Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1917-09-27

along the flags outside. He heard the
| slam of the crealzing gate. He knew
| that the professor, having obtained
| the document, was not likely to re-
| his nervousness, for he had almost
done the same thing himself.
Donald staggered to his feet
! clutched at the wall to steady himself,
and remained thus, while the swim
| ming room gradually grew still. The
light from the gas-jet fell upon the
water tanks. And, looking at the far
Their tank, Donald had a queer flu
| sion.
He thought he saw the very misty
| outlines of the body of a beautiful
woman, the merest shadowy shape
| which swan before his eyes and was
gone, and reappeared, yelled in 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, to his horror he
perceived very clearly cloudy form
beginning to take shape within the
nearer tank.
The outlines grew clearer mOmen-
tarily. He saw what seemed to be
porting itself upon webbed feet, or
f1appers. 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 fmperceptible; then
the crystalline body became opales-
cent and milky, resembling the white
of an egg. It hardened and, as 1t
| hardened, swelled. Donald saw the
chest heave, the gaplike mouth con-
| torted.
And suddenly he realized that this
| grotesque, pitiful thing was suffering
He saw Immediately that the pro-
| fessOr's fall had disarranged the
| tubes that led from the tank. That,
| and the removal Of the glass lid, which
| MacBeard's tumble had knocked to
| the floor, had reduced the air pressure
| to normal. The creature was suffer
| ing because there were only Is pounds
| of air upon each square inch of its
surface. It suffered just as a human
being suffers On a high mountain.
It squirmed and writhed, and the
water was churned up by its fiappers.
| The gill openings beneath the ears
| tapped convulsively. Donald could
| do nothing. He knew that 1t was
| growing visible because it was dying
as happens with the crystalline crabs
| and other invisible denizens of the
deep sea. Soon the force of the in
ternal pressure would disrupt it.
He turned off the gas and staggered
out through the kitchen into the little
| garden. 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 seen a woman In the
second tank
He reached the gate, opened it.
| slammed it, and ran down the road
He did not cease running till he pulled
1I1lhSSlI ub d StiCSI 1lSIll. LAC
| realized then that he was hatless
people were staring after him.
And, looking back, he imagined that
he saw the shadowy outlines of the
| girls body beneath the light Of the
| lamp.
I'm going crazy!" he muttered.
Its been a crazy night. wonder
I wonder how much of it happened
| and how much was the result OF the
| blow ~
And he half believed MacBeard haf
never existed, and that burglar had
assaulted him.
But, as he thrust his hands into
| the pockets Of his trousers, he pulled
out the single page Of Masterman's
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 lamp
he read the page.
'My dear friend Donald" 1t began.
Then followed the lines which Paget
had begun in the Inventors club but
never finished. There was the warn
ing against MacReard "the enemy OF