By H. Thompson RichConcerning the strange adventures of Professor Stevens with
the Antillians on the floors of the mysterious Sargasso Sea.
"Then you really expect to find the lost continent of Atlantis,
Professor?"
Martin Stevens lifted his bearded face sternly to the reporter who was
interviewing him in his study aboard the torpedo-submarine _Nereid_, a
craft of his own invention, as she lay moored at her Brooklyn wharf,
on an afternoon in October.
"My dear young man," he said, "I am not even going to look for it."
The aspiring journalist--Larry Hunter by name--was properly abashed.
"But I thought," he insisted nevertheless, "that you said you were
going to explore the ocean floor under the Sargasso Sea?"
"And so I did." Professor Stevens admitted, a smile moving that gray
beard now and his blue eyes twinkling merrily. "But the Sargasso, an
area almost equal to Europe, covers other land as well--land of far
more recent submergence than Atlantis, which foundered in 9564 B. C.,
according to Plato. What I am going to look for is this newer lost
continent, or island rather--namely, the great island of Antillia, of
which the West Indies remain above water to-day."
"Antillia?" queried Larry Hunter, wonderingly. "I never heard of it."
Again the professor regarded his interviewer sternly.
"There are many things you have never heard of, young man," he told
him. "Antillia may be termed the missing link between Atlantis and
America. It was there that Atlantean culture survived after the
appalling catastrophe that wiped out the Atlantean homeland, with its
seventy million inhabitants, and it was in the colonies the Antillians
established in Mexico and Peru, that their own culture in turn
survived, after Antillia too had sunk."
"My Lord! You don't mean to say the Mayas and Incas originated on that
island of Antillia?"
"No, I mean to say they originated on the continent of Atlantis, and
that Antillia was the stepping stone to the New World, where they
built the strange pyramids we find smothered in the jungle--even as
thousands of years before the Atlanteans established colonies in Egypt
and founded the earliest dynasties of pyramid-building Pharaohs."
* * * * *
Larry was pushing his pencil furiously.
"Whew!" he gasped. "Some story, Professor!"
"To the general public, perhaps," was the reply. "But to scholars of
antiquity, these postulates are pretty well known and pretty well
accepted. It remains but to get concrete evidence, in order to prove
them to the world at large--and that is the object of my expedition."
More hurried scribbling, then:
"But, say--why don't you go direct to Atlantis and get the real dope?"
"Because that continent foundered so long ago that it is doubtful if
any evidence would have withstood the ravages of time," Professor
Stevens explained, "whereas Antillia went down no earlier than 200 B.
C., archaeologists agree."
"That answers my question," declared Larry, his admiration for this
doughty graybeard rising momentarily. "And now, Professor, I wonder if
you'd be willing to say a few words about this craft of yours?"
"Cheerfully, if you think it would interest anyone. What would you
care to have me say?"
"Well, in the first place, what does the name _Nereid_ mean?"
"Sea-nymph. The derivation is from the Latin and Greek, meaning
daughter of the sea-god Nereus. Appropriate, don't you think?"
"Swell. And why do you call it a torpedo-submarine? How does it differ
from the common or navy variety?"
* * * * *
Professor Stevens smiled. It was like asking what was the difference
between the sun and the moon, when about the only point of resemblance
they had was that they were both round. Nevertheless, he enumerated
some of the major modifications he had developed.
Among them, perhaps the most radical, was its motive power, which was
produced by what he called a vacuo-turbine--a device that sucked in
the water at the snout of the craft and expelled it at the tail, at
the time purifying a certain amount for drinking purposes and
extracting sufficient oxygen to maintain a healthful atmosphere while
running submerged.
Then, the structure of the _Nereid_ was unique, he explained,
permitting it to attain depths where the pressure would crush an
ordinary submarine, while mechanical eyes on the television principle
afforded a view in all directions, and locks enabling them to leave
the craft at will and explore the sea-bottom were provided.
This latter feat they would accomplish in special suits, designed on
the same pneumatic principle as the torpedo itself and capable of
sustaining sufficient inflation to resist whatever pressures might be
encountered, as well as being equipped with vibratory sending and
receiving apparatus, for maintaining communication with those left
aboard.
* * * * *
All these things and more Professor Stevens outlined, as Larry's
pencil flew, admitting that he had spent the past ten years and the
best part of his private fortune in developing his plans.
"But you'll get it all back, won't you? Aren't there all sorts of
Spanish galleons and pirate barques laden with gold supposed to be
down there?"
"Undoubtedly," was the calm reply. "But I am not on a treasure hunt,
young man. If I find one single sign of former life, I shall be amply
rewarded."
Whereupon the young reporter regarded the subject of his interview
with fresh admiration, not unmingled with wonder. In his own hectic
world, people had no such scorn of gold. Gee, he'd sure like to go
along! The professor could have his old statues or whatever he was
looking for. As for himself, he'd fill up his pockets with Spanish
doubloons and pieces of eight!
Larry was snapped out of his trance by a light knock on the door,
which opened to admit a radiant girl in creamy knickers and green
cardigan.
"May I come in, daddy?" she inquired, hesitating, as she saw he was
not alone.
"You seem to be in already, my dear," the professor told her, rising
from his desk and stepping forward.
Then, turning to Larry, who had also risen, he said:
"Mr. Hunter, this is my daughter, Diane, who is also my secretary."
"I am pleased to meet you, Miss Stevens," said Larry, taking her hand.
And he meant it--for almost anyone would have been pleased to meet
Diane, with her tawny gold hair, warm olive cheeks and eyes bluer even
than her father's and just as twinkling, just as intelligent.
"She will accompany the expedition and take stenographic notes of
everything we observe," added her father, to Larry's amazement.
"What?" he declared. "You mean to say that--that--"
"Of course he means to say that I'm going, if that's what you mean to
say, Mr. Hunter," Diane assured him. "Can you think of any good reason
why I shouldn't go, when girls are flying around the world and
everything else?"
Even had Larry been able to think of any good reason, he wouldn't have
mentioned it. But as a matter of fact, he had shifted quite abruptly
to an entirely different line of thought. Diane, he was
thinking--Diana, goddess of the chase, the huntress! And himself,
Larry Hunter--the hunter and the huntress!
Gee, but he'd like to go! What an adventure, hunting around together
on the bottom of the ocean!
* * * * *
What a wild dream, rather, he concluded when his senses returned. For
after all, he was only a reporter, fated to write about other people's
adventures, not to participate in them. So he put away his pad and
pencil and prepared to leave.
But at the door he paused.
"Oh, yes--one more question. When are you planning to leave,
Professor?"
At that, Martin Stevens and his daughter exchanged a swift glance.
Then, with a smile, Diane said:
"I see no reason why we shouldn't tell him, daddy."
"But we didn't tell the reporters from the other papers, my dear,"
protested her father.
"Then suppose we give Mr. Hunter the exclusive story," she said,
transferring her smile to Larry now. "It will be what you call a--a
scoop. Isn't that it?"
"That's it."
She caught her father's acquiescing nod. "Then here's your scoop, Mr.
Hunter. We leave to-night."
To-night! This was indeed a scoop! If he hurried, he could catch the
late afternoon editions with it.
"I--I certainly thank you, Miss Stevens!" he exclaimed. "That'll make
the front page!"
As he grasped the door-knob, he added, turning to her father:
"And I want to thank you too, Professor--and wish you good luck!"
Then, with a hasty handshake, and a last smile of gratitude for Diane,
he flung open the door and departed, unconscious that two young blue
eyes followed his broad shoulders wistfully till they disappeared from
view.
