ith a tenacity which he could not overcome, had pulled
him out of the boat.

Percival gave a scream of fright as Jack went overboard, although he was
usually a very self-contained young fellow and not apt to give way to
hysterical outbreaks.

It was dark in the cave, but he quickly groped for the torch which Jack
had dropped, and cried out:

"Where are you, Jack? What has happened?"

Jack went under water and felt himself being drawn toward the end of the
water cave where he had seen the octopus squatting on the rock.

His thoughts flew like lightning and, being a resourceful boy, he
instantly decided what to do.

He had kept his breath from a natural instinct and now with his free arm
he dealt a swinging blow with the little axe in a direction which would
not cause him to injure himself but might strike the clinging tentacle.

His one hope was that another of the flying arms might not reach him and
secure his other arm, which fortunately was his right.

He suddenly felt a resistance and realized that he had struck something
and hoped that it might be the tentacle of the octopus.

In another moment he felt the pressure on his arm and body relax and then
realized that something had fallen from them.

He struck out vigorously with both arms, the pressure upon his lungs from
having held his breath so long beginning to be unbearable.

Then he felt his right arm seized, the suckers on the tentacle pressing
strong upon his muscles and seeming to draw the blood even under his
clothing, and he knew that the baleful creature had again gotten a hold
upon him.

He was able to clutch the hatchet in his left hand as the power gave out
in his right, and at that moment he arose to the surface and drew a
succession of deep breaths before another of those terrible arms seized
him by the leg and drew him again under water.

In another instant, as he struck wildly at the eldritch creature that held
him and felt the tension on his arm relax, everything became suddenly
black.

The octopus had resorted to one of its natural tricks and had ejected a
dense black fluid into the water which made it impossible for him to see
anything.

The creature was drawing him toward some hole in the cave, probably under
water, and he realized most poignantly that something must be done shortly
or he would be sacrificed to the pitiless water devil.

He felt himself rising and in a moment, when he most needed it, was able
to get his breath.