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

thought thought you were dead.
Where are we?'
81 don't know" he answered. In ab-
solute bewilderment.
At that moment he heard the mel
low, gonglike sound that they had
heard aboard the F55.
And slowly, as il In answer to the
call, the jellylike medium that sur
rounded them began to drift away, to
be hung up, as If 1t were curtain.
and before their astOnished gaze there
evolved the strangest stage setting
that could ever have been conceived.
First there came into view the sub
marine, occupying, as 1t We're. the cen
ter of this stage, her bow sunk In the
ooZe, her stern still lower They had
been lying within a hundred PAGES of
her.
Next appeared the sloping edges Of
the crater. seen, not through water but
through clear air. with a border OF
yellow crfnoids, ceaselesSly stirring.
as though breeze ruffled them Then
there began to be visible. in the TANKS
Of the mountain, structures, appar-
emily Of hardened mud, taking the
shape of fantastic temples, with pill
lars and doOrways with low lintels,
submerged city of cliff dwellers. and
vet each Identical with its neighbours
so that they seemed to have been fash
Toned with the same unchanging pre-
cisiOn as the cells of the bee.
A. 10 1oJa -.
the sea-monsters, no longer invisible,
but outlined in phosphOrescent fire.
And, standing In front of Donald
and Ida, his features clearly visible
through the glass Of his own diving
mask, surveying them with a cool. dis
passionate gaze, was Ira MacBeard
As they stared at him, he raised his
hand and struck something suspended
from his neck, giving out the mellow
sound which they had heard before.
Immediately he disappeared from view
In the midst Of a swarm of the mon
sters, which. surrounding Donald and
the girl, began to push them toward
the cavern in the mountain side.
The push was gradual and appar-
emily the result of some natural quail
ity not known on land. There was no
sense of muscular movement. 1t
seemed to be momentum devoid Of the
accompanying factor Of speed. IRE
sistibly, and yet quietly, the two were
pushed toward the entrance In the
flank of the island.
In vain Donald resisted. In vain he
tried to force a path toward the sub
marine, dashing his fists against the
bodies of the monsters. He made not
the least impression upon those half
spherical forms.
4. seaman under water and one in
the air had very different powers of
resistance. He might as we'll have
fought an army of animated feather
beds.
Slowly, without strain or attack, he
felt himself being forced forward He
was held tightly on every side, except
for the narrow gap that opened in
front of him. He was forced to devote
himself to supporting Ida.
On every side the glObular, trans
lucent, phosphorescent forms seemed
to crowd in on him, leaving only a
tiny way In the direction of one of
the mud-pillared entrances. Yet, even
thus, Donald had the impression of
some unconscious force that animated
these monsters; 1t seemed like the
scouting expedition of a colony of red
ants, returning with its booty. He
tn,
the sea monsters.
His pace became accelerated, and
suddenly, swept off their feet, Donald
and Ida found themselves within Il
huge cavern, family illumined by phOs-
phorescence, and rooted with the same
cloudy substance that they had seen
upon the ocean bed without.
The monsters left them. The two
stood there together, still In bewil-
derment. But they were not alone,
for, with a shout. Davies emerged
from the dim recess. and ran toward
them, followed by Clouts. Their cyl
inders and headgear had been re-
moved. The four stared at one an
other IL incredulOus joy.
"They nabbed us the moment we
left the air-lock," cried Davies. grab
bling the lieutenant by the hand and
forgetting his discipline for the first
time. And Clouts, too. They sort
of edged us in here. We were afraid
you were dead"
"They gave us q little longer res
ptte." answered Donald. Davies, am
l mad or dreaming or are we breath
Ing under water?"
IF you're dreaming, then Clouts
and / are too" said the little MILDLY.
Hello! There Clouts goes again
I've tried to keep him resigned, but
he gets frantic occasionally"
With q sudden howl that seemed to
rise from the depths Of an outraged
nature. Clouts, lowering his head.
rushed like battering ram into the
doorway. The watchers saw him re-
coil as if he had butted a feather bed.
He looked up, rubbed his head in per.
plexity, and then. retiring a few
PAGES, repeated his experiment more
furiously than before.
Again he was hurled back. as ball
rebounds from the cushion of bill
lizard table. The monsters bodies
blocked the entrance as effectively
as if they were of rubber.
Slowly Sam Clouts withdrew, look.