* * * * *
But Larry was unaware that he had made a favorable impression on
Diane. He felt it was the reverse. As he headed toward the subway,
that vivid blond goddess of the chase was uppermost in his thoughts.
Soon she'd be off in the _Nereid_, bound for the mysterious regions
under the Sargasso Sea, while in a few moments he'd be in the subway,
bound under the prosaic East River for New York.
No--damned if he would!
Suddenly, with a wild inspiration, the young reporter altered his
course, dove into the nearest phone booth and got his city editor on
the wire.
Scoop? This was just the first installment. He'd get a scoop that
would fill a book!
And his city editor tacitly O. K.'d the idea.
With the result that when the _Nereid_ drew away from her wharf that
night, on the start of her unparalleled voyage, Larry Hunter was a
stowaway.
* * * * *
The place where he had succeeded in secreting himself was a small
storeroom far aft, on one of the lower decks. There he huddled in the
darkness, while the slow hours wore away, hearing only the low hum of
the craft's vacuo-turbine and the flux of water running through her.
From the way she rolled and pitched, he judged she was still
proceeding along on the surface.
Having eaten before he came aboard, he felt no hunger, but the close
air and the dark quarters brought drowsiness. He slept.
When he awoke it was still dark, of course, but a glance at his
luminous wrist-watch told him it was morning now. And the fact that
the rolling and pitching had ceased made him believe they were now
running submerged.
The urge for breakfast asserting itself, Larry drew a bar of chocolate
from his pocket and munched on it. But this was scanty fare for a
healthy young six-footer, accustomed to a liberal portion of ham and
eggs. Furthermore, the lack of coffee made him realize that he was
getting decidedly thirsty. The air, moreover, was getting pretty bad.
"All in all, this hole wasn't exactly intended for a bedroom!" he
reflected with a wry smile.
Taking a chance, he opened the door a crack and sat there impatiently,
while the interminable minutes ticked off.
The _Nereid's_ turbine was humming now with a high, vibrant note that
indicated they must be knocking off the knots at a lively clip. He
wondered how far out they were, and how far down.
Lord, there'd be a riot when he showed up! He wanted to wait till they
were far enough on their way so it would be too much trouble to turn
around and put him ashore.
But by noon his powers of endurance were exhausted. Flinging open the
door, he stepped out into the corridor, followed it to a companionway
and mounted the ladder to the deck above.
There he was assailed by a familiar and welcome odor--food!
Trailing it to its origin, he came to a pair of swinging doors at the
end of a cork-paved passage. Beyond, he saw on peering through, was
the mess-room, and there at the table, among a number of uniformed
officers, sat Professor Stevens and Diane.
A last moment Larry stood there, looking in on them. Then, drawing a
deep breath, he pushed wide the swinging doors and entered with a
cheery:
"Good morning, folks! Hope I'm not too late for lunch!"
* * * * *
Varying degrees of surprise greeted this dramatic appearance. The
officers stared, Diane gasped, her father leaped to has feet with a
cry.
"That reporter! Why--why, what are you doing here, young man?"
"Just representing the press."
Larry tried to make it sound nonchalant but he was finding it
difficult to bear up under this barrage of disapproving
eyes--particularly two very young, very blue ones.
"So that is the way you reward us for giving you an exclusive story,
is it?" Professor Stevens' voice was scathing. "A representative of
the press! A stowaway, rather--and as such you will be treated!"
He turned to one of his officers.
"Report to Captain Petersen that we have a stowaway aboard and order
him to put about at once."
He turned to another.
"See that Mr. Hunter is taken below and locked up. When we reach New
York, he will be handed over to the police."
"But daddy!" protested Diane, as they rose to comply, her eyes
softening now. "We shouldn't be too severe with Mr. Hunter. After all,
he is probably doing only what his paper ordered him to."
* * * * *
Gratefully Larry turned toward his defender. But he couldn't let that
pass.
"No, I'm acting only on my own initiative," he said. "No one told me
to come."
For he couldn't get his city editor involved, and after all it was his
own idea.
"You see!" declared Professor Stevens. "He admits it is his own doing.
It is clear he has exceeded his authority, therefore, and deserves no
sympathy."
"But can't you let me stay, now that I'm here?" urged Larry. "I know
something about boats. I'll serve as a member of the crew--anything."
"Impossible. We have a full complement. You would be more of a
hindrance than a help. Besides, I do not care to have the possible
results of this expedition blared before the public."
"I'll write nothing you do not approve."
"I have no time to edit your writings, young man. My own, will occupy
me sufficiently. So it is useless. You are only wasting your
breath--and mine."
He motioned for his officers to carry out his orders.
But before they could move to do so, in strode a lean, middle-aged
Norwegian Larry sensed must be Captain Petersen himself, and on his
weathered face was an expression of such gravity that it was obvious
to everyone something serious had happened.
* * * * *
Ignoring Larry, after one brief look of inquiry that was answered by
Professor Stevens, he reported swiftly what he had to say.
While cruising full speed at forty fathoms, with kite-aerial out,
their wireless operator had received a radio warning to turn back.
Answering on its call-length, he had demanded to know the sender and
the reason for the message, but the information had been declined, the
warning merely being repeated.
"Was it a land station or a ship at sea?" asked the professor.
"Evidently the latter," was the reply. "By our radio range-finder, we
determined the position at approximately latitude 27, longitude 65."
"But that, Captain, is in the very area we are headed for."
"And that, Professor, makes it all the more singular."
"But--well, well! This is indeed peculiar! And I had been on the point
of turning back with our impetuous young stowaway. What would you
suggest, sir?"
Captain Petersen meditated, while Larry held his breath.
"To turn back," he said at length, in his clear, precise English,
"would in my opinion be to give the laugh to someone whose sense of
humor is already too well developed."
"Exactly!" agreed Professor Stevens, as Larry relaxed in relief.
"Whoever this practical joker is, we will show him he is wasting his
talents--even though it means carrying a supernumerary for the rest of
the voyage."
"Well spoken!" said the captain. "But as far as that is concerned, I
think I can keep Mr. Hunter occupied."
"Then take him, and welcome!"
Whereupon, still elated but now somewhat uneasy, Larry accompanied
Captain Petersen from the mess-room; started to, that is. But at a
glance of sympathy from Diane, he dared call out:
"Say--hold on, folks! I haven't had lunch yet!"
* * * * *
When young Larry Hunter reported to the captain of the _Nereid_, after
this necessary meal, he found that the craft had returned to the
surface.
Assigned a pair of powerful binoculars, he was ordered to stand watch
in the conning-tower and survey the horizon in every direction, in an
effort to sight the vessel that had sent out that mysterious radio,
but though he cast his good brown eyes diligently through those strong
lenses, he saw not so much as a smoke tuft upon the broad, gray-blue
surface of the hazy Atlantic.
Gradually, however, as the afternoon wore away, something else came in
view. Masses of brownish seaweed, supported by small, berry-like
bladders, began drifting by. Far apart at first, they began getting
more and more dense, till at last, with a thrill, he realized that
they were drawing into that strange area known as the Sargasso Sea.
Shortly after this realization dawned, he was ordered below, and as
the tropic sun was sinking over that eery floating tombstone, which
according to Professor Stevens marked a nation's grave, the _Nereid_
submerged.
Down she slid, a hundred fathoms or more, on a long, even glide that
took her deep under that veiling brown blanket.
* * * * *
In the navigating room now, Larry stood with the captain, the
professor and Diane, studying an illuminated panel on which appeared a
cross of five squares, like a box opened out.
The central square reproduced the scene below, while those to left and
right depicted it from port and starboard, and those to front and rear
revealed the forward and aft aspects of the panorama, thus affording a
clear view in every direction.
