Evening star., 1927-12-05


only hv a kew. II was time.locked 10y
the tide. He snatched up the little
book and consulted 1t hurriedly. Ii
would be low tide tomorrow morning
at a quarter past 3. Well, tomor
row morning, then, since he couidn'
have a look at the place tonight. he
could well afford the time now! Ano
meanwhile with the key gone, the Ola
maniac couldn't do anything-eXcept
raise an internal row, and become
even a little more maniacal, IL tnal
were possible! Too bad! But then.
the poor old man probably wouldn I
live very long anyhow. And then. be-
sides. quite apart from the tide TO-
night, there was Runnells, who"
He swept the articles from the tapie
suddenly back into his pockets. mere
was Runnells? What the devll was
keeping the man? He shouio nave
been back by now!
Cant. Francis Newcombe swltcneu
off the light. and, walking quickly
from the room now. closed tne oooi
behind him. And now frowned In I'M
patient irritation as he made ms way
along the veranda OF the poatnousS
and down to the shore. ConloanV =.
Runnells. anyway! Where was he? II
was already beginning to show color
In the east. and the darkness was CIV
ing away to a gray. shadowy half
light. In another quarter OF an hour
the dawn would have broken. There
was no time to spare!
He stood for a moment staring
toward the fringe of trees that hid
the path to the house. There was
still no sign of Runnells. With a
quick. muttered execration at the
mans hardness, he turned abruptly
and began to make his way in under
the boathouse, At. the spot where
Paul Cremarre's body lay the slope
of the shore was very gentle and the
incoming tide would, therefore. cover
the ground more rapidly. He had for
gotten that. Paul Cremarre had only
been four or five yards away frcm
what was then the waters edge wnen
he had left him, and unless he wanted
to find the body floating around now
he had better
He halted short in his tracks, but
close to the water now. His heart
had stopped. What was that? In.
voluntarily now he staggered back a
pace. It wasn't light enough to see
distinctly--it was only light enough to
see shadowy things, things that sud
denly moved in the gloom before him,
things that, from the water, waved
sinuously in the air-like Shiny, mon.
strous, snake like tentacles - that
reached out and crept and wiggled
upon the shore itself. The place was
alive with them, swarning with them.
They were tentacles! They were feel.
ing out, feeling out everywhere, and
God, were they feeling. out for him!
He sprang sharply backward as
light breath of air seemed to have
famed his cheek. He heard q faint
pat upon the earth as Of something
soft striking there; he saw a slither-
ing thing, like reptile in shape and
movement. swaying this way and that
as though in search OF something
upon the spot where he had stood.
He felt his face blanch. He drew
back still further. A dark blotch lay
Cremarre's body. And now one OF
those sinuous, creeping tentacles, q
gray, viscous, clutching arm. fell
athwart the body-and the body seem.
ed to move-slowly-jerk as though
It struggled itself to escape from some
foul and loathsome touch-toward the
water.
Capt. Francis Newcombe gazed now,
q fascination Of horror selling upon
him. Two curious spots showed out
there In the water. Not lights-they
weren't lights-but they were in a
sense luminous. They seemed to
stare, full Of Unsuitable lust, gibhaas,
protuberant from out Of the mist of
that waving, feeling, slithering forest
of tentacle arms.
He swept his hand across his eyes.
Was he mad? Was this some ugly
l. =
that in his sleep was making his
two luminous spots were coming near.
er and nearer-eyes, baleful, hungry
eyes. that's what they were! They
were coming closer to the shore-to
the body of Paul Cremarre. A drip.
ping tentacle, waving in the air
swayed forward and dropped and curl
ed and fastened around the body
that was the second one there.
It was too light now! The sight
was horror-but the fascination OF
horror held him motionless. There
was no head to the thing. just mon
strous, formless continuation of alb
horrent bulk from which were thrust
out those huge, repulsive tentacles--
from which was thrust out another
now to fasten itself. for purchase
upon one Of the small, outer concrete
piers that rose from the deeper water
beyond.
And again the body of Paul Gre
MARIE moved. And there was 9
sound. The gurgling of water.
1t had a beak like a parrots beak
and the mandibles opened now-widt
apart-to uncover q cavernous mouth
And the eyes and the tentacles Of th(
thing began to retreat from the shore
The gurgle Of water again.
A white shirt sleeve showed for al
anstant-and was gone.
A splashing. A commotion.
swirl. An eddy.
Then in the. shadowy light a placit
surface, the looming central pier o.
the boathouse. the little piers, roo
above-the commonplace.
A voice spoke at his side-Run
nells':
where's Paul Cremarre?"
Capt. Francis Newcombe's handker
chief, with apparent nonchalance
went to his face. It wiped ava,
beads of sweat.
II don't know what you'd cali tn
thing" he said casually. The scien
lists seem to refer to the specie
under variety Of nameS-you ma,
take your choice, Runnells, between
poulpe. devilfish and octopus. It's
bit OF an unpleasant specimen what
ever name you choose. It's gon
now-and so has Paul Cremarre."
"An octopus!' Runnells stare
through the dim light toward tn
water. "You mean tit got Paul?"
YES" said Capt. Francis New
combe. He returned the handkerchie
to his pocket.
"Gawd" said Runnells in q shak
whisper. IAN octopus! I know whs
that is. The things got suckers this
would tear the flesh off you. That
where those marks on Paufs fac
must have come from. He must has
had a fight with 1t before we foun
him"
"Yes," said Capt. Francis Ney
eoube, che undoubtedly did. It