Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1917-10-18
SYNOPSIS.


centric scientist, Captain Masterman.
Masterman has just returned from an
exploring expedition, bringing with him a
member OF the strange race. the existence
Of whose species, he asserts, menaces the
human family.
CHAPTER lat the club the March
Hares," Masterman explains his theory
TO Paget. The recital is interrupted by
the arrival of a lifelong enemy of Mas
teTman, Ira MacBeard, and the former is
seized with fatal paralytic stroke.
CHAPTER III-F+rom Masterman's body
Paget secures documents bearing upon
the discovery and proceeds to the home
of the scientist. There he discovers the
specimen of the strange race which Mas
terman had described While examining
it PaGet is struck down by MacBeard,
who had followed him MacBeard robs
Paget Of the documents and escapes. The
specimen dies.
CHAPTER IV-Paget proceeds to sea
on his submarine, the F-55. He encoun-
tiers and sinks a German cruiser which
Lad just destroyed the steamer BeOtia, on
which Ida Kennedy, Pagets ffancee, was
q passenger. Ida escapes from the Beotia
IN a small boat.
CHAPTER V-Paget swirns to the boat
and attempts to reach the submarine.
His progress through the water is
strangely impeded and he discovers that
a horde Of the creatures which Master
man had discovered had surrounded the
boat They are invisible while alive. One
invades the boat and Paget kills it. At
death the creature becomes visible Paget
and Ida are picked up by the submarine.
CHAPTER VI-The F-55 is invaded by
the swarm and all on board devOured eX-
cept Ida. Paget. a midshipman named
Davies, and a seaman, Sam ClOUts, whose
hobby is the playing of the mouth organ.
He was about to retrace his steps
when he perceived, long distance in
front of him, tiny glimmer of light.
At first he hoped that it was daylight.
But that was impossible.
Ida raised her hand and pointed.
She, too, had seen it, and had placed
the same Interpretation upon it.
At every step the light grew clearer.
1t was not stationary, but swung to
and fro Slowly from side to side, ris-
ing and falling, yet seeming to retreat
slowly as they advanced. Donald
strained his eyes through the mask,
expecting every moment to see the
form of one of his comrades.
The light stood still Immediately in
front of them, upon level with Don
aids eyes. He leaned forward, put
out his hand toward it.
Suddenly Ida leaped backward.
dragging him violently with her. There
was a sense of sound or vibration.
rather like the closing of a traps
jaws. They seemed to snap together
hardly a foot from Donald's head
And he saw suddenly, as if it had at
~, xyiSi no
ShadOwy form of some vast monster
lurking within the recesses of the cave
1t was one of the giant forms OF
deep-Sea life, perhaps holding the same
relationship toward the sea beasts as
tigers do toward men. 1t might have
followed the swarm when they as
sembled in the submarine crater, pre-
paratory to their emigration south
ward.
1t was not one of the monsters that
had attacked the boat, for DOnalC
could discern a fishlike body and
huge head with cleaning eyes, and
pair Of hinged jaws that gar d wide
rs If TO search for the prey that had
eluded them.
The light was ph0sphorescent lure
used by the creature to draw its vic
Tins within the cavern in which 1t
lurked The sluggish monster re-
manned quieScent, and again the lure
appeared, dangling between the jaws
from the snout above them.
Donald pushed Ida before him and
fled out of the cave until he trOd upon
the ocean ooze again. And they con-
tinued to crawl at the bottom of the
sea, two helpless human creatures. I'M
believably helpless, while around them
the fierce, predatory swarnS sought
their diurnal food.
Donald had found the slope of the
island when the water began to grow
thick again.
PreseGsly a phosphOrcscent patch
appeared in the distance. 1t became
less hazy, it seemed to concentrate.
The ocean suddenly became like trans
parent jelly.
And, facing him, Donald saw the
outline of one of the sea monsters,
visible now and horribly magnified.
The eyes opened upon his own. They
We're not cUrrantlike in that medium,
but expanded to the full, great orbs
iile sunfowers that glowerCd on their
prospective prey, larger than the eyes
of any beast created since leviathan
and behemoth.
However. the creature made no move
toward him as Donald. almost para
lived, remained confronting it. He
saw the gorilla form. with its short,
budding limbs, the trunk of gorilla's
thickness. the narrow flipperS, and the
triangular head.
He felt as some primeyal man might
have done when he looked into the
face of the maStodon.
The creature did not pursue him,
but stood. swaying gently, dreadfully
human. Donald snatched at Ida and
tried to run. He tripped and fell.
He dragged himself to his feet again.
He became aware of barrier between
the monster and himself, which had,
perhaps, saved them. He had stumbled
upon a spiny substance, a coralloid
growth that proved TO be the outpost
of a submarine forest. It was field
re or;roidC +I,a UalIOvv IiIioS of tho Spa