Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1924-06-13
CHAPTER x.
The Cave Of the Idol.

invlgorated him. He felt the thrill
Of renewed life in his body, he felt
his shrunken arteries Jingle as his
heart pumped the new, richened blood
through them.
1t seemed unbelievable. At first he
thought that he had died, and that this
was the souls awakening.
Then, with quick fingers, he unfas-
tened Ida's body-piece and tore the
mask from it's fastenings. He heard
her sigh.
She sighed and stirred and sat up
on the ocean bed.
"Donald" she murmured. 81
thought thought you were dead
Where are we?'
81 don't know" he answered, In abb
solute bewilderment.
At that moment he heard the mel
low, gongllke sound that they had
heard aboard the F55.
And slowly, as If in answer to the
call, the jellylike medium that sur
rounded them began to drift away, to
be hung up, as IL 1t were a 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 it were, 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 q border of
yellow crinoids, ceaselessly stirring,
as though a breeze ruffied them. Then
there began to be visible, in the TANKS
of the mountain, structures, appar-
entity of hardened mud, taking the
shape of fantastic temples, with pill
lars and doorways with low lintels, a
submerged city Of cliff dwellers, and
yet each identical with its neighbors,
so that they seemed to have been fash
toned with the same unchanging pre-
cision as the cells Of the bee.
And the whole crater swarmed with
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 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 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 q 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.
A seaman under water and one In
the air had very different powers of
He might as well have
fought an army of animated feather
beds.
Slowly, without strain or attack, he
felt himself being forced forward. BE
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 colony Of red !
ants, returning with its booty. He |
could sense no conscious impulse In
the sea monsters.
His pace became accelerated, and |
swept off their feet, Donald |
and Ida found themselves within a
huge cavern, family illumined by phos-
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-
The four stared at one an
Dther in incredulous joy.
"They nabbed us the moment we
eft the alr-lock," cried Davies. grab
bling the lieutenant by the hand and /
HIS discipline for the first
time. "And C1outs, too. They sort
Of edged us In here. We were afraid
you were dead"
"They gave us little longer res
1ften answered Donald hDayfes, am |