!"_

Perhaps, to some who read this, it will seem that Dival fared better
than I. But to men who have known the comradeship of the outer space,
the heart-felt gratitude of eleven friends is a precious thing. And to
any man who has ever worn the blue and silver uniform of the Special
Patrol Service, those nine words from the Chief of Squadron will sound
strong.

Chiefs of Squadrons in the Special Patrol Service--at least in those
days--were scanty with praise. It may be different in these days of soft
living and political pull.

[Illustration]

Marooned Under the Sea

_By Paul Ernst_

(Editor's note: This document, written on a curious kind of
parchment and tied to a piece of driftwood, was reported to have
been picked out of the sea near the Fiji Islands. The first and
last pages were so water soaked as to be indecipherable.)

Yacht _Rosa_ was due to leave the San Francisco harbor in two hours.

We were going on some mysterious cruise to the South Seas, the details
of which I did not know.

[Sidenote: Three men stick out a strange and desperate adventure among
the incredible monsters of the dark sea floor.]

"Professor George Berry, the famous zoologist, and myself are going to
do some exploring that is hazardous in the extreme," Stanley had said.
"For purely mechanical reasons we need a third. You are young and have
no family ties, so I thought I'd ask you to go with us.
I'd rather not tell you what it's all about until we are on our way."

[Illustration: _"Look at the cable!" called Stanley._]

That was all the explanation he had given. It was sufficient. I was
fed-up with life just then: I had enough money to avoid work and was
tired of playing.

"I must warn you that you'll risk your life in this," he had continued,
in answer to my acceptance of his invitation.

And I had replied that the hazard, whatever it might be, only made the
trip appear more desirable.

So here I was, on board the yacht, about to sail for far places on some
scientific mission which had so far been kept veiled in secrecy and
which was represented as "hazardous in the extreme." It sounded
attractive!

* * * * *

Stanley came aboard accompanied by a lean, wiry man with iron gray hair
and cool, alert black eyes.

"Hello, Martin," Stanley greeted me. "I want you to meet Professor
Berry, the real leader of this expedition. Professor, this young
red-head is Martin Grey