his
knees when there came swirling rusl
from the seawced. A long tentacle shoI
out like lasso and gripped his right
leg Another coiled around his waist.
"My Godw he gurgled as horrit
sucker closed over his mouth and nose
He was in the grip of devilfish
A deadly sensation of nausea almos
overpowered him, but the love of lif,
came to his aid and he tore the suffo
: eating feeler from his face. Then til,
AK whirled, and one of the eight arm
of the octopus lost some of its length
Yet fourth flung itself around his lief
ankle. A few feet away, out of rang
Of the az and lifting itself bodily on
of the water, was the dread form o
the cutie, apparently all head, witt
distended gills and monstrous eyes.
The sailors feet were planted wild
apart. With frenzied effort he hacke,
at the murderous tentacles, but tn
water hindered him, and he was force.
to lean back in superhuman strain t
: avoid losing his balance. If once thi
terrible assailant got him down h
knew lie was lost. The very need t,
keep his feet prevented him from at
tempting to deal mortal blow
The cutie was anchored by three o
its tcntacles. Its remaining arm dartet