The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1917-09-12

Donald took the proffered hand ant
felt a sense of disgust at the toucI
Of the limp fingers. He strobe out o
the club and took taxicab 10 tht
; station.
The Baltimore train was just ab0u
to leave. Late that night Lieutenan
Paget found the captains house. j
proved to be in little oidfashonee
thorouGhfare fianked by neat two
story houses. Each had Il tiny ba"h
garden surrounded by Il high wal!
There was about it an atmosphere. il
not OF mystery, as any rae Of the re"
tirement common to such backwaters
IN the roaring streams of city life.
The captains was the last house IL
the street. 1t stood Il little farther
back than the rest, and was turned
slightly askew, facing them obliquely,
rs though it knew itself to be out Of
place and was watching its neighbors
apprehensively over its shoulder.
There was no light behind any OF
the drawn shades. A small dome on
a fiat roof seemed to contain a tele-
scope.
Donald climbed a fence, walked
round to the back, and went up the
weed-grown path. The grass had not
been moved since it sprouted in
spring; the garden was unkempt and
ragged. Donald felt sure that there
was nobody within.
AS he trod the flags Of the garden
walk, he fancied he heard the foot
steps of man in the street, following
him. He stopped and listened, but
now no sound was to be heard. He
peered back into the darkness, but
saw nobody. Doubtless it was a hal
lucinatiOn: 1t was a place of echoes
and hauntings. And it seemed singu-
larry appropriate for old Masterman
to have had his lonely residence here.
matching his lonely life.
AS Donald had anticipated. the front
door was locked. and the window Of
the living room was apparently nailed
up. He traversed the narrow path
that led to the back of the house. To
his surprise. the kitchen window was
open.
Then 1t occurred to him that Mas
terman had. Of course, gone directly
home on his return from his last
eartpy voyage. He swung himself
across the window sill and dropped to
the kitchen floor. He lit a match and
found the gas.
The yellow flare disclosed q very
ordinary kitchen. Masterman's coat
hung on a nail beside the window, and
he had been cooking porrfdge upon
the range. Donald went through into
a room at the back Of the house. which
had apparently been built out at
date subsequent to the completion of
the structure in It's original form.
He stopped short at the threshold,
hearing the "swish, swish" Of water.
It was not falling water. but a
gentle and continuous ripping. 1t oc-
Cured to him that it was, on a smaller
scale. the sound that a seal makes in
the course of its ceaseless peregrina-
lions around its tank.
Their: was a palm tree In a huge
pot on either side Of what looked like
an enormous goldfish bowl. Behind
this was a second bowl, even larger.
In the middle of the room was q COM
plicated apparatus resembling q re-
tort. He saw q chandelier close to tho
wall.
Donald lit three gas-jets.
The light flickered and sputtered a.
the air rushed out. Then. when it
had grown steady, Donald saw that
q sort Of Photographic lens was at
tached to box In front Of the appa-
ratus, directed toward the great tank
between the palms.
Approaching. he perceiveo that the
top e he tank was covered WITH
glass. A slender tube Of the sane
material entered the water from
above. where 1t was supported upon
m arm extended from q wall. There
was q connection between the tube
and another which ran upward from
the top Of the retort.
Presently Donald caught sight of q
barometer attached to the front Of the
Now he began to under
stand. The object in the tank. what
ever it was. was under a pressure Of
! number Of atmospheres.
He approached the tank and walked
'ound it, peering into 1t from every
,ide. He saw the ripples on the wa
:er, and there was faint sound Is Of
, fin brushed against the glass. But
lie could see nothing in the nature of
/ living thing.
He could trace the movements, as
# some invisible body. He saw the
'ipples glide forward along the sur
ace. strike the glass wall opposite,
Ind continue at right angle. turning
gain and again as the creature con-
inued on its steady course. The sem
alton was uncanny. Captain Mas
erman's words came back to Donald:
I've bnOught my specimen home" He
vas aware Of an impulse to bolt. In
tead Of which, however, he concen-
rated all his attention on the tank.
The movements in the water sub
idpd Donald had tho imnroSsjon that !