Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1917-11-16
CHAPTER v.
Tho Sea Of Jelly.

The Sea Of Jelly.
He sank like a stone. No glimpse o.
aim could be had. No rescue was pos
slble.
Donald chung to the edge Of thu
boat and scrambled in. He saw th'
amazed recognition flame out on Ida'i
face. He knew then that she loved
him, and his impulse to seize her IL
his arms was almost ungovernable.
But at the same instant, looking
past her into the sea. he experienced
the same illusion that had bcset hin
within the house In Baltimore, and
again outside it-that OF a woman's
misty form outlined upon the water
Donald made n cup Of his hands.
"Davies, fling out a ropel" nc
bawled.
But the submarine was some dis
lance away, and In a moment a wall
Of fog came down, blotting her out.
Ida Kennedy watched Donald with
approval. She had always liked him
shaken as she was now, his advent
seemed the work of Providence. She
had questioned her heart before she
sailed, for she had known that her
future was OF her own choosing,
whether 1t was to be spent with him
or no.
Donald continued to call loudly. but
The F55 was drifting In the mist and
quite invisible. It was In fear Of this
sudden happening that Donald had
told Davies to make for Fair island
II he could not get n rope to the boat.
Fair island. less than six miles
away, was the secret rendezvous
where the oil-ship and biplane were
TO await the F55, the former to re-
plenish her fuel supply. the latter to
accompany her back to the mother
ship.
Donald picked up a pair Of oar
from the bottom. He realized that he
would have to pull toward Fair island
alone as o as n got an inkllng Of
it's direction. with the chance of being
picked up by the submarine when the
fog cleared. But 1t was approaching
shutdown, and the probabilities of their
spending the night In the boat seemed
strong.
He sat with the oars In the row.
locks. AS he allowed one to drift
through the water he discovered, to
his surprise, that 1t was apparently
plunged into a mass of some jellyllke
substance. He dipped his hand into
1t and scooped some of 1t up.
The water was apparently curdled:
lika thickened milk, and on both sides
Of the boat, which rolled In 1t heavily
AMI high In the viscous medium.
AS he withdrew the oar Donald had
the sensation Of pulling 1t from be-
tween the clinging fingers of a child.
He looked down. 1t occurred to him
that he might have got the blade en-
tangled in some marine growth but
the water was clear, almost black, and
of the same strange, jellylike consist
ency everywhere.
Then, to his umazement, he realized
that the boat was moving!
Ii was not like the pull Of Il tow
line, which Is n sequence of creScendo
and dlminuendo, of starts and Jerks,
as the rope grows tight and slack al
~ternately. 1t was a constant impulse.
Ut vas an intelligent impulse.
1t was beginning to grow dark, and
20 row seemed useless until the fog
dispersed. 1t was impossible to gauge
the direction. Besides, to pull against
that force would have been arduous,
and to pull with 1t might have led to
unexpected difficulties.
Donald backed water in experiment.
Instantly he felt the force increase.
1t was al effortleSS, persistent push,
stronger than his OWL powers, and
Donald realized that he could not re-
slst 1t.
Suddenly he felt a singing sensa-
ton on the back Of his hand. He
pulled In the oar. Five small, red
spots had sprung out or his wrist, and
the flesh seemed to have been cupped.
Donald clapped his other hand down
On 1t, and encountered something
clammy and cool, which seemed to
slip away. 1t was like the flipper of q
little seal. or, again, like the hand Of
a child or monkey.
; At the same instant Ida screamed.
Donald saw that she seemed to be
struggling with some invisible adver-
sary. The boat was tipping danger
Donald flung his weight over,