This, then, was the television device Professor Stevens had referred
to the previous afternoon, its mechanical eyes enabling then to search
every square inch of those mysterious depths, as they cruised along.
It was the central square that occupied their attention chiefly,
however, as they stood studying the panel. While the others
represented merely an unbroken vista of greenish water, this one
showed the sea floor as clearly as though they had been peering down
into a shallow lagoon through a glass-bottomed boat, though it must
have been a quarter of a mile below their cruising level.
A wonderful and fearsome sight it was to Larry: like something seen in
a nightmare--a fantastic desert waste of rocks and dunes, with here
and there a yawning chasm whose ominous depths their ray failed to
penetrate, and now and then a jutting plateau that would appear on the
forward square and cause Captain Petersen to elevate their bow
sharply.
But more thrilling than this was their first glimpse of a sunken
ship--a Spanish galleon, beyond a doubt!
There she lay, grotesquely on her side, half rotted, half buried in
the sand, but still discernible. And to Larry's wildly racing
imagination, a flood of gold and jewels seemed to pour from her ruined
coffers.
* * * * *
Turning to Diane, he saw that her eyes too were flashing with intense
excitement.
"Say!" he exclaimed. "Why don't we stop and look her over? There may
be a fortune down there!"
Professor Stevens promptly vetoed the suggestion, however.
"I must remind you, young man," he said severely, "that this is not a
treasure hunt."
Whereupon Larry subsided; outwardly, at least. But when presently the
central square revealed another and then another sunken ship, it was
all he could do to contain himself.
Now, suddenly, Diane cried out:
"Oh, daddy, look! There's a modern ship! A--a freighter, isn't it?"
"A collier, I would say," was her father's calm reply. "Rather a large
one, too. _Cyclops_, possibly. She disappeared some years ago, en
route from the Barbados to Norfolk. Or possibly it is any one of a
dozen other steel vessels that have vanished from these seas in recent
times. The area of the Sargasso, my dear, is known as 'The Port of
Missing Ships.'"
"But couldn't we drop down and make sure which ship it is?" she
pleaded, voicing the very thought Larry had been struggling to
suppress.
At the professor's reply, however, he was glad he had kept quiet.
"We could, of course," was his gentle though firm rebuke, "but if we
stopped to solve the mystery of every sunken ship we shall probably
see during this cruise, we would have time for nothing else.
Nevertheless, my dear, you may take a short memorandum of the location
and circumstances, in the present instance."
Whereupon he dictated briefly, while Larry devoted his attention once
more to the central square.
* * * * *
Suddenly, beyond a dark pit that seemed to reach down into the very
bowels of the earth, rose an abrupt plateau--and on one of its nearer
elevations, almost directly under then, loomed a monumental four-sided
mound.
"Say--hold on!" called Larry. "Look at that, Professor! Isn't that a
building of some kind?"
Martin Stevens looked up, glanced skeptically toward the panel. But
one glimpse at what that central square revealed, and his skepticism
vanished.
"A building?" he cried in triumph. "A building indeed! It is a
pyramid, young man!"
"Good Lord!"
"Oh, daddy! Really?"
"Beyond a doubt! And look--there are two other similar structures,
only smaller!"
Struggling for calm, he turned to Captain Petersen, who had taken his
eyes from the forward square and was peering down as well upon those
singular mounds.
"Stop! Descend!" was his exultant command. "This is my proof! We have
discovered Antillia!"
* * * * *
Swiftly the _Nereid_ dropped to that submerged plateau.
In five minutes, her keel was resting evenly on the smooth sand beside
the largest of the three pyramids.
Professor Stevens then announced that he would make a preliminary
investigation of the site at once.
"For, otherwise, I for one would be quite unable to sleep tonight!"
declared the graybeard, with a boyish chuckle.
He added that Diane would accompany him.
At this latter announcement, Larry's heart sank. He had hoped against
hope that he might be invited along with them.
But once again his champion came to his aid.
"We really ought to let Mr. Hunter come with us, daddy, don't you
think?" she urged, noting his disappointment. "After all, it was he
who made the discovery."
"Very true," said her father, "but I had not thought it necessary for
anyone to accompany us. In the event anyone does, Captain Petersen
should have that honor."
But this honor the captain declined.
"If you don't mind, sir, I'd prefer to stay with the ship," he said,
quietly. "I haven't forgotten that radio warning."
"But surely you don't think anyone can molest us down here?" scoffed
the professor.
"No, but I'd prefer to stay with the ship just the same, sir, if you
don't mind."
"Very well"--with a touch of pique. "Then you may come along if you
care to, Mr. Hunter."
If he cared to!
"Thanks, Professor!" he said with a grateful look toward Diane. "I'd
be keen to!"
* * * * *
So he accompanied them below, where they donned their
pressure-suits--rubber affairs rather less cumbersome than ordinary
deep-sea diving gear, reinforced with steel wire and provided with
thick glass goggles and powerful searchlights, in addition to their
vibratory communication apparatus and other devices that were
explained to Larry.
When he had mastered their operation, which was rendered simple by
reason of the fact that they were so nearly automatic, the trio
stepped into a lock on the floor of the ship and Professor Stevens
ordered them to couple their suits to air-valve connections on the
wall, at the same time admitting water by opening another valve.
Swiftly the lock flooded, while their suits inflated.
"All right?" came his vibratory query.
"Right!" they both answered.
"Then stand by for the heavy pressure."
Wider now he opened the water-valve, letting the ocean in, while at
the same time their suits continued inflating through their air-valve
connections.
To his surprise, Larry found himself no more inconvenienced by the
pressure than he had been from the moment the submarine dove to its
present depth. Indeed, most of the air that was coming into his suit
was filling the reinforced space between its inner and outer layers,
much as the _Nereid_ held air under pressure between her two thick
shells.
"All right now?" called out the professor's vibrator.
"Right!" they called back again.
"Then uncouple your air-valve connections and make ready."
They did so; and he likewise.
Then, advancing to a massive door like that of a vault, he flung back
its powerful clamps, dragged it open--and there beyond, its pressure
equaled by that within the lock, loomed the black tide of the ocean
bottom.
* * * * *
Awed by this solemn sight, tingling with a sense of unparalleled
adventure, Larry stood there a moment, peering out over the threshold
of that untrodden world.
Then he followed Diane and her father into its beckoning mystery....
Their searchlights cutting bright segments into the dark, they
proceeded toward the vast mound that towered ahead, pushing through a
weird realm of phosphorescent fish and other marine creatures.
As they neared it, any possible doubt that it was in fact a pyramid
vanished. Corroded by the action of salt water and covered with the
incrustations of centuries, it nevertheless presented unmistakable
evidence of human construction, rising in steps of massive masonry to
a summit shadowy in the murk above.
As Larry stood gazing upon that mighty proof that this submerged
plateau had once stood forth proudly above the sea, he realized that
he was a party to one of the most profound discoveries of the ages.
What a furore this would make when he reported it back to his New York
paper!
But New York seemed remote indeed, now. Would they ever get back? What
if anything went wrong with their pressure-suits--or if they should
become lost?
He glanced back uneasily, but there gleamed the reassuring lights of
the _Nereid_, not a quarter of a mile away.
Diane and her father were now rounding a corner of the pyramid and he
followed them, his momentary twinge of anxiety gone.
* * * * *
For some moments, Professor Stevens prowled about without comment,
examining the huge basal blocks of the structure and glancing up its
sloping sides.
