Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1917-11-16

and he heard the thud Of q soft bod
against the bottom.
The thing-whatever It was-was IL
the bOatl
Donald leaped forward and claspet
Ida about the waist. She writhed IL
the clutch Of the monster. and there
was a look OF intense horror upon hel
face. She seemed to be lifted bodily
toward the water. Donald felt the
slippery fingers Of the invisible being
elude his grasp. His hands moved uI
and down over a smooth, blubbery
body.
And then he knew what II was. II
was such a creature as he had seen
In the glass tank In Masterman's
house, but larger and more powerful
And. glazing into his eyes, were the
two eyes, seemingly poised In the air,
two pupils Of the size Of currants, and
animated by a diabolical intelligence
The sun dipped down, and In an In
slant the fog, only partly dispersed,
closed In again. And as Donald
watched, he saw the pupils slowly di.
late In the dim light until they be.
came as large as saucers.
Then. regaining courage, he dashed
his fist into the monsters face, and
the struggle began. He felt the i'm
pact of his knuckles on flesh, and 1t
gave him new heart. At least he was
fighting a thing of flesh and blood, and
not Il demon.
Ida lay swO0ning across the seat,
where the monster had dropped her as
1t turned to face its new adversary.
And In the rocking boat Donald fought
for his W life and that Of the girl
he loved.
For the first time he understood that
Masterman's story was not the dream
OF a disordered brain, but the experi-
ence Of n who had striven to warn
a skeptical world.
And afterward he understood why
the boat had spun so dlzzily long after
the vortex created by the sinking of
the Beotia had subsidized. Even then
the swarm Of monsters must have dis
covered their prey.
Perhaps 1t was the plankton In the
water, the jellylike infusion on which
they fed, that had brought them there;
perhaps the presence Of drowning
men. Perhaps they had brought the
plankton with them, equipped for
some dreadful journey.
Donald tried to lock his arms about
the Shiny thing, but he could get no
firm grasp Of 1t. And each touch of
the fippers drew the blood to the sur
face of his skin by suction, bringing
out rows Of reddening spots that
stung. He was fighting a devil fish
with the intelligence Of Il man, armed
with invislbility, creating overwhelm-
Ing horror by its presence alone.
he felt his strength falling him. He
was dragged toward the edge of the
rocking boat.
He stumbled and fell. He felt him.
self held fast; he felt his ribs were
compressed In a stinging wise.
But ms he fell his hand grasped one
OF the oars, Donald snatched 1t up
and, with a last effort of desperation,
freed himself for an instant. He
raised the oar and sent the sharp
edge of the blade crashing forward.
He heard the sound as of Il torn bal
loon. The squirming tllppers uncoiled.
The boat tipped to the edge and right
ed itself. A splash followed. Donald
sank down upon the seat.
Then gradually a milky cloud began
to diffuse itself upon the face Of the
waters, till 1t acquired the shape of a
dwarflike body, supine upon the
waves, with the short limbs, terminal.
Ing In the webbed hands, budding at
obtuse angles to the trunk.
Donald sprang toward Ida, to shield
her from the sight Of It. He knew
that II she awoke and looked she
would go mad. But she lay uncon-
scious across the seat and did not stir.
The boat stopped. There was a con
fused splashing in the water. The
dead sea-beast was rent asunder under
Donald's Mortified eyes; torn limb
from limb by that a~bominable swarm.
A notified, pinkish ichor spread itself
upon the face of the sea.
Donald plunged In his oars and be-
gan to pull with all his might, driving
the heavy boat through the water. The
plankton gave place to clean ocean
again. The sun had set, and 1t was
growing dark with the fall of night a
gentle wind came up that began to dis
sipate the fog.