The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-03-07

THE DEEP SEA PERIL
Bv VICTOR ROUSSEAU.
(cpynsMb C


AIDS eyes. He leaned forward, put
out his hand toward 1t.
| Suddenly Ida leaped backward,
dragging him violently with her. There
was sense of sound, or vibration,
rather, like the closing of a traps
jaws. They seemed to snap together
hardly a foot from Donalds head.
| And he saw suddenly as II 1t had at
that moment only become visible, the
shadCwy form of some vast monster
lurking within the recesses Of the cave.
It was one of the giant forms Of
deep-sea life, perhaps holding the same
relationship toward the sea beasts as
tigers do toward men. II might have
| followed the swarm when they as
sembled In the submarine crater, pre-
paratory to their emigration south
ward. ..,
1t was not one Of the monsters that
had attacked the boat for Donald
could discern flshlike body and
huge head with cleaning eyes, and
pair Of hinged jaws that gaped wide
as II to search for the prey that had
eluded them.
The light was phosphorescent lure
used by the creature to draw its vic
tins within the cavern in which II
lurked. The sluggish monster re-
mained quiescent, and again the lure
appeared. dangling between the jaws
from the snOut above them.
Donald pushed Ida before him and
fled out of the cave until he trod upon
the ocean ooze again. And they con-
tinued to crawl at the bottom of the
sea, two helpless human creatures, un.
believably helpless, While around them
the fierce. predatory swarms sought
| their diurnui food.
Donald had found the slope of the
island when the water began to grow
thick again.
Presently a phosphorescent patch
appeared In the distance. 1t became
less hazy, 1t seemed to concentrate.
The ocean suddenly became like trans
parent jelly.
And, facing him, Donald saw the
outline of one Of the sea monsters,
visible now and horribly magnified.
The eyes opened upon his own. They
were not currantlike in that medium,
but expanded to the full, great orbs
like sunflowers that glowered on their
prospective prey, larger than the eyes
Of any beast created since leviathan
and behemoth. . .a
However, the creature made no move
toward him as Donald, almost para
lyzed, remained confronting it. He
saw the gorilla form, with its short,
| budding limbs, the trunk Of gorilla's
thickness, the narrow flippers, and the
| triangular head. ga
| He felt as some primeval man might
have done when he looked into the
face Of the mastodon.
The creature did not pursue him,
but stood, swaying gentlys dreadfully
human. Donald snatched at Ida and
tried to run. He tripped and fell.
He dragged himself to his feet again.
He became aware of barrier between
the monster and himself, which had.
perhaps, saved them. He had stumbled
upon a splny substance, n coralloid
growth that proved TO be the outpost
Of submarine forest. 1t was field
Of crinoids, the yellow lilies of the sea.
Beautiful plants with branching
arms, they bent and swayed before
Donalds eyes as they drew in the mi
mute forms Of life on which they sub.
sisted. They were vegetable octopods.
carnivorous scavengers Of the deep,
which feasted on the small fish that
they entangled In their waving
branches, and drew by the ciliary
movements Of the lining of their ten
tacles toward the central stomach.
Donald saw one of the waving arms
sweep down toward him. He tore at
1t with his fingers. To his surprise,
the brittle branch broke loose and
settled slowly In the ooze, there TO be-
come the embryo of plant. From
every quarter the tentacles, as II ap-
priced Of their presence, came swoop-
ing slowly toward them.
Donald saw Ida grasped In their
clinging clutch. Madly he tore at the
graceful, shrinking forms, until he had
cloven wide swath before him, and
the arms, baked aud baffled Of their
prey, withdrew.
lTn an C0NTINIrEnN