"You see, I was right!" he declared at length. "This is not only a
man-made edifice but a true pyramid, embodying the same architectural
principles as the Mayan and Egyptian forms. We see before us the
visible evidence of a sunken empire--the missing link between Atlantis
and America."
No comments greeted this profound announcement and the professor
continued:
"This structure appears to be similar in dimensions with that of the
pyramid of Xochicalco, in Mexico, which in turn approximates that of
the "Sacred Hill" of Atlantis, mentioned by Plato, and which was the
prototype of both the Egyptian and Mayan forms. It was here the
Antillians, as the Atlanteans had taught them to do, worshipped their
grim gods and performed the human sacrifices they thought necessary to
appease them. And it was here, too, if I am not mistaken, that--"
Suddenly his vibratory discourse was broken into by a sharp signal
from the submarine:
"Pardon interruption! Hurry back! We are attacked!"
At this, the trio stood rigid.
"Captain Petersen! Captain Petersen!" Larry heard the professor call.
"Speak up! Give details! What has happened?"
But an ominous silence greeted the query.
Another moment they stood there, thoroughly dismayed now. Then came
the professor's swift command:
"Follow me--quickly!"
He was already in motion, retracing his steps as fast as his bulky
suit would permit. But as he rounded the corner of the pyramid, they
saw him pause, stand staring. And as they drew up, they in turn
paused; stood staring, too.
With sinking hearts, they saw that the _Nereid_ was gone.
* * * * *
Stunned by this disaster, they stood facing one another--three lone
human beings, on the bottom of the Atlantic ocean, their sole means of
salvation gone.
Professor Stevens was the first to speak.
"This is unbelievable!" he said. "I cannot credit it. We must have
lost our senses."
"Or our bearings!" added Diane, more hopefully. "Suppose we look
around the other side."
As for Larry, a darker suspicion flashed through his mind. Captain
Petersen! Had he seized his opportunity and led the crew to mutiny, in
the hope of converting the expedition into a treasure hunt? Was that
the reason he had been so willing to remain behind?
He kept his suspicion to himself, however, and accompanied Diane and
her father on a complete circuit of the pyramid; but, as he feared,
there was no sign of the _Nereid_ anywhere. The craft had vanished as
completely as though the ocean floor had opened and swallowed her up.
But no, not as completely as that! For presently the professor, who
had proceeded to the site where they left the craft resting on the
sand, called out excitedly:
"Here--come here! There are tracks! Captain Petersen was right! They
were attacked!"
Hurrying to the scene, they saw before them the plain evidences of a
struggle. The ocean bottom was scuffed and stamped, as though by many
feet, and a clear trail showed where the craft had finally been
dragged away.
Obviously there was but one thing to do and they did it. After a brief
conference, they turned and followed the trail.
* * * * *
It led off over the plateau a quarter mile or more, in an eastward
direction, terminating at length beside one of the smaller
pyramids--and there lay the _Nereid_, apparently unharmed.
But her lights were out and there came no answer to their repeated
calls, so they judged she must be empty.
What had happened to Captain Petersen and his crew? What strange
sub-sea enemy had overcome them? What was now their fate?
Unanswerable question! But one thing was certain. Larry had misjudged
the captain in suspecting him of mutiny. He was sorry for this and
resolved he would make amends by doing all in his power to rescue him
and his men, if they were still living.
Meanwhile his own plight, and that of Diane and her father, was
critical. What was to be done?
Suddenly, as all three stood there debating that question, Professor
Stevens uttered an exclamation and strode toward the pyramid.
Following him with their eyes, they saw him pass through an aperture
where a huge block of stone had been displaced--and disappear within.
The next moment they had joined him, to find themselves in a small
flooded chamber at whose far end a narrow gallery sloped upward at a
sharp angle.
The floor and walls were tiled, they noted, and showed none of the
corrosion of the exterior surfaces. Indeed, so immaculate was the room
that it might have been occupied but yesterday.
As they stood gazing around in wonder, scarcely daring to draw the
natural inferences of this phenomena, there came a rasping sound, and,
turning toward the entrance, they saw a massive section of masonry
descend snugly into place.
They were trapped!
* * * * *
Standing there tense, speechless, they waited, wondering what would be
the next move of this strange enemy who held them now so surely in his
power.
Nor had they long to wait.
Almost immediately, there issued a gurgling sound from the inclined
gallery, and turning their eyes in the direction of this new
phenomena, they saw that the water level was receding, as though under
pressure from above.
"Singular!" muttered Professor Stevens. "A sort of primitive lock. It
seems incredible that human creatures could exist down here, but such
appears to be the case."
Larry had no desire to dispute the assumption, nor had Diane. They
stood there as people might in the imminence of the supernatural,
awaiting they knew not what.
Swiftly the water receded.
Now it was scarcely up to their waists, now plashing about their
ankles, and now the room was empty.
The next moment, there sounded a rush of feet--and down the gallery
came a swarm of the strangest beings any of them had ever seen.
They were short, thin, almost emaciated, with pale, pinched faces and
pasty, half-naked bodies. But they shimmered with ornaments of gold
and jade, like some strange princes from the realm of Neptune--or
rather, like Aztec chieftains of the days of Cortes, thought Larry.
Blinking in the glare of the searchlights, they clamored around their
captives, touching their pressure-suits half in awe and chattering
among themselves.
* * * * *
Then one of them, larger and more regally clad than the rest, stepped
up and gestured toward the balcony.
"They obviously desire us to accompany them above," said the
professor, "and quite as obviously we have little choice in the
matter, so I suggest we do so."
"Check!" said Larry.
"And double-check!" added Diane.
So they started up, preceded by a handful of their captors and
followed by the main party.
The gallery seemed to be leading toward the center of the pyramid, but
after a hundred feet or so it turned and continued up at a right
angle, turning twice more before they arrived at length in another
stone chamber, smaller than the one below.
Here their guides paused and waited for the main party.
There followed another conference, whereupon their leader stepped up
again, indicating this time that they were to remove their suits.
At this, Professor Stevens balked.
"It is suicide!" he declared. "The air to which they are accustomed
here is doubtless at many times our own atmospheric pressure."
"But I don't see that there's anything to do about it," said Larry, as
their captors danced about them menacingly. "I for one will take a
chance!"
And before they could stop him, he had pressed the release-valve,
emitting the air from his suit--slowly, at first, then more and more
rapidly, as no ill effects seemed to result.
Finally, flinging off the now deflated suit, he stepped before them in
his ordinary clothes, calling with a smile:
"Come on out, folks--the air's fine!"
* * * * *
This statement was somewhat of an exaggeration, as the air smelt dank
and bad. But at least it was breathable, as Diane and her father found
when they emerged from their own suits.
They discovered, furthermore, now that their flashlights were no
longer operating, that a faint illumination lit the room, issuing from
a number of small crystal jars suspended from the walls: some sort of
phosphorescence, evidently.
Once again the leader of the curious throng stepped up to them,
beaming now and addressing Professor Stevens in some barbaric tongue,
and, to their amazement, he replied in words approximating its harsh
syllables.
"Why, daddy!" gasped Diane. "How can you talk to him?"
"Simply enough," was the reply. "They speak a language which seems to
be about one-third Basque, mixed oddly with Greek. It merely proves
another hypothesis of mine, namely, that the Atlantean influence
reached eastward to the Pyrenees mountains and the Hellenic peninsula,
as well as to Egypt."
* * * * *
Whereupon he turned and continued his conversation, haltingly it is
true and with many gestures, but understandably nevertheless.
"I have received considerable enlightenment as to the mystery of this
strange sunken empire," he reported, turning back to them at length.
