The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-01-31

ed BE bard tbs aa5 e a suer booy
GEtins- ne b1--0-
TIE tAlog-EhEtsTs- IL ~ts-zxs i-
tie t,oat.
Dootld lezp.et forward sod caksz.=1
IDA &eo1f tie waist Sos v-z-hec =
ne c1ufca of TIE DuzS.e-. sod the-s
Vas lc'o'k q i1-s1ss horror Cpaa ber
face sos seemed 10 BE Etted badly
tOEsrt TIE water. D0lSir sslt ths
slippery SoEe-x Q. TIE fnTzshIs being
sluoe his g-zsa HIS hz1as roOTsd ~
and cOvn over q s3e0th. blubos-y
body.
AID the, be knew rhz. IL -Es. II
was such q creature a. be had seen
n the glass tank In MHs-s-nEo's
house. but larger s.d roors p0Esrtsl
And. Caring ir.o lis eyes. were the
two eyes. seemingly poised In tie air.
tTo pupils OF the SIZE o. curr.nts. znl
animated By disboliczl intsllige-ce.
The sun dipped do~n. and in Al In
sttnt the FOG. oaly partly dispersed
closed IN again Aod as Donsl5
watched. be say the pupils slowly d.
tzte in the dim hxh. until they be-
came a. large &c eaucera
Then regzising courage. be dashed
his fst into the monsters face, and
the struggle began He felt the In
psc, Of his knucfies On flesh. and IL
gave him new heart AT least he vss
fighting q thing Of fssh and blood. and
not ceD0n-
Ida lay swooning across the seat.
where the monster had dropped her ss
10 turned 20 face its new adversary.
And in the rocking boa, Donald tG1sht
70: his own lie snd that Of the S.rl
be loved
Fer the frs. tine he Understood ths.
Masternsn's story va. nys the dream
ot q cis0rcered brain but the expert
ence of one who had .triven 10 warn
3 skepacsl world
And afrervsrd be understood Why
The boat had spun 20 cizEily long after
the vortex created By the sinking Of
the Beotia had subs.ded- Even then
the swarm OF monsters mGs, have dis
covered their prey.
Perhaps II was the plaakton In the
wafer. the 5ellyliks 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 aboct
the Shiny thing. but he could &c, no
firm grasp Of IL. And each touch Of
the hippers drew the blood 10 the sur
face Of his skin BY suction. bringing
out rows Of reddening spots that
stung. He was fighting q devil fish
with the intelligence Of & man. armed
with invisibility. creating oyerwhelra-
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 q stinging wise.
But as be fell his hand grasped one
Of the oars. Donald snatched IL up
and. with 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 q torn bal
loon The sQuirming nippers uneoaled-
The boat tipped to the edge and right
ed itself A splash followed Donald
sank down upon the seat
Then gradually g milky cloud began
70 dinuse Itself upon the face Of the
waters. till 10 acquired the shape Of q
dwarfllke body. suplne upon the
waves, with the short limbs. terminal
ing In the webbed hands. budding az
obtuse angles 10 the trunk
Donald sprang toward Ida. TO shield
her from the sight Of IL He knew
that II she awoke and looked she
would 90 mad But she lay uncon-
scicds across the seat and did not STIR.
The boat stopped- There was q con-
fused splashing IN the water. The
dead sea-beass was rent asunder under
Donaid's hOrrined eyes: torn limb
from Limb By that sboninsble swarm
A notified. pinkish ichor spread itself
upon the face OF the sea
Donald plunged In his oars and be
gan to pull with sil his might. driviag
the heavy boat through the water. TIE
plankton gavc place 20 clean ocean
again The sun had ret and IT was
growing dark: With the fan Of night Q
gentle Wind came ~ thA, began = ~
sipats ~ fog