Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1917-10-25

| IN. MaGdeneN by munger Ii IRoSe OAR
rem s0litudes of darkness, they were
/ frenzied army Of destruction.
He wondered whether Clouts' act
was in any way the cause of this new
activity.
| The pressure increased The steel
| plates cracked as trees snap In zero
weather.
Donald looked up aud saw Ida
standing in the doorway.
rs anything wrong?" she asked.
coming forward to Donald
! He could not answer her, and she
| did not repeat the question, but stood
| looking intently at the two men, who
watched each other. It was impossible
| that Ida could help understanding the
meaning of the sounds without.
She came close to Donald. Forgive
me for what I said, DEAR" she whis-
pered. clinging to his arm. II was so
afraid-nOt of death, dearest, but Of
| the loneliness in that ROOM. I was
afraid for you"
| He patted her arms without speak
| ing, and led the way to the coming
| tower again. It was preferable that
they should die, II they must, by suf-
| location, rather than in the NAV Of
! the monsters. Inclosed within those
stout walls of steel, they could at least
hope to find perpetual tomb there.
The pressure was still increasing.
| The floor of the coming tower began
to tilt. Surely this was the end
But the floor righted, tilted, righted
once more. A sense of movement sue
ceeded that OF pressure. Then, to
their utter amazement, a white light
shot through the observation port,
flooding the inside of the coming
tower, and the F55 scraped the rocks.
Donald grasped at Davies. Davies
We are at the surface again.! " he cried.
There was no doubling it. The
moonlight flooded the interior of the
| tower, and before their eyes, seen
through the port, were the rugged out
| lines of Fair island. The monsters
must have raised the submarine by the
united force Of their massed bodies.
'This time said Donald, "we are
| going ashore to stay"
amen !" said Davies solemnly, and
the three grasped hands.
A few moments later they emerged
upon the drying deck of the D55. She
was back in her old position upon the
| shelving beach, at the very edge Of the
| waves. The moon, which rode high
in the sky, was already paling before
| the increasing luster Of the dawn.
"Where's CloutsF' asked Donald
suddenly.
isn't he below?" queried Davies.
| Donald raised his voice and shouted.
He ran below, calling for Clouts. But
there came no answer. 1t soon became
evident that Clouts was not on the
| submarine.
Good Lord ~ SAID Donald.
It occurred to him then that he had
| told Clouts to look at the rudder, but
he had never supposed that the man
would be able to adjust it. Had he
forgotten, gone back to adjust It, and
failed to return?
He took a couple of revolvers and
gave one of them to Davies. They
went ashore. The firm rocks under
foot seemed the most delicious part Of
their strange fortune, and gave reality
to what was still hardly more than a
dream.
They knew that there was no danger
of attack in the moonlight. Neverthe-
less they remained near the boat. And
each of them called for Clouts, firing
his revolver, and listening for any re-
| Spouse.
| But there was no response. Ii was
| evident that, for some reason I'M
known, Clouts had gone into the sea.
They went to a cave and began to
| make a quick examination Of 1t. In
the midst of this work whirring
sound came to tbeir ears. 1t was that
| of a gas engine.
Looking over the rocks, they saw q
man in a large motorboat hurrying
round the prOmontCry. Donald hailed
him with a yell. There came no an
sWer, but the boat continued to make
! toward them.
The man in the boat raised his head
It was MacBeard. He stopped the en-
CINE and lay to, about a couple of hun
| dred yards away. He drew a hand
kerchief from his pocket and waved it.
"The d--n rogue!" muttered Da-
vies, raising his revolver.
1t was indeed Professor MacBeard
! And he appeared distressed. At least
he flew the distress, or parley, signal
| and his movements seemed altogether
more agitated, and his demeanor less
bland than on the preceding after
noon.
Whatever his nocturnal work had
been, it seemed to have been cut short
~ the dawn, which had driven the
! monsters to seek shelter in the ocean
depths. He seemed to have come from
the other side Of the island.
"Truce!" he seemed to shout, al
though the sound, echOing from rock
to rock, was not clearly audible
''Truce!' He waved the handkerchief
frantically.
Donald and Davies fired together.
They saw the bullets strike the water.
MacBeard crouched down behind the
engine. There could be no parleying
with such as he.
They emptied their weapons in their
fury. MacBeard was just out of
| II IL