"It is a singular story this creature tells, of how his country sank
slowly beneath the waves, during the course of centuries, and of how
his ancestors adapted themselves by degrees to the present conditions.
I shall report it to you both, in detail, when time affords. But the
main thing now is that a man similar to ourselves has conquered their
country and set himself up as emperor. It is to him we are about to be
taken."
"But it doesn't seem possible!" exclaimed Diane. "Why, how could he
have got down here?"
"In a craft similar to our own, according to this creature. Heaven
knows what it is we are about to face! But whatever it is, we will
face it bravely."
"Check and double-check!" said Larry, with a glance toward Diane that
told her she would not find him wanting.
They were not destined to meet the test just then, however, for just
at that moment a courier in breech-clout and sandals dashed up the
gallery and burst into the room, bearing in his right hand a thin
square of metal.
Bowing, he handed it to the leader of the pigmy throng, with the awed
word:
"_Cabiri!_"
At this, Professor Stevens gave a start.
"A message from their high priests!" he whispered.
Whatever it contained, the effect produced on the reader was profound.
Facing his companions, he addressed them gravely. Then, turning from
the room, he commanded the captives to follow.
* * * * *
The way led back down the inclined gallery to a point where another
door now stood open, then on down until finally the passage leveled
out into a long, straight tunnel.
This they traversed for fully a mile, entering at length a large,
square chamber where for a moment they paused.
"I judge we are now at the base of the large pyramid," the professor
voiced in an undertone. "It would naturally be the abode of the high
priests."
"But what do you suppose they want with us?" asked Diane.
"That I am not disposed to conjecture," was her father's reply.
But the note of anxiety in his voice was not lost on Diane, nor on
Larry, who pressed her hand reassuringly.
Now their captors led them from the room through a small door opening
on another inclined gallery, whose turns they followed until all were
out of breath from the climb.
It ended abruptly on a short, level corridor with apertures to left
and right.
Into the latter they were led, finding themselves in a grotesquely
furnished room, lit dimly by phosphorescent lamps.
Swiftly the leader addressed Professor Stevens. Then all withdrew. The
aperture was closed by a sliding block of stone.
* * * * *
For a moment they stood there silent, straining their eyes in the
gloom to detect the details of their surroundings, which included
several curious chairs and a number of mattings strewn on the tiled
floor.
"What did he say?" asked Diane at length, in a tremulous voice.
"He said we will remain here for the night," her father replied, "and
will be taken before the high priests at dawn."
"At dawn!" exclaimed Larry. "How the deuce do they know when it is
dawn, down here?"
"By their calendars, which they have kept accurately," was the answer.
"But there are many other questions you must both want to ask, so I
shall anticipate them by telling you now what I have been able to
learn. Suppose we first sit down, however. I for one am weary."
Whereupon they drew up three of those curious chairs of some heavy
wood carved with the hideous figures of this strange people's ancient
gods, and Professor Stevens began.
* * * * *
Their sunken empire, as he had surmised, had indeed been the great
island of Antillia and a colony of Atlantis. A series of earthquakes
and tidal waves such as engulfed their homeland ages before had sent
it down, and the estimated archaeological date of the final
submergence--namely, 200 B. C.--was approximately correct.
But long before this ultimate catastrophe, the bulk of the
disheartened population had migrated to Central and South America,
founding the Mayan and Incan dynasties. Many of the faithful had
stayed on, however, among them most of the Cabiri or high priests, who
either were loath to leave their temples or had been ordered by their
gods to remain.
At any rate, they had remained, and as the great island sank lower and
lower, they had fortified themselves against the disaster in their
pyramids, which by then alone remained above the surface.
These, too, had gradually disappeared beneath the angry waters,
however, and with them had disappeared the steadfast priests and their
faithful followers, sealing their living tombs into air-tight
bell-jars that retained the atmosphere.
This they had supplemented at first by drawing it down from above, but
as time went by they found other means of getting air; extracting it
from the sea water under pressure, by utilizing their subterranean
volcanoes, in whose seething cauldrons the gods had placed their
salvation; and it was this process that now provided them with the
atmosphere which had so amazed their captives.
But naturally, lack of sunshine had produced serious degeneration in
their race, and that accounted for their diminutive forms and pale
bodies. Still, they had been able to survive with a degree of
happiness until some ten or a dozen years ago, when a strange enemy
had come down in a great metal fish, like that of these new strangers,
and with a handful of men had conquered their country.
This marauder was after their gold and had looted their temples
ruthlessly, carrying away its treasures, for which they hated him with
a fury that only violation of their most sacred deities could arouse.
Long ago they would have destroyed him, but for the fact that he
possessed terrible weapons which were impossible to combat. But they
were in smouldering rebellion and waited only the support of their
gods, when they would fall on this oppressor and hurl him off.
That, though it left many things unexplained, was all the professor
had been able to gather from his conversation with the leader of their
captors. He ended, admitting regretfully that he was still in
ignorance of what fate had befallen Captain Petersen and the crew of
the _Nereid._
* * * * *
"Perhaps this fellow in the other submarine has got them," suggested
Larry.
"But why weren't we taken to him too?" asked Diane. "What do you
suppose they want with us, anyway, daddy?"
"That, my dear, as I told you before," replied her father, "I am not
disposed to conjecture. Time will reveal it. Meanwhile, we can only
wait."
As before, there was a note of anxiety in his voice not lost on either
of them. And as for Larry, though he knew but little of those old
religions, he knew enough to realize that their altars often ran with
the blood of their captives, and he shuddered.
With these grim thoughts between them, the trio fell silent.
A silence that was interrupted presently by the arrival of a native
bearing a tray heaped with strange food.
Bowing, he placed it before them and departed.
Upon examination, the meal proved to consist mainly of some curious
kind of steamed fish, not unpalatable but rather rank and tough. There
were several varieties of fungus, too, more or less resembling
mushrooms and doubtless grown in some sunless garden of the pyramid.
These articles, together with a pitcher of good water that had
obviously been distilled from the sea, comprised their meal, and
though it was far from appetizing, they ate it.
But none of the three slept that night, though Diane dozed off for a
few minutes once or twice, for their apprehension of what the dawn
might hold made it impossible, to say nothing of the closeness of the
air in that windowless subterranean room.
Slowly, wearily, the hours dragged by.
At length the native who had brought their food came again. This time
he spoke.
"He says we are now to be taken before the high priests," Professor
Stevens translated for them.
Almost with relief, though their faces were grave, they stepped out
into the corridor, where an escort waited.
* * * * *
Five minutes later, after proceeding along an inclined gallery that
wound ever upward, they were ushered into a vast vaulted chamber lit
with a thousand phosphorescent lamps and gleaming with idols of gold
and silver, jewels flashing from their eyes.
High in the dome hung a great golden disc, representing the sun. At
the far end, above a marble altar, coiled a dragon with tusks of ivory
and scales of jade, its eyes two lustrous pearls.
And all about the room thronged priests in fantastic head-dress and
long white robes, woven through elaborately with threads of yellow and
green.
At the appearance of the captives, a murmur like a chant rose in the
still air. Someone touched a brand to the altar and there was a flash
of flame followed by a thin column of smoke that spiraled slowly
upward.
Now one of the priests stepped out--the supreme one among them, to
judge from the magnificence of his robe--and addressed the trio,
speaking slowly, rhythmically.
As his strange, sonorous discourse continued, Professor Stevens grew
visibly perturbed. His beard twitched and he shifted uneasily on his
feet.
* * * * *
Finally the discourse ceased and the professor replied to it, briefly.
Then he turned grave eyes on Larry and Diane.
"What is it?" asked the latter, nervously. "What did the priest say,
daddy?"
