Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1917-11-30
CHAPTER Vl-Continued.

Donald heard him leap into the tor
pedo room below. A moment later his
voice came up the funnel. I'm ready
for the lady, sirr he called.
Donald raised Ida in his arms and
lowered her through the tube.
AFTER you, sir" said Davies.
81 have assumed command, Davies"
Donald replied.
Every well, sir" said the MILDLY Qui-
city, and descended. Donald followed
him. AS he jumped for the floor Of
the torpedo room, he heard the scrap
ing sound of flippers on the floor above.
But the Creaking Of the coming tower
door had ceased.
"We're saved" cried Donald. "Da-
vies, they can't force the coming
tower. OF course not. That sound Is
M or two Of the beasts who have
come dowh the matches. You closed
rhem?'
mo, sir. There wasn't time"
"Then they tried to get through the
coming tower, and hadn't reason
enough to know that they could get
through the matches" cried Donald
joyfully.
'Their reason won't get them down
the tube. sir. unless they've got bodies
as slim as ours" said Clouts. "And
they feel like-like barrels, sir" he
added.
Overhead, the scraplng continued,
sometimes approaching the tube and
then receding. Presently there came
the sound Of a cOmmotlon. Donald
inferred that the sea devils had found
the one that he had injured, and that
they we're satlating their horrible can
nibalistic instincts. He heard a body
dragged this way and that, and a
dreadful %rending.
After a while The swlshlng began
again. and a faint tapping Of flippers
against the walls, as II the creatures
were e%ndeavoring to explore the In
terror Of the ship. Occasionally 4
faint, phosphorescent luminosity was
visible at the top Of the tube. But the
monsters made no attempt to descend
into the torpedo room. An idea came
to Donald.
"Davies! Listen to mel" he said
"Thcy don't know we're here"
mo, sir. / was thinking"
"That they have no sense of SMELL"
"Yes, sir"
sand little hearing. At least, that
they distinguish sounds only as vlbra-
tions."
"Yes, sir. And OF course their sense
Of sight must be extremely limited.
And so, roughly, that leaves them only
the use Of taste and touch, but prob
ably developed far above our own"
"Well beat them, Davies"
If that's true as they can't hear
much, l think, If l might, sir, I'll play
a bit on my mouth organ" said Clouts.
Just a low, hummlng, sir"
Right, Clouts," answered Donald.
But simultaneously with the first
notes there came from above q singu-
lar sound. 1t seemed to be very far
away; 1t was a single, mellow note, the
G of q violin, and exquisitely true. 1t
might have been q distant warning
buoy anchored amid the tides.
whats that, DaviesY asked Don
aid.
II don't know, sir. The lighthouse
stopped operating when the val broke
out, and the buoys were taken up"
Once more the sound was heard.
And suddenly Donald knew that he had
heard it before, the same note, though
infinitely less powerful. 1t was the
sound Of the finger on the bowl Of
water within the house in Baltimore.
The scraping In the passage ended
IN a scurry and did not recur. All
through the night they crouched in
he torpedo room, watching and sleep
ing by turns, and the silence was bro
ken only by a passing word and the oc-
easional tu~nefulncss Of Clouts' mouth
organ as be played sally In Our AL
ley"