The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1917-11-08

liberated not from Mars or Venus, but
out Of TIE earth's own vftaIsi"
Captain lfasterman sat bolt upright
az he spoke; he looked like some OLD
prophet spelling out the doom of man.
The intense e~arnestness In his words
shook Paget's incredulity for a mo-
ment, and left him sick with horror.
Suppose that civilization, every
thing which has gone to make up the
life we know-family love, books,
monuments, parliameEts, ships-all OF
II Is to be Mt the mercy Of this mer-
CHESS horde, and that we are going
to fight harder than we have fought
since the days when we held our own
against the saber-toothl Who'd think
or care then whether he was an Eng
aashTIaI or a Dutciman ; who'd troubI,
whether his friends were white mex
negroes, Hottentots or Chinese, SO
long as they were human? Wouldn't
that make for the brotherhood Of mar.
Donald? Wouldn't we set all our con
victs free7 Wouldn't kings shake
hands with anarchists and college pro
f~essors with coal heavers7 Wouldn't
class and race vanish like dreams
when the nights overf And maybe
that's what Gods working for, lieu.
tenant !"
But the impossibility, Mastermani
Granting the Incredible ~suppositiop
that these deep-sea organisms exist.
and could live under a pressure enor-
mously increased. and breathe"
We're ~supposing that. lieutenant"
"How could they survive the strug-
gle for existence in al unnatural ele-
mentf'
Lieutenant, man has existed since
tertiary times. but he never learned
to dy till 1908. He never went NJ In
q balloon until a hundred aud nifty
years ago. Our imaginations can't
rise to the realization Of what this
generation has done, but our descend
ants will look on MS as demigods, and
the Wright brothers will become
myths, like that chap that invented
cooking. Prom-Prom--r
"Prometheus."
"Yes, sir. Well, then, after living
for thousands Of years st the bottom
of i've miles Of air, an ocean of oxy.
gen and nitrogen, we've found q how
to get up on top of 1t. They are nv.
ing Mt the bottom Of an ocean Of oxy.
gen and hydrogen. Suppose they
learned to fly. tool
"You can see what they'd do. Some
OF their scouts, who had gone ON
ahead, would discover that the dry
land was teeming with food. Food In
such quantities as these hungry mon
sters had dreamed about. Food
In solid chunks, instead of dissolved
particles OF plankton. varied with an
occasional cannibal dinner. And light
by which to capture i~t-sunlight! No
more hunting down their prey with
phosphorescent torches!
AT FIRST they'd nibble the grass and
leaves OF the trees. But they'd find
that cellulose Is pretty indigestible
stuff. Then ono Of them would Dis
cover a dead bird or rabbit, and N
other that sheep and cattle make good
eating, and then"
Then mani" muttered Donald.
gripping the arms Of his chair. The
madmRn's picture had become dread
fully real to him.
"Other bodies would follow the
scouts, Donald They wouldn't be
quite adapted to dry land at first.
They'd make their way along the
river bees. They'd swarm up the Hud-
son, the Rhine, the Severn, the Mis-
xissippi. That's what we did, and
even today we haven't got very far
from the river banks. Well, they'd
rest and recuperate. eating the fish
they found. Until the supply became
exhausted. Then"
Good LofdT" gasped Donald, And
then the reaction came. OF course
Masterman was raving mad, the mad
dest member Of the March Hares'
club. What a fool he had been to let
the old fellows dismal prophecies get
on his nerves.
He leaned forward and placed his
hald on Nasterman's kneA
did you 90 to the navy oAice with
the idea Of telling that to tho secre-
taryf' he asked.
II did, SIR" answered Masterman.
Then. II I may say 90 without CIV
ing o~fense. II 10 q mercy that you
failed to secure an interview with
him." said Donald. why, Masterman
-er-you know how hard Il 10 to
convince anyone Of the truth Of any
thing q little out Of the ordinary" He
was feeling his way carefully now,
% avoid hurting the old fellow. why.
Masterman, II you we're to make such
{ suggestion a. that at the navy ONCE.
they'd shut ron up - a-as not quite
right" he said.