Her father considered, before replying.
"Naturally, I did not gather everything," was his slow reply, "but I
gathered sufficient to understand what is afoot. First, however, let
me explain that the dragon you see over there represents their deity
Tlaloc, god of the sea. In more happy circumstances, it would be
interesting to note that the name is identified with the Mayan god of
the same element."
He paused, as though loath to go on, then continued:
"At any rate, the Antillians have worshipped Tlaloc principally, since
their sun god failed them. They believe he dragged down their empire
in his mighty coils, through anger with them, and will raise it up
again if appeased. Therefore they propose today to--"
"Daddy!" cried Diane, shrinking back in horror, while a chill went up
Larry's spine. "You mean--mean that--"
"I mean, my poor child, that we are about to be sacrificed to the
dragon god of the Antillians."
* * * * *
The words were no more than uttered, when with a weird chant the
Cabiri closed in on their victims and led them with solemn ceremonial
toward the altar.
In vain did Professor Stevens protest. Their decision had been made
and was irrevocable. Tlaloc must be appeased. Lo, even now he roared
for the offering!
They pointed to the dragon, from whose nostrils suddenly issued
hissing spurts of flame.
Larry fumed in disgust at the cheap hocus-pocus of it--but the next
moment a more violent emotion swept over him as he saw Diane seized
and borne swiftly to that loathsome shrine.
But even as he lunged forward, the professor reached his daughter's
side. Throwing himself in front of her, he begged them to spare her,
to sacrifice him instead.
The answer of the priests was a blow that knocked the graybeard
senseless, and lifting Diane up, half-swooning, they flung her upon
the altar.
"Mr. Hunter! Larry!" came her despairing cry.
She struggled up and for a moment her blue eyes opened, met his
beseechingly.
That was enough--that and that despairing cry, "Larry!"
With the strength of frenzy, he flung off his captors, rushed to her
aid, his hard fists flailing.
The pigmies went down in his path like grain before the scythe.
Reaching the altar, he seized the priest whose knife was already
upraised, and, lifting him bodily, flung him full into the ugly snout
of that snorting dragon.
Then, as a wail of dismay rose from the Cabiri, at this supreme
sacrilege, he seized the now unconscious Diane and retreated with her
toward the door.
* * * * *
But there spears barred his escape; and now, recovered from the first
shock of this fearful affront to their god, the priests started toward
him.
Standing at bay, with that limp, tender burden in his arms, Larry
awaited the end.
As the maddened horde drew near, she stirred, lifted her pale face and
smiled, her eyes still shut.
"Oh, Larry!"
"Diane!"
"You saved me. I won't forget."
Then, the smile still lingering, she slipped once more into merciful
oblivion, and as Larry held her close to his heart, a new warmth
kindled there.
But bitterness burned in his heart, too. He had saved her--won her
love, perhaps--only to lose her. It wasn't fair! Was there no way out?
The priests were close now, their pasty faces leering with fierce
anticipation of their revenge, when suddenly, from down the gallery
outside that guarded door, came the sharp crash of an explosion,
followed by shouts and the rush of feet.
At the sound, the priests trembled, fled backward into the room and
fell moaning before their idols, while the quaking guards strove
frantically to close the door.
* * * * *
But before they could do so, in burst a half dozen brawny sailors in
foreign uniform, bearing in their hands little black bulbs that looked
suspiciously like grenades. Shouting in a tongue Larry could not
distinguish above the uproar, they advanced upon the retreating guards
and priests.
Then, when all were herded in the far corner of the room, the sailors
backed toward the door. Motioning for Larry and Diane to clear out,
they raised those sinister little missiles, prepared to fling them.
"Wait!" cried Larry, thinking of Professor Stevens.
And releasing Diane, who had revived, he rushed forward, seized the
prostrate savant from amid the unresisting Cabiri, and bore him to
safety.
"Daddy!" sobbed Diane, swaying to meet them.
"Back!" shouted one of the sailors, shoving them through the door.
The last glimpse Larry had of that fateful room was the horde of
priests and guards huddled before their altar, voices lifted in
supplication to that hideous dragon god.
Then issued a series of blinding flashes followed by deafening
explosions, mingled with shrieks of anguish.
Sickened, he stood there, as the reverberations died away.
* * * * *
Presently, when it was plain no further menace would come from that
blasted temple, their rescuers led the trio back down those winding
galleries, and through that long, straight tunnel to the smaller
pyramid.
Professor Stevens had recovered consciousness by now and was able to
walk, with Larry's aid, though a matted clot of blood above his left
ear showed the force of the blow he had received.
The way, after reaching the smaller pyramid, led up those other
galleries they had mounted the night before.
This time, undoubtedly, they were to be taken before that mysterious
usurping emperor. And what would be the result of that audience? Would
it but plunge them from the frying pan into the fire, wondered Larry,
or would it mean their salvation?
Anyway, he concluded, no fate could be worse than the hideous one they
had just escaped. But if only Diane could be spared further anguish!
He glanced at her fondly, as they walked along, and she returned him a
warm smile.
Now the way led into a short, level passage ending in a door guarded
by two sailors with rifles. They presented arms, as their comrades
came up, and flung open the door.
As he stepped inside, Larry blinked in amazement, for he was greeted
by electric lights in ornate clusters, richly carpeted floors, walls
hung with modern paintings--and there at the far end, beside a massive
desk, stood an imposing personage in foreign naval uniform of high
rank, strangely familiar, strangely reminiscent of war days.
Even before the man spoke, in his guttural English, the suspicion
those sailors had aroused crystallized itself.
A German! A U-boat commander!
* * * * *
"Greetings, gentlemen--and the little lady," boomed their host, with
heavy affability. "I see that my men were in time. These swine of
Antillians are a tricky lot. I must apologize for them--my subjects."
The last word was pronounced with scathing contempt.
"We return greetings!" said Professor Stevens. "To whom, might I ask,
do we owe our lives, and the honor of this interview?"
Larry smiled. The old graybeard was up to his form, all right!
"You are addressing Herr Rolf von Ullrich," the flattered German
replied, adding genially: "commander of one of His Imperial Majesty's
super-submarines during the late war and at present Emperor of
Antillia."
To which the professor replied with dignity that he was greatly
honored to make the acquaintance of so exalted a personage, and
proceeded in turn to introduce himself and party. But Von Ullrich
checked him with a smile.
"The distinguished Professor Stevens and his charming daughter need no
introduction, as they are already familiar to me through the American
press and radio," he said. "While as for Mr. Hunter, your Captain
Petersen has already made me acquainted with his name."
At the mention of the commander of the _Nereid_, all three of them
gave a start.
"Then--then my captain and crew are safe?" asked the professor,
eagerly.
"Quite," Von Ullrich assured him. "You will be taken to them
presently. But first there are one or two little things you would like
explained--yes? Then I shall put to you a proposal, which if
acceptable will guarantee your safe departure from my adopted
country."
Whereupon the German traced briefly the events leading up to the
present.
* * * * *
During the last months of the war, he had been placed in command of a
special U-boat known as the "mystery ship"--designed to resist
depth-charges and embodying many other innovations, most of them
growing out of his own experience with earlier submarines.
One day, while cruising off the West Indies, in wait for some luckless
sugar boat, he had been surprised by a destroyer and forced to
submerge so suddenly that his diving gear had jammed and they had gone
to the bottom. But the craft had managed to withstand the pressure and
they had been able to repair the damage, limping home with a bad leak
but otherwise none the worse for the experience.
The leak repaired and the hull further strengthened, he had set out
again. But when in mid-Atlantic the Armistice had come, and rather
than return to a defeated country, subject possibly to Allied revenge,
he had persuaded his crew to remain out and let their craft be
reported missing.
What followed then, though Von Ullrich masked it in polite words, was
a story of piracy, until they found by degrees that there was more
gold on the bottom of the ocean than the top; and from this to the
discovery of the sunken empire where he now held reign was but a step.
They had thought at first they were looting only empty temples--but,
finding people there, had easily conquered them, though ruling them,
he admitted, was another matter. As, for instance, yesterday, when the
priests had interfered with his orders and carried his three chief
captives off to sacrifice.
"Where now, but for me, you would be food for their gods!" he ended.
"And if you do not find my hospitality altogether to your liking,
friends, remember that you came uninvited. In fact, if you will
recall, you came despite my explicit warning!"
* * * * *
But since they were here, he told them, they might be willing to repay
his good turn with another.
Whereupon Von Ullrich launched into his proposal, which was that
Professor Stevens place the _Nereid_ at his disposal for visiting the
depths at the foot of the plateau, where lay the capital of the
empire, he said--a magnificent metropolis known as the City of the Sun
and modeled after the great Atlantean capital, the City of the Golden
Gates, and the depository of a treasure, the greedy German believed,
that was the ransom of the world.
The professor frowned, and for a moment Larry thought he was going to
remind their host that this was not a treasure hunt.
"Why," he asked instead, "do you not use your own submarine for the
purpose?"
"Because for one thing, she will not stand the pressure, nor will our
suits," was the reply. "And for another, she is already laden with
treasure, ready for an--er--forced abdication!" with a sardonic laugh.
"Then have you not enough gold already?"
"For myself, yes. But there are my men, you see--and men who have
glimpsed the treasures of the earth are not easily satisfied,
Professor. But have no fear. You shall accompany us, and, by your aid,
shall pay your own ransom."
* * * * *
Von Ullrich made no mention of the alternative, in case the aid was
refused, but the ominous light Larry caught in his cold gray eyes
spoke as clearly as words.
So, since there was nothing else to do, Professor Stevens agreed.
Whereupon the audience terminated and they were led from the presence
of this arrogant German to another apartment, where they were to meet
Captain Petersen and the crew of the _Nereid._
As they proceeded toward it, under guard, Larry wondered why Von
Ullrich had even troubled to make the request, when he held it in his
power to take the craft anyway.
But after the first joyful moment of reunion, it was a mystery no
longer, for Captain Petersen reported that immediately upon their
capture, the commander of the U-boat had tried to force him to reveal
the operation of the _Nereid_, but that he had steadfastly refused,
even though threatened with torture.
And to think, it came to Larry with a new twinge of shame, that he had
suspected this gallant man of mutiny!
* * * * *
That very morning, while Professor Stevens and his party were still
exchanging experiences with Captain Petersen and the members of the
crew, Von Ullrich sent for them and they gathered with his own men in
the small lock-chamber at the base of the pyramid.
There they were provided with temporary suits by their host, since
their own--which they brought along--could be inflated only from the
_Nereid_.
Beside her, they noted as they emerged in relays, the U-boat was now
moored.
Entering their own craft, they got under way at once and headed
swiftly westward toward the brink of the plateau. Most of Von
Ullrich's crew were with them, though a few had been left behind to
guard against any treachery, on the part of the now sullen and aroused
populace.
Slipping out over the edge of that precipitous tableland, they tilted
her rudders and dove to the abysm below.
Presently the central square of the illuminated panel in the
navigating room showed three great concentric circles, enclosed by a
quadrangle that must have been miles on a side--and within this vast
sunken fortress lay a city of innumerable pyramids and temples and
palaces.
The German's eyes flashed greedily as he peered upon this vision.
"There you are!" he exclaimed, quivering with excitement. "Those
circles, that square: what would you judge they were, Professor?"
"I would judge that originally they were the canals bearing the
municipal water supply," Martin Stevens told him quietly, suppressing
his own excitement, "for such was said to be the construction of the
City of the Golden Gates; but now I judge they are walls raised on
those original foundations by the frantic populace, when the
submergence first began, in a vain effort to hold back the tides that
engulfed them."
"And do you think they are of gold?"
"Frankly, no; though I have no doubt you will find plenty of that
element down there."
Nor was the prediction wrong, for modern eyes had never seen such a
treasure house as they beheld when presently the _Nereid_ came to rest
outside that ancient four-walled city and they forced their way
inside.
* * * * *
Though the walls were not of gold, the inner gates were, and the
temples were fairly bursting with the precious metal, as well as rare
jewels, the eyes of a thousand idols gleaming with rubies and
emeralds.
But where was the populace, amid all this prodigious wealth? Was there
no life down here?
Von Ullrich declared through the vibrator of his pressure-suit that he
had heard there was. And as though in substantiation, many of the
temples showed the same bell-jar construction as the pyramids above,
though even stouter, revealing evidences of having been occupied very
recently; but all were flooded and empty. The city was as a city of
the dead.
This ominous sign did not deter the "emperor," however. Ruthlessly he
and his men looted those flooded temples, forcing Professor Stevens
and his party to lend aid in the orgy of pillage.
And all the time, Larry had an uneasy feeling of gathering furtive
hosts about them, waiting--waiting for what?
He confided his fears to no one, though he noted with relief that Von
Ullrich seemed to sense these unseen presences too, for he proceeded
with caution and always kept a strong guard outside.
* * * * *
By early afternoon, the _Nereid_ was one great coffer-chest.
But still the rapacious U-boat commander was unsatisfied, though
Professor Stevens began to have doubts if his craft could lift that
massive weight of plunder to the top of the plateau.
"One more load and we go," he soothed. "A few more pretties for the
little lady!"
Larry writhed, and should have suspected then and there--but as it
was, the blow fell unexpected, stunning.
Filing from the lock, they failed to notice that Von Ullrich and his
crew hung back, until there came a sudden, guttural command, whereupon
Diane was seized and the massive door flung shut in their faces.
Appalled by this overwhelming disaster, the party stood for a moment
motionless, speechless. Then, as one, Larry and the professor rushed
forward and beat upon that barred hatch, calling upon Von Ullrich to
open it.
From within the submarine, through their vibrators, they heard him
laugh.
"_Auf Wiedersehen!_" he toasted them. "I now have all the treasure I
want! The rest I leave to you! Help yourselves!"
Even as he spoke, the _Nereid's_ auxiliary propellers started churning
the water. Slowly, sluggishly, like some great gorged fish, the sturdy
craft moved off, lifted her snout, headed upward.
* * * * *
Professor Stevens bowed his head, and Larry could well picture the
grief that distorted the graybeard's face, inside that owl-eyed
helmet.
"Cheer up!" he said, though his own face was twisted with anguish.
"Perhaps--"
Then he paused--for how could he say that perhaps the situation wasn't
as bad as it seemed, when it was obviously hopeless?
"My poor Diane!" moaned the professor. "Poor child. Poor child!"
As for Captain Petersen and the crew, they said nothing. Perhaps they
were thinking of Diane, perhaps of themselves. At least, they knew it
was over.
Or so they thought. But to Larry, suddenly, occurred a gleam of hope.
That strange sense of unseen presences! It was bizarre, of course, but
doesn't a drowning person catch at straws? And Lord knows they were
drowning, if ever anyone was!
He turned and confided to Professor Stevens his idea, which was to
retrace their steps within the city gates, seek out the populace and
throw themselves on their mercy.
The stricken savant, too, grasped at the straw.
"It seems fantastic, but after all it is a chance," he admitted.
So they pushed back into that great submerged city, with Captain
Petersen and his skeptical crew. They entered one of the largest of
the temples, wandered forlornly through its flooded halls and
corridors, seeking some sign of these alleged beings Larry had sensed.
Nor was their search unrewarded, for suddenly the captain himself,
most skeptical of all, cried out:
"Listen! Did you hear that?"
There was no need to ask the question, for all had heard. It was a
rasping sound, as of some great door swinging shut, followed almost
immediately by a rushing gurgle--and as they stood there tense, the
water level began rapidly receding.
Even while it was still plashing about their ankles, a secret block of
masonry slid back and a horde of Antillians burst in upon them.
* * * * *
What happened then, happened with a rush that left them dazed.
Unable to talk directly with the pigmies, by reason of their
pressure-suits, which they dared not remove, they started gesturing
with them, trying to explain their predicament and make known that
they bore them no ill-will, but the creatures waved for them to cease
and led them swiftly through the now waterless temple.
"Well, I guess it's all up!" said Larry, adding with dismal humor:
"They're probably going to finish that meal they started feeding their
dragon last night!"
No one laughed, nor made any comment, and he relapsed into silence,
realizing that they probably held him responsible for this latest
disaster.
Leaving the temple, their captors led them into a passage that was
level for a time, then inclined sharply. It was laborious going but
they struggled on.
"I believe they know we are not their enemies!" declared Professor
Stevens, at length, to everyone's cheer. "They seem to be leading us
back to the plateau by some underground passage."
"Let's hope so!" said Larry. "Perhaps I had the right hunch after
all."
"But my poor Diane!" came the professor's sorrowing after-thought.
"That fiend Von Ullrich could never get the _Nereid_ up safely."
"I think perhaps he could, with Miss Stevens to help him," put in
Captain Petersen, his usual optimism returning. "She is thoroughly
familiar with the craft's operation."
"That is so," her father admitted, his tone brighter. "But--"
"Of course it's so!" exclaimed Larry, breaking off any less hopeful
reflections. "So cheerio, folks, as the English say. We'll make it
yet!"
But in his heart, he was tormented with doubt for Diane's safety....
* * * * *
The trail was growing eery, now, and precipitous. To their right rose
a sheer cliff. To their left, the path fell off abruptly to a gigantic
caldron where red flames leaped and waned.
"Looks like something out of Dante's 'Inferno'!" muttered Larry, with
a shudder.
"The volcano where they distill their atmosphere, evidently,"
commented Professor Stevens. "It would have been interesting, in other
circumstances, to observe the process."
"Not to me, it wouldn't!"
Larry was glad when they had passed that seething hell-pot and were
once more proceeding through a long, dark gallery.
But everywhere, though their guides were but a handful, was a sense of
those unseen presences, of gathering, furtive hosts about them,
waiting--waiting for what?
What was this strange sense of tension, of foreboding, that hung in
the air? Was the professor wrong? Were they being led to their doom,
after all?
He was soon to know, for now the gallery they had been traversing
levelled out into a series of short passages, each barred by a heavy
stone door, and finally they were led into a small, square room,
barely large enough to admit them all.
There, with gestures toward the far end, their guides left them.
The door closed, and almost immediately another on the opposite side
opened, slowly at first, then wider and wider, admitting a rush of
water that promptly filled the room.
Stepping wonderingly out, they found themselves on the upper level,
beside the second of the two smaller pyramids.
* * * * *
"Whew!" gasped Larry, as they stood looking around, still a little
dazed. "These people are sure quick-change artists! First they try to
feed you to their gods, then they save you from almost as bad a fate.
Dizzy, I call it!"
"Quite understandable, I should say," declared the professor. "Unable
to cope with Von Ullrich themselves, they think perhaps we may be able
to."
"Well, let's hope they're right!" grimly. "If once I get my hands on
him--"
He broke off suddenly, as Captain Petersen called out:
"The _Nereid_! There she is!"
Following with their eyes the bright segment cut into the murky depths
by his flashlight, they saw the familiar outlines of their craft; and
close beside her lay the U-boat.
A feverish activity seemed to be going on between the two submarines.
"They're changing cargo!" cried Larry. "Quick! We've got them now!"
But the progress they were able to make, hampered by their heavy
suits, was maddeningly slow. Their searchlights, moreover, betrayed
their approach. Before they could reach the scene, most of the sailors
had abandoned their task and piled into the U-boat.
Arms swinging wildly, Von Ullrich stood beside it, trying to rally
then. Refusing to risk combat, however, since they were unable to use
their deadly hand-grenades under water, they continued clambering up
the sides of their submersible and shoving down through its
conning-tower hatch.
Now a figure in a familiar pressure-suit broke away and started toward
the advancing party.
It was Diane!
* * * * *
Even as he recognized her, Larry saw Von Ullrich lunge forward, seize
his captive and mount to the conning-tower with her--but before the
German could thrust her into the hatch, he had reached the U-boat's
side and clambered to her rescue.
Dropping Diane, Von Ullrich wheeled to face his assailant. They
grappled, fell to the deck, rolled over and over.
But suddenly, as they were struggling, there came a sound that caused
the German to burst free and leap to his feet.
It was the sound of engines under them!
Ignoring Larry now, Von Ullrich staggered to the conning-tower hatch.
It was battened fast. Frantically he beat on it.
This much Larry saw, as he knelt there getting his breath. Then he
rose, took Diane by the arm and led her down. And he was none too
soon, for with a lunge the U-boat got under way.
But she seemed unable to lift her loot-laden mass from the ocean
floor, and headed off crazily across the plateau, dragging her keel in
the sand.
With fascinated horror, they watched the craft's erratic course, as it
swung loggily westward and headed toward that yawning abysm from which
they had all so lately risen.
The last sight they had of the U-boat was as it reached the brink, its
despairing commander still standing in the conning-tower, hammering
vainly on that fast-bound hatch; then they turned away faint, as the
doomed craft plunged down, stern up, into those crushing depths.
* * * * *
Professor Stevens now joined them.
"A lesson in avarice," he said gravely, when he had greeted his
daughter with heartfelt relief. "And a typical fate of fortune
hunters! Let that be a lesson to you, young man."
"Amen!" said Larry.
"But what happened, my dear?" asked the professor of Diane, a moment
later. "Why were they in such a hurry to be off?"
"Because the sensible Antillians seized their opportunity and overcame
their guards, while we were below," was her reply. "When we got back,
we found the pyramids flooded, so there was nothing else for them to
do but go."
So that was the explanation of those gathering, furtive hosts in the
lower level, thought Larry. Now he knew what they had been waiting
for! They had been waiting for that usurping vandal to depart.
And how they must be gloating now, down there!
"But why were they so eager to abandon the _Nereid_?" asked the
savant, still puzzled. "It it a better boat than theirs, even if I do
say so myself."
"Because I put it out of commission, directly we got back up here,"
replied Diane. "But not permanently!" she added, with what Larry knew
was a smile, though he couldn't see her face, of course, through the
helmet of her pressure-suit.
"Little thoroughbred!" he exclaimed, half to himself.
"What did you say, Mr. Hunter?--Larry, I mean," she inquired.
"N--nothing," he replied uneasily.
"Fibber!" said Diane. "I heard you the first time!"
"Just wait till I get out of this darned suit!" said Larry.
"I guess I can wait that long!" she told him.
And if Professor Stevens heard any of this, it went in one ear and out
the other, for he was thinking what a report he would have to make to
his confreres when they got home--particularly with half a boatload
of assorted idols for proof.
[Illustration: He pressed the tiny switch in the flame-tool's handle
just as Arlok came through the door.]
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